Fisher College switches to Unibuddy Community from an alternative provider

Challenge

Like many other institutions, Fisher College was using Facebook to engage incoming students before their arrival on campus. The goal was to improve yield.

For some time, this solution worked for Fisher. The group was buzzing with activity as students made friends and found roommates. However, as the popularity of Facebook dwindled over time, only a handful of students had been engaging with pre-arrival groups in recent years. It was time to meet students where they were, and find a new solution.

In the summer of 2022, Fisher College moved from Facebook to an alternative higher ed platform. But this new option presented many challenges, resulting in Mackenzie Cushman, Director of Admissions, choosing to end the contract after only one year.

The alternative solution did present Fisher with an online forum for their students to connect. However, they could not view or invite students to join the community themselves. This left Cushman and her team feeling “in the dark” about how many students had actually signed up for their community.

Although they could not view a list of members on the forum, Cushman’s team could view all the conversations happening on it. This presented a double-edged sword – students felt they could not speak freely for fear of being watched; meanwhile, Cushman’s team felt that viewing the conversations was invasive and were uncomfortable about their access to private conversations.

On the hunt for a solution offering more flexibility for both students and higher ed teams, Cushman turned to Unibuddy Community.

Solution

Cushman had struggled with the alternative platform and felt a lack of support. “We were left on our own with this new product, and we had no idea how to get students engaged and comfortable in this space.” With Unibuddy, the team was on hand during the initial set-up in December 2022 and continue to offer around-the-clock support, even hosting webinars and workshops to learn best practice from other institutions. “It’s a completely different experience,” Cushman explains “with Unibuddy, I’ve never felt like I have to figure it out on my own.“

The team at Fisher College were also impressed with how quickly they could get their Community up and running, with complete control and oversight of student invitations: “As a product, it’s very user-friendly. It’s pretty intuitive – you set up the Community, add the students, and set up the groups. It just makes sense. It’s pretty straightforward.“

From a student perspective, the element of familiarity (having interacted with Unibuddy Chat & Events through Fisher College already) resulted in a straightforward and cohesive experience. Having their entire pre-arrival experience through one provider uncomplicated the journey for the students, who had previously had to hop between websites to chat with current students, attend virtual open houses, and meet their classmates. 

“I said to my team there’s no reason for us to have all these different platforms. Students are already logging in to speak with us and to speak with other students. They already know how to use Unibuddy.“

Results

“Everyone who works in admissions always hopes that when you create these spaces for students, they utilize them and they’re comfortable in them.”

The platform felt private, safe, cohesive, and familiar to students. Cushman spoke about how today’s students are from a generation who often feel commodified and constantly “sold to.” By enabling them to chat in ‘private groups’ students can speak freely without worrying that what they say will end up on their admissions file. 

Fisher College is early in adopting Unibuddy Community and looking forward to seeing students engage with their upcoming Spring and Fall 2023 communities. Cushman feels confident that Fisher’s Unibuddy Communities will soon be buzzing with excitement from incoming students.