Most times being on the cutting edge will cost you top dollar, however not in this case...

In today's environment the competition for recruiting prospective students is becoming increasingly competitive. Universities have begun to utilize modern social technology in order to bring their recruiting to the next level. Harvard University has been on the cutting edge of this recruiting trend.

Harvard has been utilizing online social networks in order to recruit potential students. One example is their promotion of their new "2+2 Mba Program. In order to make the market aware of this program they have created a facebook page, a twitter account as well as created podcasts in order to keep their information accessible.

Harvard is able to draw people towards their information and stay current with these simple and easy to maintain technologies. They are at the cutting edge of recruiting. Typically being at the cutting edge usually means bearing a high cost. However all of these technologies are free to use and easy to maintain. They give Universities a direct link to their target markets. Researchers estimate that up to 65% of high school students, and 85% of college students have facebook accounts and twitter is rapidly expanding.

In today's age a brochure sent through the mail is no longer getting the job done. The younger generation needs to be convinced by multimedia and real time information. I am troubled by the fact that many Universities, including the University of Montana, are not utilizing this technology.

The benefits of using these tools are too many to count, and at the cost of next to nothing, there is little reason not to use them. Maintaining them could litterally be done by creating a student position for a few hours /week. My advice to UM and other Universities is to jump on board as soon as possible and begin creating an online presence as soon as possible; For all ofthe benefit that they bring, you really can't beat the price.