Social Media Monitoring and the Admissions Process

Social Media Monitoring and the Admissions Process - July 60-Second Survey 2017

Admissions
Research

Harvard University made national news recently when offers of admission were rescinded for “at least ten students” based on obscene social media content posted to a Facebook page.

Harvard University made national news recently when offers of admission were rescinded for “at least ten students” based on obscene social media content posted to a Facebook page. This month’s survey evolved from the Harvard University news story. We aimed to acquire an understanding of how prevalent the practice is for institutions to review the social media of applicants and/or react to becoming aware of social media posts by prospective or admitted students. The survey intended to capture the frequency of active or passive monitoring of social media for applicant behavior that, to use Harvard’s phrase, “. . .brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character.”

Unless otherwise noted in a specific report, the AACRAO member institution size, type and control categories are based on the following definitions and sources:

The enrollment value used to delineate the institution's size category is defined as full-time enrollment plus 1/3 of part-time enrollment and is based on the enrollment reported by the institution to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).