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We had strong interest from colleges and universities across the country, and at the end of the presetation fielded more questions than we had time to answer.  I provided written responses to the two outstanding questions and thought the information might be of interest.

Feel free to post a comment or email me at teresa.parrot@widmeyer.com if you have further thoughts.

Can anyone provide benchmarks on resources to start this up and maintain it? e.g., staff, hours for initial setup and then maintenance?

The start-up times vary based on the scope of the social media presence you want to maintain.  You need to consider what sites you want to be a part of, the conversations you wish to conduct, and the preferred level of participation you want to conduct.  Specifically for College of the Holy Cross there is a team of three who maintain the website and social media presence, but there is a campus committee tasked with supplying content to the team that span the campus, including offices of the College’s leadership.  Often, creating the sites and pages is the easy part. Maintaining the conversations and finding content that keeps people engaged takes time and creativity.

Can you recommend some colleges that are successfully using social media? Could you send some URLs in the follow up email?

So that we aren’t seen as showing preference for certain institutions or their social media vendors, we are going to defer to third parties for our examples.  This article outlines the “Top Four Colleges on Social Media.”  The comments section at the end of the entry also lists additional sites to consider.  In addition, this is a widely circulated list of the “Top 100 Colleges on Twitter.”

During the question and answer session during the presentation we also said we would forward additional policy resources.  Before drafting a social media policy, consider this article on Mashable.com that discusses the 10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy. Once you’ve thought through the author’s considerations, then peruse the following sample policies.  The list includes a mix of public and private institutions of varying sizes.  We aren’t advocating for using any of these policies.  Instead we are recommending you take the elements from each that best fit your institution and social media needs.

Sample higher ed social media policies:

• Adrian College
• Aquinas College
• Ball State University
• Colorado State University
• Columbia College Chicago
• Highland Community College
• Seattle University
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• University of Missouri System

And you never know when you will find inspiration from the corporate world.  Take a look at these corporate policies and this comprehensive list to see if they have any insight you can apply at your institution.

Widmeyer is one of eight approved crisis communications service providers for UE’s member schools, colleges and universities that may require specialized planning and communications services for a covered crisis event.  Members with both primary general liability and educators’ legal liability coverage can work with public relations firms such as Widmeyer to protect the institution’s reputation and prevent or minimize potentially costly liabilities.

“We are proud United Educators selected Widmeyer as one of its providers,” said Margaret Dunning, Principal who oversees Widmeyer’s Higher Education practice. “It is a recognition of Widmeyer’s strength in the crisis arena and knowledge of the higher education landscape.”

“We believe Widmeyer Communications’ philosophy and approach to crisis communications is similar to our own and Widmeyer’s depth of experience in higher education will be of value to our members,” said Constance Neary, United Educators’ vice president for risk management.

For more information about Widmeyer’s Higher Education practice, please contact Teresa Valerio Parrot at teresa.parrot@widmeyer.com or (202) 667-0901.

What meets the threshold of a crisis?  And are there times you need to play small?  The definition I use for a crisis is any negative event that can jeopardize your institution’s image, reputation or financial stability.  Anything that doesn’t meet this threshold is a problem, not a crisis.  Treating a problem as if it were a crisis increases the likelihood that it will rise to the threshold of a crisis situation, so tread lightly.

Problems are best fixed after examining the policies, procedures and players involved in the situation.  Addressing problems is often best done behind the scenes and out of the public eye, but communicate the policy and procedure adjustments and fixes widely.  Not making your campus constituents aware of changes leaves room for repeated problems.

The best responses to crises are often from institutions that have written and tested crisis plans.  There are two reasons for the successful responses: 1) the campus community is aware of the preferred procedures during a crisis and individuals’ roles in the response; and 2) the crisis communications leader has built credibility as a resource and strategist in advance of the situation.  It is a lonely crisis leader who doesn’t have a team behind them when they need a team the most.  Multiple and counterproductive responses to crises occur when an institution’s decision-makers feels there isn’t leadership in place and attempt to fill the perceived void.  Often these rogue responses are performed with the best of intentions, but good intentions do little to win points in the court of public opinion or the court of law.  Don’t allow yourself to teeter alone on that dangerous and narrow ledge; build your crisis plan and credibility in advance.

During the crisis-filled years I spent at an institution, my mentor reminded me constantly that “hope is not a strategy.”  I’ve embraced this notion and taken it a step further.  When asking crisis clients for updates I stop them each time they begin a sentence by saying, “I think that…”  You are getting paid to develop strategies, use available data and develop actionable communications plans.  Start your descriptions by saying, “I know that…”  Using language that includes even a hint of apprehension allows your senior leadership, president or board to second-guess the strategies before them.  If you know your course of action is the right course, don’t play small.  You and your institution deserve your best when the stakes are the highest.

This survey highlights the importance of parents and counselors in the admissions process, and the value of the campus visit.   Some of the findings appear to be obvious, but will still prove helpful to some admissions staff.

The problem is in implementation.  Colleges and universities’ prospect pools are never the “student” population — they tend to be a slice of that universe.  Things that may be true of students as a whole may not be accurate for (for example) students from a specific region, the highest achieving students, or other targeted groups.  Truly actionable insight comes not from a general population study, but one directed toward the needs of a specific school.