Tag: social

  • 2025 Social Media Playbook for Education Marketers

    2025 Social Media Playbook for Education Marketers

    Reading Time: 12 minutes

    The year is 2025, and the influence of a rapidly evolving social media space in shaping education marketing campaigns is as critical as ever. While it has undoubtedly brought up several opportunities for those in the picture, it has also thrown up a few challenges that require the right gears to navigate. The stats are quite interesting: An increasing number of Gen Z users now turn to TikTok and Instagram as search tools, often preferring them over Google for quick information and exploration. This simply means that having a social presence for your school is no longer open to debate, it is an absolute necessity.

    Today’s prospective students spend a lot of time browsing through multiple social media platforms. They make key decisions about their academic future based on what they see on these platforms. This is why an active social media presence is a key part of today’s educational marketing campaigns. However, beyond being active on these platforms, it takes a deliberate and strategic social marketing strategy to curate and create winning margins in this space.

    At Higher Education Marketing Agency, we have several years of experience helping schools navigate the social space, converting interest into enrollment, and producing positive outcomes for many schools. Our personal, tested, and tried social media playbook for education marketers combines insights from leading education marketing experts with real-world examples. This playbook is designed to help your institution not just survive but thrive in today’s digital ecosystem. Read on to find out how.

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    The New Social Landscape: Multiple Platforms, Multiple Touchpoints

    With social media evolving and becoming even more powerful, it is no longer a good idea to focus all your school’s attention on one platform. Today’s prospective students split most of their time among different platforms, and that’s why schools must be visible everywhere.

    Prospective students might discover your school through a friend’s TikTok, research your programs on Instagram, watch alumni testimonials on YouTube, and check what parents are saying about you on Facebook, all before visiting your website. Your presence on each of these social media platforms will offer you unique opportunities to engage with different audiences.

    Here’s a brief outline of the roles that different social media trends and platforms can play in your education marketing efforts.

    • Instagram: Great for visual storytelling, event promotions, and engaging reels showing student experiences.
    • TikTok: Ideal for short, fun, and informative content that drives brand awareness among younger audiences.
    • YouTube: The best place to show long-form videos, student testimonials, virtual tours, and other educational content.
    • Facebook: Essential for connecting with parents, alums, and local communities.
    • LinkedIn: Great for professional connections and showing academic credibility, targeting parents and graduate prospects.

    While having a presence across key platforms is essential, mastering the content formats that resonate most, particularly short-form video, has become equally critical.

    Example: John Cabot University offers virtual tours of its campuses, some of which you’ll find via its social media pages, YouTube, and straight off its website.

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    Source: John Cabot University 

    Short-Form Video: The Undisputed Champion

    The influence of short-form video in shaping social media trends is at an all-time high today. Gen Z and Gen Alpha consume information fast, they don’t want to watch traditional ads or sit through long videos all day. Prospective students want to see what life at a school looks like in under 60 seconds.

    A large number of these students now turn to TikTok and its bite-sized videos for everything from study tips to campus tours. This is why things like TikTok and Instagram Reels have become key for student recruitment, school branding, and engagement.

    “Your goal is to freeze the thumb,” as one marketing expert puts it, creating content compelling enough to make someone stop scrolling. For best results, it is crucial to create educational short-form videos along these lines:

    • 1. Day-in-the-life glimpses: A student takes viewers through their campus routine
    • 2. Quick tips/educational snippets: A professor explaining a complex concept in 30 seconds
    • 3. Behind-the-scenes peeks: Showing areas of campus rarely seen on official tours
    • 4. Celebration moments: Capturing authentic reactions during events like graduation or move-in day
    • 5. “Did you know” facts about your institution’s unique features or history

    How can schools use short-form video to attract students? The key to creating winning short-form videos is to go for authenticity. Start by identifying what makes your institution stand out, whether it’s a unique program, a beloved campus tradition, or exceptional career outcomes

    You can then showcase these elements through quick, visually engaging stories highlighting your unique value proposition.

    The Authenticity Advantage: User-Generated Content

    The content created by your existing community is a powerful tool for building trust and driving engagement. User-generated content (UGC) from students, faculty, and alumni offers authentic perspectives as it comes from a real person, hence its effectiveness. Research shows that 84% of consumers trust UGC more than polished advertisements.

    How can we get user-generated content from students? One proven strategy in this line is to allow a student to manage your school’s Instagram Stories for a day, sharing their authentic campus experience. These glimpses into real student life help prospective students envision themselves at your institution in ways that traditional marketing cannot achieve.

    Here are some ways to incorporate UGC in your education marketing efforts:

    • Find your existing ambassadors: Search your school’s hashtags and location tags to find students already creating content about your institution. These natural enthusiasts often make the best collaborators.
    • Create participation opportunities: Develop challenges, contests, or hashtag campaigns encouraging content creation. For example, a “#MyFirstDayAt[YourSchool]” campaign can generate authentic content while welcoming new students.
    • Feature diverse voices: Ensure your UGC represents various perspectives, undergraduate and graduate students, international students, faculty members, alumni at different career stages, and parents.
    • Provide gentle guidance without controlling: When working with student content creators, provide general themes or questions but allow their authentic voice to shine through. Over-scripting defeats the purpose.
    • Amplify and appreciate contributors: Always credit creators when sharing their content and express genuine appreciation. This encourages continued participation while signaling to others that their contributions are valued.

    Example: Harvey Mudd College frequently posts user-generated content of its students on its social media pages, like this one featuring a day-in-the-life of a sophomore engineering student posted on TikTok.

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    Source: HMC

    Social Media as Search Engines: Optimizing for Discoverability

    Today, social media platforms are increasingly taking on the role of search engines for young people. Two-thirds of Gen Z use social platforms to research topics, including potential schools. A teenager is more likely to find your school by watching videos and posts on TikTok or Instagram than by visiting your website or Googling the school. This brings us to Social SEO, a way to optimize your content to be discoverable via social media platform searches.

    What is social SEO, and why is it important? Social SEO is the practice of optimizing your content to be discoverable through social media platform search functions. It’s important because younger audiences now use platforms like TikTok and Instagram as search engines. Optimizing SEO for visibility on these platforms helps schools reach and engage prospective students where they’re already searching.

    Here are some key steps to improve your school’s visibility in social media searches:

    1. Profile optimization: Treat your social profiles like mini homepages. Use clear, keyword-rich descriptions, consistent branding, and up-to-date contact information across all platforms.
    2. Content that answers questions: Create videos and posts that address common queries, such as “What’s the student-faculty ratio at [Your School]?” or “What’s housing like at [Your School]?” These directly match what prospective students search for.
    3. Strategic hashtags and keywords: Research what terms and keywords your target audience uses when searching for educational content. Incorporate these naturally into your posts, captions, and hashtags.
    4. Geo-tagging: Always tag your location in posts. Many users search by location when researching schools in specific areas.
    5. Consistent posting: Regular activity signals relevance to algorithms, improving your visibility in search results.

    It is important to note that these social platforms have different search algorithms; a hashtag strategy that worked on Instagram may need to be adjusted for TikTok or LinkedIn. To make your school more discoverable, explore and learn what best practices apply to each platform and what topics drive current conversations.  

    Example: Randolph-Macon College frequently posts social media content featuring catchy headlines and hashtags, such as the one seen here promoting its athletics team, the Yellow Jackets.

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    Source: Randolph Macon College

    Platform-Specific Strategies That Drive Results

    Although maintaining a presence across multiple social platforms is great, using a tailored approach for each one is even better. Here’s how you can leverage the strengths of major platforms.

    Facebook

    Often dismissed as an “older person” platform, Facebook continues to be key to reaching parents who double as key decision-makers for many prospective students. It is great for community building and event promotion. Here’s how to successfully use Facebook marketing for schools in your social marketing campaigns:

    • Use Facebook Events for open houses, application deadlines, and virtual info sessions
    • Create targeted ad campaigns using Facebook’s detailed demographic filters
    • Establish groups for admitted students or parents to foster community
    • Share longer-form content like student success stories and program highlights

    Instagram

    Instagram is a predominantly visually driven platform favored by people of different age groups. It is great at showcasing campus aesthetics and student experiences.

    • Post high-quality photos showcasing campus beauty and student life
    • Use Stories for day-in-the-life content, quick announcements, and behind-the-scenes glimpses
    • Create highlight collections for key topics (Admissions, Student Life, Athletics)
    • Utilize Reels for short-form video marketing
    • Leverage the Explore page for discovery by new audiences

    TikTok

    TikTok, the fast-growing epicenter of youth engagement and viral content, is important for reaching Gen Z. Some students now select schools based on how the schools will look on TikTok.

    • Create authentic, entertaining content that aligns with platform trends
    • Feature charismatic students or faculty who connect naturally with viewers
    • Participate in challenges relevant to education (with your institutional twist)
    • Use TikTok’s native editing tools and popular sounds to boost algorithm visibility
    • Don’t be afraid of humor and personality. TikTok rewards authenticity over polish

    YouTube

    YouTube for education favors long-form content and resources that can be searched.

    • Create structured playlists organized by topic (Campus Tours, Student Stories, etc.)
    • Produce both longer videos (3-10 minutes) and YouTube Shorts
    • Optimize video titles and descriptions with relevant keywords
    • Use cards and end screens to guide viewers to related content
    • Consider hosting live Q&A sessions during key decision periods

    LinkedIn

    LinkedIn is an underutilized tool that can help shape your education marketing. It is great for engaging parents, graduate prospects, and professionals.

    • Share thought leadership from faculty and administrators
    • Highlight alum success stories and career outcomes
    • Post about research innovations and academic achievements
    • Engage in industry conversations relevant to your programs
    • Encourage faculty and alumni to mention your institution in their profiles

    Example: The University of Connecticut regularly posts news about its recent graduates, alumni, and students on its LinkedIn page. The LinkedIn post below highlights the success of its recent graduates.

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    Source: University of Connecticut

    Making Engagement Fun: The Gamification Advantage

    Education marketing should be serious and informative, but serious does not mean bland and uninspiring. This is where gamification comes in, for fun and engaging learning. With gamification, you incorporate game-like elements and interactive content into your school’s content, effectively turning passive scrolling into active participation. Here are some gamification content and approaches:

    • Instagram Story quizzes about campus facts or traditions
    • TikTok challenges that showcase student creativity
    • Digital scavenger hunts across your website and social platforms
    • “Day in the life” simulation content where viewers “choose their adventure”
    • Trivia contests showcasing interesting institutional facts

    Tapping Cultural Currents: Trends Worth Embracing

    Trends are the main driver of conversations across social media. Connecting your content to a broader cultural conversation can give your school more relevance in the social space. Follow these three trends to place your institution in a position of opportunity.

    • Nostalgia Marketing: For institutions with some history to draw from, using content that brings back some memories of the past can provoke nostalgic feelings and add value to social marketing campaigns. This is nostalgia marketing. For best results, share throwback campus photos, compare “then and now” scenes, or invite alumni to submit memories. This content typically generates high engagement and shares.
    • Values and Social Impact: Today’s students care deeply about the position their schools take on issues of social and environmental relevance. To leverage this situation, highlight your school’s sustainability initiatives, community service programs, or research contributions. Point students to recycling initiatives and green campus programs via your social media videos and blogs.
    • Wellness and Mental Health: Any content that addresses student well-being will resonate strongly with prospects and parents concerned about support systems. This is why you must ensure you share resources from your counseling center and feature student wellness initiatives in your content. Also, create content acknowledging the stresses of academic life and how your institution helps students manage them. A student testimonial about how a mentor or counselor helped them thrive can help humanize your brand, so consider it.

    Example: The University of Illinois runs a mental health and awareness program with a full complement of staff and resources committed to student and staff welfare on campus.

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    Source: University of Illinois

    Be Data-Driven and Adaptive

    Successful social media marketing calls for consistency in learning and adaptation. Platform algorithms are subject to regular changes that affect content visibility and engagement. Here’s what you can do to stay visible and ahead of the curve:. 

    • Monitor metrics to identify which content types perform best
    • A/B test different formats and approaches
    • Stay alert to algorithm changes and platform updates
    • Focus on generating quality engagement (comments, shares)
    • Adopt new platform features early for visibility boosts
    • Use AI tools for social media marketing thoughtfully to enhance (not replace) your creativity

    From Likes to Links: Driving Website Conversions

    Although social engagement is key to positive brand building, it’s not the ultimate goal. That would be converting interest into action, from website visits to inquiries or applications.

    To effectively bridge the gap between interest and action, here are a few tips worth considering:

    • Optimize your social profiles: Link every platform you’re active on to relevant landing pages. Consider using “link in bio” tools that offer multiple destination options (Apply Now, Virtual Tour, Financial Aid, etc.).
    • Strategic calls to action: Not every post needs a CTA, but regularly include invitations to learn more, especially on high-interest content. For example, after sharing a student success story, add something like “Discover how you can follow in Sarah’s footsteps—check out our Business program (link in bio).”
    • Track and analyze traffic sources: Find out which social platforms and specific posts drive the most valuable traffic using resources like UTM parameters. With this information in hand, you can refine your strategy toward what converts.
    • Amplify high-performing content: When a post generates strong engagement organically, extend its reach to similar audiences by allocating an ad budget to it. By putting out content that resonates with your existing community, you can reach prospects who share similar interests and achieve the desired engagement result.
    • Align social and search strategies: While many prospects might discover your school on social media, they often go on to later search your name on Google. This is why you must ensure that your search engine marketing complements your social strategy for a seamless user journey.

    Building Your School’s Social Media Playbook 

    As social media continues to evolve and draw more prospective students, today’s schools have to target it with intentional and strategic content. The most successful education marketers approach social media as conversations with future students, current community members, parents, and alumni.

    The goal of these conversations goes beyond promoting your institution, it involves bringing its unique culture and value to life in ways that traditional marketing can not achieve. This is why schools must develop an effective social media marketing strategy that factors in all the essentials and adds some extras. While at it, remember a few things: authenticity resonates, visual content engages, and genuine connection converts.

    By embracing short-form video, leveraging user-generated content, optimizing for social search, and maintaining a strategic presence across platforms, you create multiple pathways for meaningful connection. Add gamification elements and cultural relevance, and you have a formula for visibility and genuine engagement that drives enrollment outcomes.

    See the full Webinar here:

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    Question: What is social SEO, and why is it important? 

    Answer: Social SEO is the practice of optimizing your content to be discoverable through social media platform search functions. It’s important because younger audiences now use platforms like TikTok and Instagram as search engines. Optimizing for visibility on these platforms helps schools reach and engage prospective students where they’re already searching.

    Question: How can we get user-generated content from students? 

    Answer: One proven strategy in this line is to allow a student to manage your school’s Instagram Stories for a day, sharing their authentic campus experience. These glimpses into real student life help prospective students envision themselves at your institution in ways that traditional marketing cannot achieve.

    Question: How can schools use short-form video to attract students? 

    Answer: The key to creating winning short-form videos is to go for authenticity. Start by identifying what makes your institution stand out, whether it’s a unique program, a beloved campus tradition, or exceptional career outcomes. 

    You can then showcase these elements through quick, visually engaging stories highlighting your unique value proposition.



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  • Renewing the Social Contract for Higher Education

    Renewing the Social Contract for Higher Education

    Higher education is at a crossroads.

    Most Americans recognize that our nation’s colleges and universities contribute enormously to the nation’s economy and the welfare of its people. For over a century, the sector has been an essential driver of innovation, discovery, job creation and economic mobility.

    There is unambiguous evidence linking postsecondary education to increased lifetime earnings, better health outcomes and greater participation in civic life. Higher education is not only a valuable commodity, it is an American treasure.

    And yet, none of these arguments seem to gain purchase in the American imagination.

    There are myriad reasons for this, many of which came along well before the administration put research universities in the crosshairs. The cost of college has been out of reach for many families for decades. Student debt has soared to excessive levels. Legacy acceptances advantage wealth and bloodlines, making a mockery of “merit-based” admissions. Most problematic, only 60 percent of students who start a degree actually complete one.

    As a result, public confidence in the sector has dropped precipitously over the last decade.

    So, what might be done?

    If colleges and universities are to remain relevant in the 21st century, we need a renewed social contract between institutions of higher education and the American people, focused on student success. Put another way, student outcomes should be at the center of the way we understand an institution’s place in the landscape.

    To these ends, the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education last week announced the new Student Access and Earnings Classification, a unique approach to describing the contributions of postsecondary institutions nationwide.

    Specifically, we will compare similar institutions across the nation, identifying whether they provide access to students in communities they serve, and whether those students go on to successful, wealth-generating careers in the regions in which they live and work. Importantly, the Student Access and Earnings Classification tracks both students who complete their degrees and those who do not, so institutions are accountable for all students, not just those who graduate.

    We have identified 479 Opportunity Colleges and Universities nationwide, places that are engines of the American Dream. They come in all sizes and types, and they can be found in all four corners of the nation. They include institutions long recognized for their contributions to economic mobility—places like Arizona State University, Spelman College, Texas A&M and Xavier University. They also include institutions that receive little fanfare—places like Ball State in Indiana, Texas Southmost College, Utah Valley University, Wheeling University in West Virginia and Blackfeet Community College in Montana.

    Looking forward, the Carnegie Classifications for Institutions of Higher Education—the nation’s gold standard for organizing the postsecondary sector—will determine institutional excellence not simply based on prestige, student selectivity or degrees awarded, but based on how well schools set their students up for success in the real world.

    Whether you are a parent, student, policymaker or institution leader, Opportunity Colleges and Universities warrant recognition, understanding and investment. For if we establish more places like them in the years ahead, and ensure that the postsecondary sector is accountable for student success, we will create more opportunities for everyone. And that, we think, is something most Americans will rally behind.


    If you have any questions or comments about this blog post, please contact us.

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  • Social capital and the degree awarding gap: spaces, places and relationships

    Social capital and the degree awarding gap: spaces, places and relationships

    • Amira Asantewa is Director of Programmes, Grit Breakthrough Programmes
    • Reuel Blair is Lead Diversity Programmes Coordinator at the Centre for Student and Community Engagement, Nottingham Trent University

    Progress on the Black-white degree awarding gap has gone into reverse.  Figures published by Higher Education Student Data (HESA) in autumn 2024 show that in 2022/23 the difference in the percentage of Black students and white students getting a first- or upper-second-class degree went up to 21.4 percentage points (pps) – from 19pps in 2021/22 and 17.6pps in 2020/21.

    Across the sector, institutions are responding. Access and Participation Plans have been signed off.  Work towards achieving Race Equality Charter marks is underway. Faculties and departments are decolonising curricula, diversifying assessment modes, tackling the lack of Black representation in the staff body and the postgraduate community.

    While there are debates about the way the sector analyses and addresses the awarding gap, what we do know is there is, as yet, little to say about what works in UK universities. However, evidence from our work with students of Black Heritage that suggests social capital is key.

    Black leaders

    It was back in 2019 that Nottingham Trent University and Grit Breakthrough Programmes co-designed with students the Black Leadership Programme (BLP) – a mix of community-building activities, mentoring, inspirational speakers and work with both employers and global institutions. Centrepiece workshops are delivered by Grit: breakthrough programmes.

    Six years on and an independent TASO-funded evaluation found strong statistical evidence of impact on final year grades and that these higher grades were likely to have been caused, not by increased academic engagement, but instead by increased motivation, social capital and sense of belonging. 

    This reinforced the findings of the independent evaluation of Grit’s Black Leaders and Students of Colour programme across seven universities, which suggested that students were able to apply skills and confidence from having expanded networks and engagement in new experiences, to their academic lives. And the students tell us what this looks like.

    Spaces for Black students

    Students talk about the importance of access to Black spaces. This space, this community, is a place where Black students are not, as Anike from Liverpool John Moores University puts it, ‘self-censoring to make myself palatable to white people.’ Instead, it is where ‘I can get into the conversations I always wanted to have, feel free to talk about what’s important to me.’

    Research describes how Black-affirming campus spaces are vital for Black student academic success and supporting Black student inclusion and well-being. Kwaku from Nottingham Trent University describes the value of ‘a space where there isn’t the weight of always being different. I want a space to connect with people, people who I can talk to about how I am feeling, what I am going though, and who I know would understand.’

    So social capital is also about belonging. Zelena from Bath Spa University describes wanting ‘to belong to a community of people we can all turn to, to draw strength from, to look up to and connect with.’

    Identity and representation

    It is about identity. Students tell us about the importance of ‘realising the value of my own upbringing, my heritage, my culture… that it is not something to be left behind or discarded… I want to explore and appreciate who I am and what I am.’ As Gemma from the University of Greenwich says, it’s about ‘finally claiming my identity. Becoming proud of being Black.’ University is a time for building a new independent life, figuring out who you really are and how your evolving identity fits in this new space. And there is a strong correlation between identities and deeper approaches to learning.

    It is about representation, both in the messaging about opportunities and in the ability of those delivering them to relate to the racial identity and cultural backgrounds of the students. Or, as Kane from Nottingham Trent University says, ‘it’s about how we have the right to be noticed, feel heard, to see that my voice, my opinion matters.’

    And social capital is also about wanting to make a difference, making a contribution. Afreya from the University of Manchester describes ‘helping other people who are feeling the same as I was. Going out of my way to be visible, showing how anyone just like me, can be successful.’

    Students are very clear about social capital: ‘I made friends from the programme. I’ve joined societies… I’ve been a course rep and a Student Ambassador… I’ve been part of a project supporting young Black learners in schools in the city…’

    They are very clear about its value: ‘It gave me strength… I’ve been relentless in seizing every opportunity available… I work more efficiently… harder and smarter… I feel that the university has an interest in nurturing Black talent and my growth and development.’

    So, alongside all the institutional plans, strategies and initiatives, there also have to be the spaces, places and relationships for Black students to be their full, authentic, very best selves and, just like their white peers, grow the social capital to thrive and succeed in their time at university and beyond.

    On 5th June at Nottingham Trent University, Grit Unleashed will take a deep dive into the university experience for Black students and Students of Colour across the UK in a day co-designed and co-delivered by student participants. For more details email vicky@grit.org.uk

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  • Out of Touch with Social Class Realities

    Out of Touch with Social Class Realities

    Serve Marketing’s Why College Matters
    media campaign stacks the deck in favor of higher education and
    expects consumers to believe the story they tell. The problem with this campaign, and its anonymous funders, is that for many folks, college (and life after college) is problematic at best and oppressive at worst. 

     

    The Higher Education Disconnect: What Survey Results Miss About Americans’ Real Concerns

    The Why College Matters campaign presents data suggesting Americans’ perceptions of higher education can be positively influenced through messaging. However, when
    compared with broader research on Americans’
    attitudes toward higher education, significant disconnects emerge. This
    analysis examines the gaps between the campaign’s focus and the
    well-documented concerns Americans have about today’s college
    experience.

    The Financial Reality Gap: Debt and Affordability Concerns

    The Why College Matters campaign notably avoids addressing one of the most
    pressing issues facing Americans considering higher education: the
    financial burden. This omission creates a fundamental disconnect with
    public sentiment.

    Student Debt as a Life-Altering Burden

    Recent research shows that 70% of middle-income Americans believe
    student loans are impacting their ability to achieve financial
    prosperity5. The
    psychological burden is equally significant, with 54% of student
    borrowers experiencing mental health challenges directly attributed to
    their debt load, including anxiety (56%) and depression (approximately
    33%)8.
    The campaign’s focus on abstract benefits like “growing America’s
    economic prosperity” fails to acknowledge that for many individuals, the
    immediate economic reality is far less promising. Student borrowers
    report delaying major life milestones including starting
    families, purchasing homes, and pursuing careers they’re passionate
    about due to debt constraints8.

    The Middle-Class Squeeze

    While the campaign targets adults without college degrees as a key
    demographic, it misses that middle-class families face particularly
    acute challenges. These families often find themselves in a precarious
    position – too wealthy to qualify for significant need-based
    aid but not wealthy enough to comfortably afford college expenses13. This
    “middle-class squeeze” represents a significant disconnect between survey messaging and lived experience.

    The Employment Reality Disconnect

    Perhaps the most striking omission in the campaign’s framing is the
    reality of post-graduation employment outcomes, which directly
    contradicts the economic benefit messaging.

    Widespread Underemployment

    Research from the Burning Glass Institute reveals a sobering statistic:
    52% of recent four-year college graduates are underemployed a year after
    graduation, holding jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree14. Even
    more concerning, 45% still don’t hold college-level jobs a decade after graduation14. This
    creates a fundamental disconnect when the campaign emphasizes workforce development without acknowledging this reality.

    The “First Job Trap”

    The survey frames higher education as broadly beneficial for workforce
    development but fails to address what researchers call the “first job
    trap.” Data shows that 73% of graduates who start their careers in
    below-college-level jobs remain underemployed a decade
    after graduation14. This
    presents a significantly different picture than the campaign’s simplified message about maintaining a skilled workforce.

    Credential Inflation: The Devaluing Degree

    The campaign messaging presumes that increased educational attainment
    inherently produces positive outcomes, without addressing the phenomenon
    of credential inflation that undermines this assumption.

    Degrees as Diminishing Returns

    Credential inflation refers to the declining value of educational
    credentials over time, creating a scenario where jobs that once required
    a high school diploma now demand bachelor’s degrees, and positions that
    required bachelor’s degrees now require master’s
    or doctorates11. This
    creates a paradoxical
    situation where more education is simultaneously more necessary yet
    less valuable – a nuance entirely absent from the campaign narrative.

    Opportunity Costs Unacknowledged

    The campaign frames college primarily through its benefits, without
    acknowledging significant opportunity costs identified in research.
    These include delayed savings, fewer years in the workforce,
    postponement of family formation, and accumulation of debt11. This
    one-sided framing creates a disconnect with the lived experience of many Americans weighing these very real tradeoffs.

    The Growing Generational Divide

    The campaign’s focus on adults aged 35-64 misses a critical demographic:
    younger generations who express the most skepticism about higher
    education’s value.

    Gen Z’s Value Perception Crisis

    Only 39% of Gen Z respondents in one study said advancing their
    education is important to them, and 46% don’t believe college is worth
    the cost15. This
    represents a fundamental shift in attitude that the campaign’s
    methodology doesn’t capture, creating another disconnect between
    messaging and emerging social reality.

    The Civic Disconnection Context

    Research on youth disconnection shows broader trends of civic
    disengagement, with young Americans becoming less connected to community
    institutions generally19. The
    campaign’s framing of higher education as building community connection
    happens against this backdrop of declining civic participation –
    context that provides important nuance missing from the survey design.

    Mental Health Concerns: The Hidden Cost

    Perhaps the most significant omission in the campaign’s messaging is the
    documented mental health impact of the higher education experience,
    particularly related to financial strain.

    Student Debt as Mental Health Crisis

    Research demonstrates clear links between student loan debt and mental
    health challenges. Beyond anxiety and depression, the financial burden
    of education impacts overall wellbeing in ways unacknowledged by the
    campaign messaging816.

    Postponed Lives and Dreams

    The psychological impact of delayed life milestones due to educational
    debt creates stress that extends far beyond graduation. Student
    borrowers report putting their lives on hold – a reality that
    contradicts the campaign’s emphasis on “keeping alive the American
    dream”8.

    Ideological and Cultural Concerns

    The campaign notably avoids addressing concerns about campus culture and
    ideological homogeneity that research shows are significant factors in
    changing attitudes toward higher education.

    Faculty Ideological Imbalance

    Research from Harvard University reveals striking ideological
    homogeneity among faculty, with 37% identifying as “very liberal” and
    just 1% as “conservative”12. This
    imbalance contributes to perceptions of higher education as
    disconnected from the values of many Americans – particularly explaining
    why the campaign struggled to persuade conservative Americans that
    “higher education plays a critical role in maintaining a
    healthy democracy.”

    Conclusion: Bridging the Perception Gap

    The Why College Matters campaign demonstrates that positive messaging can
    improve abstract perceptions of higher education’s value. However, for
    these improved perceptions to translate into meaningful change in
    Americans’ relationship with higher education, campaigns
    must address the substantive concerns documented in research.

    The disconnects identified here – regarding debt, employment outcomes,
    credential inflation, generational attitudes, mental health impacts, and
    ideological concerns – represent real issues that significantly impact
    Americans’ decisions about higher education.
    Any campaign seeking to genuinely improve perceptions of higher
    education’s value must engage with these realities rather than focusing
    solely on abstract benefits.

    Simply improving “feelings” about higher education without addressing
    concrete problems risks further widening the gap between institutional
    messaging and public experience – potentially eroding rather than
    building trust in higher education as an institution.

    Citations:

    1. https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/disconnected-places-and-spaces/
    2. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1876&context=aspubs
    3. https://stevenschwartz.substack.com/p/degree-inflation-undermining-the
    4. https://eab.com/about/newsroom/press/2024-first-year-experience-survey/
    5. https://www.newsweek.com/student-loans-hindering-american-prosperity-survey-1839337
    6. https://www.burningglassinstitute.org/research/underemployment
    7. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/2024/06/03/colleges-and-universities-new-mandate-rebuild-public-trust
    8. https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/3658639-majority-of-student-loan-borrowers-link-mental-health-issues-to-their-debt/
    9. https://measureofamerica.org/youth-disconnection-2024/
    10. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=aysps_dissertations
    11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_inflation
    12. https://fee.org/articles/harvard-faculty-survey-reveals-striking-ideological-bias-but-more-balanced-higher-education-options-are-emerging/
    13. https://www.aaup.org/article/college-financing-and-plight-middle-class
    14. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/academics/2024/02/22/more-half-recent-four-year-college-grads-underemployed
    15. https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-value-of-college-higher-education-student-debt-tuition-2023-12
    16. https://lbcurrent.com/opinions/2024/09/04/debts-dilemma-student-loans-and-its-effects-on-mental-health/
    17. https://www.cssny.org/news/entry/national-poll-economic-hardships-american-middle-class-true-cost-of-living-press-release
    18. https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Anatomy-of-College-Tuition.pdf
    19. https://www.cis.org.au/publication/degree-inflation-undermining-the-value-of-higher-education/
    20. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/05/14/third-first-year-students-experience-bias-targeting
    21. https://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/2023/10/survey-reveals-areas-of-fragmentation-and-common-ground-in-a-complicated-america.html
    22. https://www.hamiltonproject.org/publication/post/regardless-of-the-cost-college-still-matters/
    23. https://www.richardchambers.com/education-inflation-bad-for-education-bad-for-business/
    24. https://www.aaup.org/article/data-snapshot-whom-does-campus-reform-target-and-what-are-effects
    25. https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2007/has-middle-america-stagnated
    26. https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentLoans/comments/lmijoy/why_cant_they_just_lower_tuition/
    27. https://www.reddit.com/r/highereducation/comments/177qjtk/degree_inflation_is_a_huge_problem/
    28. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/institutions/2025/03/06/survey-presidents-point-drivers-declining-public-trust
    29. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/18/facts-about-student-loans/
    30. https://stradaeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Talent-Disrupted.pdf
    31. https://thehill.com/opinion/education/4375280-its-clear-colleges-today-lack-moral-clarity/
    32. https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2013/01/debt
    33. https://center-forward.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/39370-Center-Forward-Student-Loans-Survey-Analysis-F04.11.23.pdf
    34. https://www.highereddive.com/news/half-of-graduates-end-up-underemployed-what-does-that-mean-for-colleges/710836/
    35. https://jamesgmartin.center/2019/07/exposing-the-moral-flaws-in-our-higher-education-system/
    36. https://www.freedomdebtrelief.com/learn/loans/how-student-loans-affect-mental-health/
    37. https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-income-level
    38. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/careers/2024/07/01/how-concerning-underemployment-graduates
    39. https://www.thefire.org/facultyreport
    40. https://www.ellucian.com/news/national-survey-reveals-59-college-students-considered-dropping-out-due-financial-stress

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  • Storytelling and arts education can drive social change

    Storytelling and arts education can drive social change

    Netflix drama Adolescence has ignited two vital national conversations.

    The rise of online misogyny among radicalised young men has seen Keir Starmer weighing in on the issue.

    There’s also been a debate surrounding disenfranchisement among boys and young men in primary, secondary and tertiary education.

    The latter has long been on the radar of policymakers, academics, and researchers. HEPI recently linked boys’ educational underattainment to a “veering towards the political extremes,” while discussions around figures like Andrew Tate have kept the former on Parliament’s agenda.

    Yet both issues remained on the margins until Adolescence – written, produced, and starring Rose Bruford College alum Stephen Graham – catalysed real-world conversations and moved us toward legislative action.

    Despite press, and policy, and parliament, the issue broke through because of storytelling.

    Power of creative arts

    Much like the Post Office scandal – exposed by Private Eye but only widely acknowledged after Mr Bates vs The Post Office (co-produced by another Rose Bruford alumus, Sara Huxley) – Adolescence shows how creative arts can achieve what policy papers often cannot: capturing public attention and driving cultural change.

    It highlights a key truth in fostering social change – the arts play a vital role.

    As a membership body representing nearly 40 per cent of creative arts students, we’re concerned by the continued perception of creative degrees as niche or non-essential – leading to disproportionate funding cuts compared to STEM.

    In reality, our graduates shape public discourse on identity, gender, and social responsibility, shifting public discourse, and ultimately contributing to public policy.

    At the same time as a devaluation of creative degrees, there’s another issue hiding in plain sight – working-class boys are falling behind in education.

    HEPI has produced compelling reports on this subject, outlining the growing gender attainment gap, particularly for boys from disadvantaged backgrounds and neurodivergent boys (although we note that some of this may be down to underdiagnosis in girls).

    Concerns in the report also raised that boys are less likely to be steered toward specific disciplines (while girls have been encouraged into STEM) and that traditional educational structures serve girls better.

    Although the authors should avoid biologically deterministic assumptions around how people learn and bear in mind that gendered socialisation probably plays a large part here – regardless of how behaviour and engagement is socially or otherwise fostered, the data shows its material impact – boys academically underperform compared to girls at every age, in almost every subject.

    Class acts

    But it is essential to be clear – the issue is not boys in general, but working class boys who are most at risk of falling behind. Discussions that flatten this into a gender-only concern risk obscuring the real and compounding impact of class-based disadvantage on educational engagement and attainment.

    This issue receives little attention in practice. A rudimentary and quick scan of Access and Participation Plans (APPs) revealed a striking omission: boys are rarely, if ever, mentioned as a specific target group.

    Even when John Blake outlined the significant scale to equality of opportunity faced by “boys from working-class communities” back in 2022, it was primarily in comparison to smaller groups who experience more intense forms of disadvantage, rather than recognising the issue of working-class boys attainment as a standalone concern.

    GuildHE Institutions like Rambert School, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and AUB are already doing vital outreach work to bring boys into the subject spaces they are underrepresented in. But again, this work often happens in isolation, without the policy recognition or funding it truly deserves.

    That’s a mistake. For many boys, especially those disengaged from traditional academic pathways, creative disciplines provide an essential space to connect, reflect, and grow. Dance, drama, music, and film help young men process difficult emotions and identities constructively.

    As our recent written submission to parliament outlined, the dance training boys took part in at Rambert School helped them in areas of life such as creative thinking, managing anger and ADHD symptoms. Arts University Bournemouth runs Being a Boy which provides a supportive space for young men to creatively and safely engage with the role of masculinity in their lives.

    Add in Prof Becky Francis’s review of the school curriculum – which argues it’s failing students outside the A-levels-to-university pipeline, disproportionately boys – and her call to value arts subjects, and we see an emerging case for education that better accounts for how many boys have been socialised to learn and engage.

    This is where creative education comes in. The arts are not just about performance or aesthetic appreciation – they are powerful tools for expression, empathy, and exploration, and a possible way to engage boys who are disenfranchised at an estimated cohort size of half a million from higher education

    While the HEPI report calls for a push to get more men into teaching, care roles, and nursing, we believe in the individual and societal benefits of encouraging boys – particularly working-class boys – into, and their contribution to, the arts.

    Some of this work is already being done by our alumnus – Stephen Graham discovered Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie Miller in Adolescence, who Cooper describes as “a normal working-class family from a normal council estate”. But there needs to be a concerted policy effort.

    That means:

    • Valuing arts and creative degrees as critical to both gendered social progress and supporting widening participation in HE for boys
    • Including boys as a key demographic in widening participation strategies in HE.
    • Supporting cross-sector collaboration between educators, policymakers, creatives, and communities to tackle today’s issues and truly value the impact creative degrees make on individuals and society.

    The success of Adolescence in sparking national debate is a wake-up call. If we want to tackle misogyny, and we must remember that Adolescence was fundamentally about violence against women and girls, as well as male disengagement in education, we need to invest in the places where empathy and identity are formed – and value how these are explored and communicated to wider society.

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  • DHS Formalizes Policy Screening Noncitizens’ Social Media

    DHS Formalizes Policy Screening Noncitizens’ Social Media

    The Department of Homeland Security is formalizing a policy to search the social media accounts of all foreign applicants for U.S. visas or other benefits, according to a memo issued Wednesday morning. 

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will collect applicants’ social media handles and scour their accounts for any “antisemitic activity.” Social media content “endorsing, espousing or promoting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic terrorist activity” is now “grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.”

    “This will immediately affect aliens applying for permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity,” the memo continued. 

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed the policy last month, drawing criticism from free speech advocates. Others objected to the broad scope of the proposal, which included not just visa applicants but also current residents and green card holders. The new policy is just as broad.

    The news comes after weeks of escalating attacks on international students, many of whom have had their visas and legal resident status revoked for pro-Palestinian speech under an obscure legal clause that allows the secretary of state to determine if a visa holder is a “foreign policy threat.” An Axios report found that the State Department was already using artificial intelligence to scan student visa holders’ social media accounts looking for the allegedly antisemitic speech referenced in the new memo. 

    Many more students have had their visas revoked over minor criminal infractions; others have no clear understanding why their status was terminated. 

    An Inside Higher Ed analysis found that nearly 450 students have had their visas revoked as of Wednesday afternoon. Follow along with our interactive map and tracker

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  • USCIS Announces Guidance on Social Media Screening for Immigration Benefit Requests

    USCIS Announces Guidance on Social Media Screening for Immigration Benefit Requests

    by CUPA-HR | April 9, 2025

    On April 9, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin considering “aliens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.” According to the announcement, the guidance is effective immediately and impacts individuals applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students, and “aliens affiliated with educational institutions” linked to antisemitic activity.

    Under the new guidance, USCIS will look at social media content that indicates a requestor “endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests.” The announcement states that DHS and USCIS aim to enforce all relevant immigration laws to the maximum degree, consistent with President Trump’s executive orders on combatting antisemitism and national security controls to protect against foreign terrorists.

    In early March, USCIS published a proposal to collect social media information on applications for immigration-related benefits. USCIS claimed that such collection of information was necessary to comply with Trump’s national security executive order discussed above. The comment period for this information collection proposal is still open. The comment period closes May 5.

    CUPA-HR continues to monitor for updates on immigration policy changes that could potentially impact student and nonimmigrant work visas used by the higher education community.



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  • How universities can use artificial intelligence to regain social license – Campus Review

    How universities can use artificial intelligence to regain social license – Campus Review

    Universities will need to prove to future students why university degrees are worth it in an artificial intelligence (AI) knowledge economy, speakers at Sydney’s latest generative AI meeting said.

    Please login below to view content or subscribe now.

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  • VISAS REVOKED OVER SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS! (NLTV)

    VISAS REVOKED OVER SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS! (NLTV)

     

    Hundreds of international students in the US have received emails from the Department of State (DOS) instructing them to self-deport after their F-1 visas were revoked due to campus activism or social media posts. This crackdown targets not just those who physically participated in activism, but also those who shared or liked ‘anti-national’ posts. Some Indian students may also be affected.
    The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, confirmed the visa revocations, stating that over 300 visas had been revoked for “anti-national activities.” He also launched an AI-powered app, “Catch and Revoke,” to identify and cancel visas of students supporting designated terrorist groups like Hamas. New student visa applications are also under scrutiny, with applicants potentially being denied entry.
    The email sent to affected students warns them to self-deport, stating their visas were revoked under Section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It also informs students that staying in the US without lawful status could lead to fines, detention, or deportation, and they would need to apply for a new visa to return in the future.

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  • CASEL Becomes New Home for Engaging Schools Resources

    CASEL Becomes New Home for Engaging Schools Resources

    The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) recently announced that it has become the new steward of Engaging Schools’ extensive body of educational resources. With Engaging Schools set to close in early 2025 after more than four decades of impact, CASEL will ensure the organization’s valuable tools, books, and frameworks remain available to educators worldwide.

    As part of this transition, CASEL is making these resources freely accessible to the public. Over time, CASEL will integrate elements of Engaging Schools’ work into several areas including the free Guide for Schoolwide SEL to further advance high-quality, evidence-based SEL implementation in schools and districts.

    “For more than 40 years, Engaging Schools has helped educators create safe and supportive learning environments where students thrive,” said Aaliyah A. Samuel, president and CEO of CASEL. “We are honored to carry forward their legacy by making these resources widely available and embedding them into our work to create school communities that prioritize academic, social, and emotional development.”

    Engaging Schools has long been recognized for its contributions to fostering inclusive school climates, strengthening restorative and equitable  discipline, and advancing engaging  teaching practices. 

    “We take immense pride in the lasting impact of Engaging Schools’ work,” said Larry Dieringer, Executive Director of Engaging Schools. “Though our organization’s chapter is closing, we are deeply grateful to CASEL for ensuring our resources continue to benefit educators and students for years to come.”

    For more than 30 years, CASEL has been a trusted leader in advancing SEL through research, practice, and policy. By integrating Engaging Schools’ resources into its offerings, CASEL reaffirms its commitment to supporting educators with the tools they need to create engaging, inclusive, and academically rich learning environments.

    To access Engaging Schools’ resources now available through CASEL, visit casel.org/engagingschools.

    Kevin Hogan
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