Amid a confusing college search, students admitted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln now have a new way to learn about the campus they'll soon inhabit.
ClubRed is a social networking site open only to admitted, soon-to-be UNL students and staff and students who work in the admissions office. The purpose of ClubRed is to give prospective students the opportunity to connect with the UNL community before they even move in.
ClubRed is like Facebook exclusively for incoming students.
"It's an admitted student network, so we are hoping to create a sense of community among our admitted students, some current students (and) our professional staff," said Adam Stahr in the UNL admissions office. "Hopefully before the first day they step foot in class, they will have already met some friends."
ClubRed launched Tuesday morning, and more than 230 prospective students had set up accounts by that evening.
The planning for ClubRed started late last spring with Stahr and Straxis Technology, a technology company that offers private social networking sites. Now, there's even a ClubRed application on Facebook that alerts users of new messages on ClubRed.
Admitted students can use ClubRed to display pictures, post blogs, send messages and find users who share their interests or are in the same major or college. The site also features videos and questions of the week, a feed of articles from local news sources and reminders for things like housing contracts and enrollment deposits.
"The big debate in recruitment - if not education in general - is how can we utilize social networking to enhance the education process or to enhance an institution," said David Burge, the associate director of admissions at UNL.
Although college-specific social networking sites are still relatively new, ClubRed is not the first.
"Nationally speaking, this is a trend for colleges to provide this," Burge said.
Similar sites may be geared toward prospective students, like ClubRed, or can be for current students or alumni.
Right now, ClubRed is a function of the admissions office and serves as a marketing tool for prospective students, Burge said.
However, there also has been an increase in second-year returns at schools that already have social networking sites.
"I suspect that this will not only positively impact our enrollment for this year, but that it will also help second and third year retention," Burge said.
After the widespread use and popularity of sites like MySpace and Facebook, the number of profiles already set up on ClubRed show that it may follow suit.
"If not now, when?" Burge said. "Social networking is only growing."
andreavasquez@dailynebraskan.com
