Originally published at: https://www.ogbongeblog.com/facebook-campus-college-only-social-network-students-connect-with-classmates.html
Facebook has announced the launch of Facebook Campus; a college-only social network to help students connect with fellow classmates over shared interests, thereby making it easy to find and start conversations within their college community.
“We wanted to create a product where it was easy for classmates to meet each other, foster new relationships and also easily start conversations,” explains Facebook Campus Product Manager Charmaine Hung. “And we really think that Campus is more relevant than ever right now. With COVID-19, we see that many students aren’t returning to campus in the fall. Now, classes are being held online and students are trying to react to this new normal of what it’s like to connect to clubs and organizations that you care about, when you’re not together,” she added.
Facebook Campus is a dedicated section of the Facebook app designed for students, with a Campus profile that’s different from their main Facebook profile. It will be accessible from a tab at the bottom of the screen or from the “More” menu alongside sections like Watch, Dating, Gaming, News, Marketplace and others. Although the apps are completely separate, if someone is blocked on Facebook they’ll be blocked on Campus and vice versa. What is shared on Campus is only available to people who use Campus, Facebook said.
To create a Facebook Campus profile, college email address (@.edu) of the student is required.
In addition to requiring a .edu email address, Facebook Campus requires a graduation year — and it will need to be no more than five years out from the present. For now, Facebook will not remove Campus users after graduation, but the way those users participate may be modified in the future. The company says alumni play a large role in college communities, but it’s still evaluating how to best incorporate them in the product further down the road. The pilot will help Facebook with some of these decisions, but nothing is yet set in stone.
Other information such as their major, classes, hometown and minor are optional. Once a Campus profile is set up, students can discover Groups and Events unique to their school, and connect with classmates who share similar interests.
Key Features Of Facebook Campus
Campus-only News Feed: Campus is a college email-verified space designed for students to get updates from classmates, groups and events in a college-specific feed. Students can create study groups, plan virtual concerts or ask for advice with college-only Groups and Events.
Campus directory: College is about finding your people, so there is a classmates directory to make it easy to find and meet new people. Like in the early days when Facebook was a college-only network, students can find classmates by class, major, year and more.
New ways to chat: Campus Chats are real-time chat rooms. Students can create chat rooms for their dorm, clubs or any other groups they’re part of within Campus.
List of Colleges and Universities on Facebook Campus Network
At launch, Facebook Campus is only available at around 30 colleges and universities across the U.S but the company plans to expand over time.
Students at these colleges can find Campus within the Facebook app :
Benedict College;
Brown University;
California Institute of Technology;
College of William & Mary;
Duke University;
Florida International University;
Georgia Southern University;
Georgia State University;
Johns Hopkins University;
Lane College;
Lincoln University (Pennsylvania);
Middlebury College;
New Jersey Institute of Technology;
Northwestern University;
Rice University;
Sarah Lawrence College;
Scripps College;
Smith College;
Spelman College;
Stephen F. Austin State University;
Tufts University;
University at Albany – State University of New York;
University of Hartford;
University of Louisville;
University of Pennsylvania;
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire;
Vassar College;
Virginia Tech;
Wellesley College; and
Wesleyan University.