Social Media for Student Affairs in #HigherEducation

Given the ubiquity of online technologies in the lives of high school and college students, universities are increasingly turning to social media for the purpose of organizational communication. This book shines a light on these practices in order to better understand how platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are being used within the realm of student affairs. Each chapter will explore a different dimension of student affairs (e.g., admissions, career services, student health services) to provide an overview of key challenges and how new social media tools can be used to solve them. By providing examples that illustrate these evolving trends, this book is intended to help higher education professionals develop creative social media solutions that are appropriate for their own situations as they seek to strategically integrate social media into their student affairs efforts.

This book is an amazing primer for anyone working in higher education. I really appreciate how it gives a comprehensive look at all of the functional areas in our field and how social media uniquely factors in to each of them in a relevant and engaging way. I can see this book being required reading for both new and senior student affairs professionals alike because this full context is so important.--Dustin Ramsdell, member of @ConnectEDUpod (podcast), As the functions that fall under the umbrella of student affairs expand, the importance of meeting students where they are becomes ever more vital--and where they are is online. Waite and Wheeler offer an important, research-based roadmap for both the tech resistant and the tech adept student affairs professionals who wish to harness the power of the platforms that are key to how our students see themselves and experience the world.--Erin Hennessy, Vice President of TVP Communications

Brandon C. Waite, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Ball State University, earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Tennessee in 2008. His research deals with the use of online technologies for campaigning and organizational communication. Darren A. Wheeler, a Professor of Political Science at Ball State University, earned his Ph.D. in political science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 2004. His teaching and research interests include judicial politics, the American presidency, terrorism and homeland security, and social media in administrative settings.