Stefan Hyman is the web and electronic information coordinator in the Undergraduate Admissions Office. In this role, he has made greater use of social media to reach prospective students through their preferred mediums, and he has shared with them all of the resources Stony Brook has to offer.
Social media has also been a very effective tool for getting more current students involved in recruitment efforts and for adding more personalization to the admissions process. There are a number of platforms that Admissions utilizes with these goals in mind—student blogs, online chats, instant messaging, and external social mediums like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. Hyman has seen great results across the board.
Now Hyman and his colleagues are sharing their successful strategies. This summer he was invited to speak at several conferences across the country about how he has implemented and managed Stony Brook’s social media efforts. At the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling meeting at St. John’s University in June, he hosted a round-table discussion about how social media is changing the admissions spectrum.
In early July Hyman was invited to speak on a panel, “Incorporating Social Media into Recruitment,” at the Connect University Conference in Boston alongside colleagues from Hawaii Pacific University, Concordia University, and the University of Aberdeen. Each member of the panel discussed their distinct strategies for using different mediums, how they manage students and staff assisting with their initiatives, and how they measure results.
Later in the month, he was invited to present at the ACT’s national Enrollment Planners Conference in Chicago, alongside Chris D’Orso, Assistant Director of Admissions at Stony Brook. Their presentation, “Moving Beyond Gutenberg: Successful Online Recruitment Strategies,” focused on how they have deployed web and e-communications to reduce the reliance of print brochures (and our carbon footprint by doing so). “Our session was very well attended (standing room only), and it generated excellent discussion throughout the remainder of the conference,” said Hyman.
Hyman’s next workshop will be here on campus. “Social Media in Higher Ed 101” will be held on Thursday, September 24, at 10:00 am in the Student Activities Center, Room 304. After exploring some of the ways social media is impacting higher education, Hyman will discuss tips for managing these tools and demonstrate best practices being utilized at Stony Brook and at others universities. To register or for more information, call 632-7206.
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