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Dean connects with students through new Facebook page

Molly Leasure, For The Miami Student

Methods used by universities to connect with prospective and current students have advanced as the world becomes more technologically innovated. From pens and paper to laptops and iPads, higher-level education has come far in the past years and administrators have kept up with the pace.

Miami University Dean of Students Susan Mosley-Howard is one of many administrators adapting to the new ways. Howard recently made a Facebook page for the university to connect with prospective and current students.

"The webpage is designed to provide Miami students with information to help them navigate the university," Mosley-Howard said. "For example, students can find out about some of the services offered to them or what to do in certain situations or how to connect with someone in one of the offices."

As universities become more technologically advanced in learning aspects, marketing and advertising soon follow.

Administrators' jobs have changed with the new technology because there is an expectation that communication will be faster, according to Mosley-Howard. No longer does a workday end when faculty members leave their offices, it continues at home through email and the Internet. But Mosley-Howard isn't the only one making changes.

"Educational institutions as a whole need to try to provide as many avenues of communication as possible," Mosley-Howard said. "Facebook not only allows an institution to reach the target audience, but contact or information can also spread to a wider network."

Xavier University Dean of Students Luther Smith has also upgraded with the new age. "Numerous departments have direct contact with students using Facebook and Twitter," Smith said. "Technology has had a great impact on how the university communicates with prospective students as well as currently enrolled students."

Because Facebook and Twitter are available to all, information can be spread faster than in previous years.

Ohio University Associate Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said, "We have actually been using Twitter as our preferred social media platform within the division of student affairs."

With the new age also comes more responsibility. Universities are now expected to notify the campus community about safety concerns faster and more efficiently. Miami University now has a variety of new communication tools for fast response in a crisis like e2campus text messaging and "voice it over IP."

"One of the benefits of new technology is that it allows those of us whose work is connected to campus safety and student support to be connected 24/7," Mosley-Howard said.

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