Universities Go Beyond Web Pages to Reach Students

When Nancy Cooley's nephew received glossy recruiting brochures from colleges, he threw them in the trash and went online to learn about the schools he was interested in attending. Old Dominion University, where Cooley is vice provost for distance learning, is going beyond a traditional Web page to try to attract students like her nephew who are used to getting information on the Internet and spending time on social networking sites such as Facebook. ODU is the first college or university in Virginia to launch a channel on the popular video-sharing site YouTube, in partnership with the state. The channel, www.youtube.com/profile?user=odu, went live this year and has videos featuring various aspects of the school, such as spotlights on faculty, a promotion for a film festival and a helicopter tour of the campus.www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/3351.htm

(The Chief Engineer [Ill.], April 2, 2008)