I have found that texting is only effective after you have had face to face contact with a student and it has mostly been useful to me to send appointment reminders to potentials.
I agree that I have used texting on occasion to share information with a potential student. For example, if I call a student to give them a contact phone number or a fax number and they are driving, I will offer to text the number over to them so they do not have to try to write the number while they are driving. I agree that a student will receive this information a lot faster than if I were to email it to them.
Our school only allows us to text an enrolled student with their (the students) permission. They want all calls recorded during the enrollment process i guess to monitor that we are telling the students the correct information. I personally feel that Gen Y prefers texting and it is an important communication tool. It is a shame that we are limited on its use because some people cannot be trusted to do/say the right thing.
Wow, what a great idea. Just recently I had someone ask me to text them some information. I had to tell them I wasn't allowed to do it, but now that this was brought up here I think I'll talk to the people higher up and see how we can go about this. I know I personnaly would sooner text someone back who I didn't know rather than call them back just to get a quick answer on what they wanted. Very good point about people not wanting to use their talk time minutes as well. Glad someone brought this up.
I don't know yet whether I am allowed to text the students, as I am new to my school, but this is definitely something I will check on. It is frequently easier to get in touch with young people by text rather than by call (I'm one such person myself).
I think the texting is just another great to way to open up the lines of communication amongst calling on the telephone and using email to connect with students.
I dont know if text messages sent to a student is acceptable but in my opinion text messaging would allow me to communicate with students in situations where a face-to-face or phone conversation is not possible.
Sending an email from your laptop or desktop requires an Internet connection, but an text message can be sent anywhere and anytime, as long as your phone has signal. A phone signal is easier to access than an Internet connection. In addition, a person is likely to check there phone more often than there computer. Not everyone carries a computer with them on the go, but almost everyone has their cell phone with them all the time. Your text message is likely to be read more quickly than an email would.
I think this sounds like a great idea. I do have one question though. Do you find that since students have your personal cell number that they feel they can contact you anytime/anyday?
I also would like to know how you text someone without giving them your personal information. I once texted a potential student and enrolled them only to become their personal assistant! I got one call at 10p about Job Placement! Needless to say I won't be doing that again...lol
I think texting can be a bonus & a burden. For example, we have a department Blackberry that we use to contact students on the weekends or after hours. I find that it's a good tool to use for students who have limited minute usage, however I like to hear from a student via the phone. It let's me know how serious they are about starting school & finishing.
I think the idea of being able to contact prospective students via text is a great way to get in contact with them. In this digital age it is important for reps to reach students in the way that is best for them. Being the age of a lot of our incoming students, I definitely understand the point of screening my phone calls - which I believe is what a lot of prospective students do. Some people my age do not even check voicemails or emails. Nearly everyone reads the texts' they receive. Just food for thought!
It is not acceptable in the school that I am employed at to text students nor call them from a personal cell phone. We need to enforce compliance and in order to do so we need to have the ability to screen all phone calls and monitor conversations. This is not able to be done on an employee's personal cell phone.
with technology now a days, i find that texting is an important part of overall communications with our students. I find that sometimes if someone doesnt recognize a phone number they wont answer the call. If i address myself as someone from my specific college in a text and then follow that with why im texting I tend to get quite a few responses. some positive, some negative, but im still getting responses i wasnt getting with only a phone call
Wake up and smell the Double latte light w/ extra shot!
Texting will be here...at least for a while, anyway.
TTFN :-)
