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    An Investigation into the Challenges,Application and Benefits of Social Media in

    Higher Education Institutions

    January 2010

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    Contents

    1. Summary Of Findings 42. Introduction 73. Research Approach 74. Research Findings 84.1 Respondent profile 8

    4.2 Respondent Website profile 8

    4.2.1 Use of main institution websites versus microsites 8

    4.2.2 Extent of social media technology integration with content 10

    management systems

    4.3 Key Challenges 11

    4.3.1 Key challenges for HEI to date in adopting social media 11

    4.3.2 Key Challenges for HEIs in future adoption of social 12Media

    4.4 Social Media Usage 14

    4.4.1 Access restrictions 14

    4.4.2 Current usage of social media by department and students 15

    4.4.3 Social media usage by student population 16

    4.4.4 Current usage profile of social media by technology type 18

    4.4.5 Future Usage of social media planned for 2010-2012 19

    4.5 Impact and Benefits of social media 21

    4.5.1 Current impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities 21

    4.5.2 Future impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities 22

    4.6 The Role of the Web team in supporting and developing the 23

    social media strategy

    5. Implications For Higher Education Institutions 25

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    Figures

    Figure 1 Number of web sites and microsites within institutions 9

    Figure 2 Current challenges for HEIs in adopting social 11

    Figure 3 Challenges for future adoption of social media 13

    Figure 4 Is access to the following social media restricted at your institution? 14

    Figure 5 Department and student usage of social media 15

    Figure 6 Social media usage by student population 17

    Figure 7 Types of social media used 18

    Figure 8 Planned adoption of social media 2010 -2012 20

    Figure 9 Impact and benefits of social media to date 21

    Figure 10 Comparison of areas identified as undergoing 22

    significant improvement over the last three years and by 2012

    Reference Sources 26

    About Jadu

    Jadu is a market leading supplier of web content management systems (CMS) to highereducation institutions, public sector and commercial organisations. Jadu was formed in2001 to provide Content Management Systems (CMS) for government organisations.Since its first major implementation for BERR in 2002, Jadu has evolved and is nowimplemented within hundreds of public and private sector organisations and highereducation institutions across the UK.Jadu provides a refreshing approach to web content management and offers

    groundbreaking functionality including integrated social computing, accessibility,compliance, integrated online forms, mash up page design, integrated Google search,personalisation, full statistical reporting, standards compliance, product and cataloguemanagement. Jadu also provides a host of web productivity tools and unparalleledsupport service. Jadu is the first commercial Web Content Management provider to offeran integrated Twitter module within its CMS software to enhance brand management,customer service and knowledge management.

    Further information on Jadu can be found at: www.jadu.co.uk

    This research is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/uk

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    1. Summary of Findings

    This research was conducted to gain a current picture of the rapidly changing area of

    social media and looks at the challenges, usage and benefits of social media within

    Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The research consists of quantitative and

    qualitative research and was conducted between 28th July 2009 and the 6th September

    2009.

    RESPONDENT PROFILE

    60 unique responses were received from 44 HEIs across the UK, with 36 English

    Universities; 3 out of the 9 Welsh universities; 4 out of the 19 Scottish

    universities and an Irish university contributing.

    Responses were received from respondents representing a wide range of

    departments and roles including - Web management, marketing, media and

    communications, learning and development, business, libraries and IT

    management and services.

    KEY FINDINGS

    The top three challenges - The top three challenges to date inimplementing social media are developing the business case for its usage;

    overcoming cultural issues and dealing with current software compatibility issues.

    In the next three years, developing the business case for social media usage will

    remain the number one challenge, followed by the ability to respond to growing

    user demand and finally the ability to do this within budgetary constraints.

    Limited restrictions on usage are in place - For the majority of institutions(over 90%), social media usage (Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, MySpace, YouTube,

    Flickr) is not restricted.

    Usage by user type- The major users of social media are students followed byAlumni. A relatively large number of Admissions departments make little usage

    of social media in their activities.

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    Current usage by social media type - The two social media tools mostfrequently used by HEIs via internal solutions are Blogging (59%) and Online

    Forums (55%). The two most frequently used external social networking tools

    are Twitter (68.3%), YouTube (60.7%) followed by social networking tools such

    as Facebook and MySpace (57.49%).

    Future usage by social media type - 47.3% of respondents intend to adopt

    Twitter over the next two years; 41.8% intend to use YouTube and 41.1% social

    networking tools such as Facebook and MySpace. A much smaller percentage of

    respondents intend to adopt customised social networking tools such as

    Ning.com and Yammer.

    Current benefits of social media- The main areas benefiting from a significantimprovement to date, as a result of social media usage, are the Institutions

    Profile and Access to Information for all users.

    Future benefits of social media- The main area identified as benefiting fromsocial media in the future is Access to Information with 61.8% of respondents

    identifying this area as undergoing significant improvement by 2012. The

    Institutions profile, reputation and student retention were also identified as

    benefiting from social media usage in the future.

    Future role of the web team 67.9% of respondents believed that the mainfactor influencing the development ofHEIs social media strategy is the user

    base, with the web teams role being to respond to userdemand. This compared

    to 44.6% of respondents who believed that the web team wasdriving strategy

    development.

    Limited integration of social media with content management systems -There is currently little if any integration of content management systems with

    social media technologies within those HEIs responding.

    IMPLICATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

    The research has highlighted the considerable benefits being gained from social media

    usage in a wide range of areas. However, the emerging nature of these technologies,

    and their impact on established ways of working, raise a number of questions that haveyet to be addressed.

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    HEI Management needs a stronger business case for investment- Building

    a business case for social media adoption is the number one challenge for HEIs

    both now and in the future. Whilst users are convinced of the benefits, HEI

    management need a stronger business case.

    The strategic approach to managing social media is evolving The

    strategic response to social media developments is unclear in many institutions.

    No firm conclusion appears to have been reached on the ownership and

    management of this new development. It is also not clear whether social media

    technologies should be treated as a separate strategy, or embedded in core

    operations? As social media technologies and usage mature over the coming

    years, it is likely that a more integrated approach to managing information and

    content will be required to protect the brand and reputation of institutions.

    Can unrestricted use continue? -The low level of restriction currently applied

    to social media usage has implications for a wide range of areas including -

    privacy, intellectual property to data protection. As usage grows it is likely that

    these issues will increase in profile and impact.

    Increased awareness is needed to address cultural issues - Lack of

    awareness of the potential benefits of social media and its usage were identified

    as generational issues by a number of respondents. The development of short

    programmes around the benefits of social media technologies for HEIs, could

    address this situation and the cultural issues identified.

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    2. Introduction

    Social Media is growing in its adoption across all areas of society, including Higher

    Education. To gain a current picture of this rapidly developing area within UK Higher

    Education Institutions (HEIs), this research has been conducted to investigate the:

    Challenges faced in managing this relatively new means of communication

    Impact and benefit that social media is having and could have, on established

    ways of working within HEIs.

    The output of this survey will provide HEIs with:

    A current appreciation of the challenges and issues faced in implementing social

    media

    Shared knowledge of how HEIs are capitalising on social media technologies to

    support strategic and operational activities.

    Insight into the range of benefits that are currently being delivered and those

    that could be delivered.

    The online survey was run between 28th July 2009 and the 6th September 2009. During

    that time 60 unique responses were received from 44 HEIs across the UK.

    3. Research Approach

    The research conducted in this study includes both qualitative and quantitative

    investigations. A review of existing research has also been conducted into the adoption

    and usage of social media within Higher Education Institutions (Appendix 1). This

    knowledge was used to shape the structure and content of an online survey that was

    subsequently used to collect primary data. The survey was tested with a number of

    individuals who had a particular interest in the area of social media from within UK

    Universities and associated organisations (UKOLN).

    The platform used to deliver the survey questions and to collect data was Survey

    Monkey. No direct and unsolicited approaches were made to potential respondents.

    Instead respondents were made aware of the survey and its objectives through the

    application of social media techniques (Twitter, Blogs) at the IWMW (Institutional Web

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    Management Workshop) in July 2009 and an Announce email issued by UCISA. This

    provided a web link to the survey for those interested in participation.

    The survey sought feedback from anyone who had an involvement in the development

    and/or usage of social media in a UK HEI. In particular, feedback from those involved

    in the management of web content was encouraged, as was feedback from individuals

    already using social media within an HEI environment, or who had a particular interest in

    the potential of social media.

    The quantitative data collected was analysed to develop the key trends emerging. In

    addition, quotations provided by respondents (anonymous) in response to the subject

    matter, have been used to develop and illustrate the key trends identified.

    4. Research Findings

    4.1 Respondent profile

    The majority of replies to the online survey were received from English Universities (36),

    with 3 out of the 9 Welsh universities, 4 out of the 19 Scottish universities and an Irish

    university also participating.

    Responses were obtained from five main areas within HEIs:

    Web management

    Marketing, Media and communications

    Learning and development

    Business and IT management and services

    Libraries

    4.2 Respondent Website profile

    4.2.1 Use of main institution websites versus microsites

    The majority of HEIs (40.6%) operate a main web site but are unaware of the number

    and content of the microsites situated around the institution (Figure 1).

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    Relatively few institutions operate a single main website only (18.8%), without utilising

    microsites for individual faculty or department use.

    Figure 1 Number of web sites and microsites within institutions

    At least 60 other sites at separate URL's with no clear management structure, different CMS's (or

    flatfile html sites) and no common search function; all sites operate in total isolation from each

    other.

    We have over 100 microsites, over 200 sections on our main site, of which probably 20-30 are

    actively updated

    A key message from previously published research is the importance perceived by HEIs

    of developing a consistent brand to help build the institutions internal and external

    profile. The fact that a large proportion of institutions are unaware of the number of

    microsites that exist within their organisation and are therefore unable to influence

    branding, would indicate a major potential to improve both the internal and external

    user experience.

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    The absence of an integrated approach to the provision of web services in many

    institutions and the lack of a common search function, also indicates a major opportunity

    to improve development and search effectiveness and efficiency.

    4.2.2 Extent of social media technology integration with content management

    systems

    Although many institutions are establishing links and add-ons to provide a more

    integrated environment, there is currently little if any integration of content

    management systems with social media technologies within those HEIs responding

    (19.6% of those responding).

    Are any social media technologies currently provided as an integrated component of

    your content management system - if so please identify the technology provided?

    Social bookmarking. News is pushed out to Twitter and Facebook. Some active blogs partly

    integrated with websites.

    Moodle, Mahara, Wimba integrated into the teaching. Use Facebook and Twitter as appropriate.

    Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, RSS can be embedded in pages with pre-defined styles in the CMS. RSS

    is also auto generated on news pages.

    None as part of the CMS, although we have integrated Flickr, Twitter, Facebook. We have also

    piloted an internal social network for the department of Information Services.

    No; not seen as worthwhile (...YET): we have some pages that offer a single page at a glance

    mashup view of current social media activity - but that is a pull activity from the various platforms

    and not a publishing activity from within the CMS.

    Limited within the CMS, but we do provide WordPress, SharePoint, JOOMLA (to a limited extent).

    Facebook is being developed into the CMS of our Students' Union website.

    The platform uses PebblePad for blogs between students and tutors.

    Forums - but the functionality is poor so we use an open source PHP system instead

    share this functionality (third party code embedded via scripts at our request)

    RSS feeds for news and events.

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    4.3 Key Challenges

    4.3.1 Key challenges for HEI to date in adopting social media

    Respondents identified the top three challenges to date in adopting social media

    technologies (Figure 2) as:

    Developing the business case for its usage

    Overcoming cultural issues

    Dealing with current software compatibility issues.

    Figure 2 Current challenges for HEIs in adopting social

    Rating Average

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    The following quotes illustrate the scale of the challenges identified:

    What are key challenges that your institution has faced to date in adopting social media

    technologies?

    Lack of technical skills of staff wanting to implement technologies.

    Lack of resources (staff and time) to develop adequate social media teaching tools such as wikis

    and blogs.

    For the Library - technical challenges and know how.

    Allocating staff resources.

    Highly devolved nature of user base, i.e., herding cats

    Content moderation and management - significant resourcing issue

    Data protection and privacy issues with using third party solutions. Very few new and innovative

    systems are signed up to the Safe Harbor agreement which covers the storage of data outside the

    European Economic Area (i.e. USA) required by the UK Data Protection Act. So it makes it

    impossible for us to pick up third party software or solutions.

    4.3.2 Key Challenges for HEIs in the future adoption of social media

    Respondents identified the top three challenges in adopting social media technologies in

    the future (Figure 3) as:

    Developing the business case for its usage

    Responding to growing user demand

    Budgetary constraints

    The development of a business case for social media remains the most significant

    challenge, followed by the ability to respond to growing user demand and being able to

    do this within budgetary constraints.

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    Figure 3 Challenges for the future adoption of social media

    Rating Average

    What are the key challenges in encouraging future adoption of social media technologies

    within your institution?

    As user demand ramps up, the infrastructure may not cope. Getting EFFECTIVE content is

    perhaps the biggest Challenge.

    SEVERE cultural issues: no one in charge selected their Uni from a website - and so they fail to

    see why they are important for todays target audiences.

    Figuring out feasible support model that doesn't constrain users, yet respects University

    obligations (e.g., dpa, foi, hr, etc)

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    4.4 Social Media Usage

    4.4.1 Access restrictions

    For the majority of institutions (over 90%) social media usage (Facebook, Twitter,

    Blogging, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr), is not generally restricted (Figure 4). Within

    university domains and within the directorate, some restrictions exist and there are

    concerns over disclosure of intellectual property. There is also evidence however that in

    some institutions, restrictions would be removed, if a work related case could be

    generated for the use of social media.

    Figure 4 Is access to the following social media restricted at your

    institution?

    Yes No Dont Know

    Facebook 4.9% 91.8% 3.3%

    Twitter 4.9% 91.8% 3.3%

    Blogging 4.6% 90.3% 4.6%

    MySpace 4.9% 90.2% 4.9%

    YouTube 5.0% 90.0% 5.0%

    Flickr 1.6% 95.1% 3.3%

    The restrictions are there by default but are removed for members of staff who can show a

    genuine work related reason for needing access to the sites. There is talk of removing the

    restriction for everyone (students and staff) however this has so far been a very long battle!!

    Blogs not allowed via university domains. Those via external blogging sites unrestricted

    We require people to be sensible and if there are people waiting to use open access computers

    then only course work and research should be done on them.

    I don't know about student systems but within our directorate these sites are blocked. I had to

    have IT unblock them for me!

    "There are very few restrictions on the usage of social media by students within the institutions

    responding. Where restrictions do exist they tend to be related to reducing server load."

    Purely to keep the server load down and not for censorship.

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    4.4.2 Current usage of social media by department and students

    The major users of social media are students followed by Alumni (Figure 5). A relatively

    large number of Admissions departments have little or no usage of social media in their

    activities.

    Figure 5 Department and student usage of social media

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    In which areas do you currently see the greatest use of social media within your

    institution?

    Take up depends on the drive of individuals and where departments see that there is value rather

    than being dictated by specific institutional policy.

    The demand for Facebook interaction is clearly the heaviest on Admissions. Though our

    Institution's admissions office does not actively respond to prospective student questions on

    Facebook, Twitter, etc, students from the University have stepped into the void.

    Development office actively using social media, other departments do not have anyone with

    enthusiasm for/expertise in social media.

    Academic staff are very mixed in their use! We have Uni run Twitter / Facebook pages & othersare using it with students for teaching; however, the central eLearning staff would far rather

    everyone used WEbCT Vista - as they feel that it's confusing for students to have too many things

    to think about (which I'm not sure I agree with) and/ or that off campus resources can never be

    guaranteed to be here tomorrow (which is a fair point).

    I note an age/ignorance factor with Alumni and faculty that limits these technologies usage in

    these sections.

    Some staff have set up blogs on their University hosted websites.

    It's being used most in the marketing of our institution to prospective students.

    4.4.3 Social media usage by student population

    Undergraduates are perceived to be the heaviest users of social media. However, a high

    lack of awareness exists within HEIs on how social media usage differs between different

    student populations (undergraduates, postgraduates, prospective, International) (Figure

    6).

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    Figure 6 Social media usage by student population

    All students use it! - even if you are not an undergrad you use it: internationals use it as they

    cannot travel here in person in advance!

    Have only just started using Social Media.

    PhD students appear to make much heavier use of social media than current researchers who

    began their careers years ago.

    Not really my area of expertise, but I think it differs less between these audiences and more

    along the generational issues (digital natives / digital immigrants). The majority of our students

    are mature and part time students not 18-year old undergraduates.

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    4.4.4 Current usage profile of social media by technology type

    The two social media tools most frequently used by HEIs via internal solutions are

    Blogging (59%) and Online Forums (55%).

    The two most frequently identified external social networking tools currently used are

    Twitter (68.3%), YouTube (60.7%) and social networking tools such as Facebook and

    MySpace (57.49%).

    There was a low level usage of customised social networking tools Ning.com and

    Yammer (Figure 7).

    Figure 7 Types of social media used

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    What forms of social media do you currently use within your department/institution?

    No local use in departments, all efforts done centrally and from the Students' Union.

    We are currently investigating the use of collaborative tools. As a smaller institution, it can be

    hard to find the resources (time or money) to put into internal solutions for projects like this.

    Our customised social network has been built in-house so we own our data.

    Applicant community blends social networking with more traditional forums and blogs in a

    managed environment.

    No co-ordinated policy.

    Primarily Plone CMS. Growing use of Diigo. Rare/limited mashing with Ning. Rare, disorganised,

    un-coordinated use of Flickr. Very rare use of YouTube (sadly ignoring the CMS). Forums are a

    tricky question.

    4.4.5 Future Usage of social media planned for 2010-2012

    The two social media tools most frequently identified for planned adoption over the next

    two years by HEIs via internal solutions are Blogging (52.7%) and Online Forums

    (50.9%).

    The two most frequently identified external social networking tools planned for the next

    two years are Twitter (47.3%), YouTube (41.8%) and social networking tools such as

    Facebook and MySpace (41.1%).

    The low level usage of customised social networking tools, such as Ning.com and

    Yammer, looks set to continue with a high level of respondents either stating a definite

    intention not to use these solutions or being undecided about their usage (Figure 8).

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    Figure 8 Planned adoption of social media 2010 - 2012

    Because of the data protection issues we will bring social networking inside so we can control the

    storage and use of data. YouTube like video will come internally because of a requirement to not

    make the majority of our videos public - there's a reticence for this from the academic community.Blogging undecided by senior management as yet but there is strong demand for it.

    There will almost certainly be both internal and external solutions in place for some activities (e.g.

    online forums.

    There is limited ability to co-ordinate adoption or use between institutions and (more or less

    autonomous) departments.

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    4.5 Impact and Benefits of social media

    4.5.1 Current impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities

    The main areas benefiting from a significant improvement to date, as a result of social

    media, are the Institutions profile and access to information (Figure 9).

    Figure 9 Impact and benefits of social media to date

    Website in particular has had a significant effect on student conversion.

    Access to information is on demand. Students or Sabbatical officers respond within hours of a

    question being asked. The "personal" feeling of interacting with a student far surpasses any

    interaction the University could deliver. There is only so far institutions can go to shout about their

    own glory, students from those institutions are the biggest, most effective and most honest tool to

    deliver a true reflection of life at a HEI.

    Social media has only started being used over the past month within our institution.

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    4.5.2 Future impact and benefit of social media on HEI activities

    Respondents believed that the most significant impact of social media in the future will

    be from its ability to improve Access to information' for all users with 61.8% of

    respondents identifying this as undergoing significant improvement by 2012. The

    Institutions profile, reputation and student retention will also benefit from social media

    usage (Figure 10).

    Figure 10 Comparison of areas identified as undergoing significant

    improvement over the last three years and by 2012

    NB: Figures represent % of respondents identifying a significant improvement being anticipated

    through the use of social media.

    X is quickly becoming the most receptive HEI to one to one Facebook/Twitter contact with

    prospective students and troubled current students alike. Each and every question is answered by

    a friendly student response and this reputation is beginning to build profile will follow.

    Too much high level dragging of feet, and at lower levels: visions to narrow to take best

    advantage of social media.

    Reputation issues depend on how much we decide to use it for promotion, and to a large extentwe don't have control over how much people are talking about us or why, e.g. a recent event

    (anonymised).......... will have increased our profile, but not necessarily in ways that enhance our

    academic reputation.

    Put bluntly - if we don't use them we will start losing applicants.

    Difficult to say as no policy on adoption yet....

    Too hard to tell; the way they're used is, in my opinion much more important than whether or

    not they're used.

    Area of impact In the lastyear

    By 2012

    Institution Profile 21.4% 55.4%

    Access to information (staff, prospective

    students, existing students, administration)

    18.5% 61.8%

    Institution reputation 12.5% 44.6%

    Student retention 5.4% 34.5%

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    4.6 The Role of the Web team in supporting and developing the social

    media strategy?

    Respondents were asked to identify which of the following statements applied to their

    Institutions or whether both applied.

    Web 2.0/Social Media Strategy instigated by the web team who are

    driving social media user engagement across the institution

    Social media users are driving adoption - the web team supports user

    request for any new development

    67.9% of respondents believed that the main driver influencing the development of

    HEIs social media strategy was the user base, with the web team responding to this

    demand. This compared to 44.6% of respondents who believed that the web

    team is driving the strategy for social media development.

    Some HEIs are taking a collaborative approach to social media strategy development

    involving many departments, others do not treat social media as a separate strategic

    area but an integrated component of the overall IT strategy.

    What role does the web team play in developing and supporting the Institution's social

    media strategy?The development of strategy in this sphere is very much a collaborative approach mixing local

    initiatives with institutional programmes depending on the nature of the content, the audience and

    the channel.

    We in the web team try our best - but we are over-ruled by people who do not even understand

    what Twitter is, or what social media even means.

    Social media development is driven by individual departments not the IT team.

    Our e-learning team drives implementation rather than the web team.

    The institution's social media strategy is currently being determined with involvement from

    several departments including the web team whose primary role will be helping users to integrate

    appropriate social media with the institution's official web sites.

    It's not just the web team but the whole Centre for Educational Development and Media who is

    driving this through the University IT strategy. It's not a separate strategy specifically because it

    needs to be embedded in the core business and if its in a separate strategy it tends to get treatedas separate.

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    As the tendency for social media usage increases, the ability to efficiently manage

    content will become a more significant challenge. The fact that only 19.6 % of

    respondents believed that their current content management system supported social

    media transactions raises a strategic issue for the immediate and longer term future.

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    5. Implications for Higher Education Institutions

    This research has identified a number of strategic implications for HEIs in developing

    their future approach to social media.

    Building a business case for social media adoption is the number one challenge

    now and in the future for HEIs

    The research has identified that social media developments have to date been mainly

    user driven. The primary challenge has been in establishing a business case to support

    this user driven development. The pressure from the user base for social media tools and

    facilities, continues into the future. This reinforces the need for HEI management to be

    able to see a valid business case for investment in this area.

    What is the future HEI strategy for social media Top down, bottom up

    collaborative?

    Whilst there is a high level of social media usage in some institutions, in others it is a

    new experience with a steep learning curve. A key question that has emerged is how a

    strategy for social media should be developed and who should own and manage this. Is

    it a top down development, collaborative or bottom up approach? How will social media

    usage be managed in the future if it can be managed?

    It's not just the web team but the whole Centre for Educational Development and Media who are

    driving this through the University IT strategy. It's not a separate strategy specifically because it

    needs to be embedded in the core business and if its in a separate strategy it tends to get treated

    as separate.

    It is all very new and more thought is needed as to how we precede with the SM phenomena.

    After all, the people that use it should be the people that create it as opposed to the people that

    manage it.

    The institution's social media strategy is currently being determined with involvement from

    several departments including the web team, whose primary role will be helping users to integrate

    appropriate social media with the institution's official web sites.

    Social media (even more than the web) allows potential students to see what their possible

    lecturers are like before they even start. We MUST realise that we can NOT control the

    conversation like we did in the days of the megaphone monologue media. People WILL talk and

    rate us, regardless of what we try and do.

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    Can unrestricted use continue? - There is currently limited restriction on the use of

    social media outside of the directorate. As usage continues to grow, issues raised by

    this research which include - data protection and privacy issues, intellectual property

    concerns, content management and ownership issues and impact on server load, are

    likely to increase in profile.

    We don't officially restrict anything but the senior management have serious issues with

    intellectual property issues of using social media. So it tends to be done under the radar

    Is there a case for programmes to raise awareness of social media benefits?

    The research produced considerable verbal evidence that variation in usage between

    student populations and departments was a generational issue rather than anything

    else. The development of short programmes around the benefits of social mediatechnologies for HEIs could address this situation and the cultural issues identified.

    Not really my area of expertise, but I think it differs less between these audiences and more

    along the generational issues (digital natives / digital immigrants). The majority of our students

    are mature and part time students not 18-year old undergraduates.

    Should social media technologies be treated as a separate strategy or

    embedded in the core operations? What is the future role of the web team?

    In the majority of institutions the web team is in response mode to users and

    management. As social media technologies and usage mature over the coming years, it

    is likely that a more integrated approach will be required to monitor and record

    conversations over social media networks about the institution and to maintain the

    consistency and integrity of the institutions brand.

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