Facebook today announced a new product, Facebook Campus, designed as a “college-only space to help students connect with fellow classmates over shared interests.”
The University of Louisville is one of just 30 colleges across the U.S., and the only in Kentucky, piloting the social media giant’s new platform, along with Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Vassar, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, Virginia Tech and more.
The purpose of the platform is to offer a space where students can interact with peers at their school, including through features like a Campus-only News Feed, Groups, events and group chat rooms. Users, who need a personal Facebook account to participate in the Campus channel, will also have access to a directory where they can find and friend other UofL students.
“The University of Louisville is so honored that Facebook has given our students the opportunity to be among the first in the nation to use this incredible product. We know they can’t wait to explore and discover all of the ways this tool can help them communicate with their peers. Facebook Campus is the latest innovation that makes our community unique. It is a tremendous asset to Card Nation,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi.
To keep the section exclusively devoted to students, users have to provide their louisville.edu email address and graduation year. They’ll also have to create a new profile specifically for Campus, and will have the option to add/remove their major, classes, hometown and dorm. Once a Campus profile is set up, students can discover groups and events unique to UofL and connect with classmates who share similar interests. When content is shared on Campus, only people in Campus will see it.
In a press release, Facebook noted that the timing of this pilot comes as students face unique challenges this year as they shift to partial or full-time remote learning.
“It’s more important than ever to find a way to stay connected to college life. College is a time for making new friends, finding people who share similar interests and discovering new opportunities to connect – from clubs to study groups, sports and more,” the company said. “In the early days, Facebook was a college-only network, and now we’re returning to our roots with Facebook Campus to help students make and maintain these relationships, even if they’re away from their college.”
