The Auburn University Admissions department is working to better serve its students by creating a Facebook page where students can ask questions and have them answered by an admissions counselor.
"The class we're recruiting was born in '92 or '93 and have always had access to the Internet," said Jim Parrish, assistant director at the Office of University Recruitment. "We asked what other schools were doing to keep up, and now our Facebook page has been up and running for a year."
Current or prospective students can find the page by searching for Auburn University Admissions on Facebook.
Once a student becomes a "fan" of the page, he or she may write his or her questions on the site's "wall." They are each personally answered on the wall by an admissions counselor.
"People love to see that we're out there," Parrish said. "These kids want instant gratification so we check the page multiple times per day."
The counselors answer the questions on Facebook's public wall function rather than sending it to the inquirer's inbox in the interest of keeping the page as public as possible.
"Someone will undoubtedly have the same question, so we post the answers where everyone can see them," Parrish said.
"I stumbled upon the Facebook page while browsing the admissions Web site," said Meghan Dooley, a senior at Pineview School for the Gifted in Sarasota, Fla., and prospective Auburn student. "I'm applying in the fall of 2009 and had a specific scholarship question that I had searched for and been unable to find on the site."
Parrish said many students come to the site to ask general Auburn questions.
"Often it's a matter of finding the right person to answer," Parrish said. "We get all sorts of questions such as 'How do I find a roommate, change my major, or make a 'Class of '13' Facebook group?' When that happens, we will send them links to where they need to go."
Prospective students said they appreciate the quick replies.
"The page allowed me to receive personal, case-by-case answers on specific questions I had related to my possible Auburn experience" Dooley said.
The Auburn Admissions Facebook page isn't limited to incoming freshmen. Many transfer students also might find the site helpful.
"As a transfer student I have a million questions," said Sarah LeAnn Scheller-Triplett, a senior transfer student from Eastern Carolina University with a major in communication disorders and psychology. "Sometimes when I'd call the school I could not get through, but when I went on the Facebook page my questions were answered very promptly."
Parrish said the Admissions department hopes to further expand their Facebook page in the future by uploading videos and hiring appropriate personnel to staff the page.
"We would like to start tapping into the Auburn spirit by making it an option to download the Auburn fight song directly from the Facebook page," Parrish said. "Auburn is huge on spirit, and we'd like to communicate that to prospective students."
Not only is the Facebook page available to share with students answers to questions about Auburn, but it also has helped students in their application process.
"The Facebook page really helped with application to Auburn," Scheller-Triplett said.
Some students included the Facebook page as reasons why they decided to come to Auburn.
"It definitely helped me make the decision to make Auburn my first choice," Dooley said.
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