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Where is the Hacking in Higher Ed?

by Rob 23. April 2012 07:11

This blog post is based on my presentation at the Georgetown Innovation Summit which begins at 2:53:00. 

To most people, hacking represents something negative. But I prefer to think of it as designing a workaround to achieve a desired result. By paying attention to these hacks, Higher Ed can gain all sorts of inisights to improve the overall student experience.

 

How Facebook learns from user hacking

In 2004, Facebook was growing, fast. Mark Zuckerberg and the rest of the team needed to decide what feature to build next. They had to consider not only the time it would take to build the feature, but also the additional support costs.

One of the features being considered was the ability to upload photos besides your profile photo. Yes, there was actually a time when you could not upload your photo album to Facebook and tag all of your friends. It seems obvious to us now, however at the time it was not quite as clear that this was a feature that users wanted.

When the Facebook team looked at how people were using the site, they noticed users were changing their profile photo multiple times each day. Users wanted to show off their new photos and they came up with this 'hack' as a way to achieve their goal. 

 

Hacking the roommate assignments process

In 2003 B.F. (before Facebook), students would receive the name, email and phone number of their assigned roommate and give them a call. It never occurred to them to look that person up online because there was nowhere to look.

By 2005 A.F., more than 85% of college students were on Facebook; each wanting to know everything they could about their new roommate to be sure that the next year of their life would not be spent in agony (desired result). The hack that students across the country constructed was to research their roommate on Facebook and if they did not like what they saw, call into the housing office and ask for a new roommate.

I have spoken with hundreds of people who work in on-campus housing and 99.9% of them experience some level of Facebook related roommate calls. The only department that did not experience them simply decided to withhold the names of assigned roommates until the students meet on the first day of classes.

So there is the hack. Now, how do you fix the process by incorporating the hack? Our clients achieve this through RoomSync because we empower students to search for roommates on Facebook. They are given access to all potential roommates before the assignments are made. The result? Users who want to be in control of the matching process are happy and housing departments do not receive any calls about Facebook.

 

Next steps

How are students hacking your processes? Are they hacking their room like this Berkeley freshman? Try re-examining and thinking of ways to incorporate these hacks to improve the overall student experience. Do you have examples of hacks in Higher Ed? Leave a comment below!

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College | Facebook | Higher Ed | Innovation | Roommate Matching

Leading Facebook App RoomSync™ Announces RoomSync Mobile

by Rob 29. February 2012 04:42
Gainesville, FL—Feb. 29, 2012—RoomSync today announced the launch of RoomSync Mobile, the company’s mobile version of its popular Facebook app for college roommate selection. The new apps for both Android and iPhone let users experience the innovative roommate-finding process instantly from their hand-held devices.

While 96 percent of college students are on Facebook, 76 percent of those students access the social network straight from the mobile app (Noel-Levitz, 2012). With such high mobile usage and current users already accessing RoomSync from their mobile devices, the company believes the addition of its own mobile platform will further increase student engagement and roommate-selection.

On RoomSync Mobile, students will be afforded the same roommate matching experience from their Android and iPhone devices as they do on their desktop browser. Once someone has registered their account, they can continue the matching process at any time from the palm of their hand. The app has already launched on Android and is expected to debut on iPhone in the upcoming weeks.

Currently more than 30 university housing departments use RoomSync’s Facebook-integrated roommate matching solution. Via RoomSync, students browse through potential roommates based on lifestyle preferences, academic majors, mutual friends, and more. The app also suggests roommates and allows people to search for roommates by interests listed on Facebook. Allowing students to choose their own roommate puts power into the hands of students, making them more accountable, resulting in reduced roommate conflicts.

Research conducted at Michigan State University shows that roommate conflict is one of the five leading risk factors of college dropouts; RoomSync’s Facebook app aims to reduce this conflict and increase student success. The University of Florida, one of the company’s clients, collected data after the first year of implementation, and 65 percent of hall staff surveyed reported a decrease in roommate conflicts.

“Prior to using RoomSync, we found that students would go to Facebook to research their assigned roommates, so RoomSync is a natural fit for our housing department,” said Sean Killion, M.B.A., Assistant Director for Assignments & Billing at Temple University. “By operating as a Facebook app, residents are excited to select their own roommates on RoomSync and they intuitively understand how to use the app with little or no direction.”

The company believes offering the service on mobile adds an even deeper and more effective experience for the user. “Mobile access to the RoomSync app gives students real-time notifications regarding requests, announcements and more. We believe the availability of instantaneous matching information will create an even higher level of user engagement and satisfaction, and of course, will enable more students to connect with their perfect roommate,” said Michael Hacker, Technical Co-founder and President of RoomSync.

About RoomSync:
RoomSync is one of the leading Facebook apps for selecting college roommates. Founded in 2007, RoomSync currently has more than 30 university clients and 40 off-campus apartment clients. Through the RoomSync app, students are able to easily identify potential roommates based on information found through Facebook. To date, more than 30,000 students have used RoomSync to identify potential roommates. A 2009 fbFund finalist, RoomSync is privately held and is headquartered in Gainesville, Florida.

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

Tags:

Facebook | Higher Ed | Roommate Matching

Scared of Monster Roommates? RoomSync to the Rescue!

by Emily 6. February 2012 20:01

We've all heard or seen "What Not To Do" examples; but how about one leaning towards the last things you want in a roommate? In the video below, College Humor jokes about The Six Monster Roommates you could have in college. We are all different and everyone has a match; RoomSync helps you find yours whether you're a Zombie, Ghost, Vampire, or other. 

 

 

Instead of giving the vampire a call, maybe you should just use RoomSync!

 

Best,

Emily

Tags:

College | Roommate Matching | RoomSync

Client Spotlight - University of Florida

by Anjali 20. January 2012 06:29
Once a month, we feature one of our fantastic clients to learn more about them and how they use RoomSync. Our thanks go out to Amy Jorgensen, Marketing Coordinator at University of Florida, for sitting down with us for this UF spotlight.

Amy Jorgensen, Marketing Coordinator at University of Florida 


Tell us about your journey to and experience within Higher Education

I was highly encouraged to start a career in higher education by my grandfather. He was the Director of the University of Connecticut Stamford campus and taught at UMASS Amherst. My aunt also teaches at the University of Hartford, so I guess you can say I was destined to start a higher ed career.

I spent about 10 years in the hospitality industry, working for companies like Disney, Universal Studios, and KSL Recreation. I had recently returned from working at Universal Studios Japan when I decided to return to college. I was offered a position as a secretary at UF, and knew that I had to live in the Gator Nation.

Coming to UF is the best decision I have ever made. The Department of Housing and Residence Education is one of the best work environments I’ve ever encountered. After the secretarial position, I worked in the UF College of Medicine and even took a brief position at Disney in Internal Communications and Marketing, before the Department of Housing called me back for my dream job and I very happily found myself back in Gainesville

My experience with the University of Florida has been incredibly rewarding. The Department of Housing and Residence Education supported my efforts to finish my degree. In addition, I work with one of the best teams in the country and am very lucky to have such a great boss. Our Associate Director, TJ Logan, is one of the best bosses I've ever had - very supportive and motivating. I definitely recommend working at the University of Florida, especially the Division of Student Affairs.

So now you are Marketing Coordinator at UF Housing & Residence Education, what is UF's social media presence, what is your strategy?

We had around 1400 Facebook fans when I started, and now we’ve grown to just little under 5400. While this is important, I think it’s important to also measure success through consumer engagement factors: page views, interactions, comments, and posts. All the fans in the world don't matter if they're not engaged, interested, and ready to share your information.

Some of Facebook.com/UFHousing 2011 highlights include 182 comments in one day, almost 6000 weekly active users, and nearly 390,000 Facebook page views in only one month. That many page views was very exciting! In comparison, our website had about 800,000 page views in a whole year - so to obtain almost half that in one month was very exciting! For more strategy, you can check out the presentation on social media I did at the ACHUO-I Business Conference.

I believe that RoomSync can be a significant component of enriching our consumer engagement. It is also a tremendous customer service tool, and a fantastic amenity that any higher education housing facility should consider!

What were the biggest challenges in roommate assignment for UF housing before RoomSync?

We think it's very important for students to choose their roommate. This way, students can have a more positive experience because they feel empowered.

UF is one of the select few universities that allows its students to choose their room and roommate during the assignments process. Early applicants can hold a space for a roommate that they find through social media, RoomSync or someone they knew from high school. Building students into the process and allowing them to to have choices can greatly increase customer satisfaction.

According to TJ Logan, staff noticed a reduction in roommate conflicts and in problems related to room transfers. Students hold themselves more accountable when they choose their own roommates and they learn how to compromise.

So what would you say is the most effective way of getting the word out to students so they are excited and use RoomSync?

I think the best way is through social media. Many students don't pay attention to emails anymore. For the younger generation, it’s all about texts and social media. Begin with email and include all the information; then send a reminder email a week or month later.

Tell us about the growth of the RoomSync network.

The growth at the University of Florida has been quite positive! Our first year had about 1300 users and the second year grew to 3300 users. We have about 7500 undergrads living in campus housing, so it’s pretty great when half are using RoomSync. About 80% of users are first-year students and even for those who didn't find their roommate, RoomSync provides a great opportunity to build community before students are even on campus.

Now for some fun questions. What is your favorite movie?

Splash, 1984. Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy. How could you not love this movie?!

Who is your favorite musician?

Pre-1990 Michael Jackson. Off the Wall always gets me going! I’m also a big fan of Journey, Aerosmith, and other classic rock.


Renewals Matching in RoomSync!

by Anjali 20. December 2011 06:05

Seasons Greetings!

The RoomSync developers have been working like little elves in their workshop, rolling out new features just in time for the holidays. For our by-the-bed communities, we're excited to announce that you can now avoid the unfortunate case of two renewing residents in different apartments from matching with one another.

By providing renewing residents with Quick Join links for their appropriate room type, you will prevent renewing residents from matching together. For each room type you offer on site, you have 2 different links -- one to provide to new residents, and the other provided to renewing residents.

To access Renewal Quick Join links, login into the RoomSync Admin and click 'Quick Join Links' under the Resources section. Be sure to distribute this link to renewing residents.



It's that easy! Got feedback on how we can improve this feature? Leave a comment. Got questions? We love to help! Email info@roomsync.com or give us a call at 352.327.4061

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Roommate Matching

Surviving College Life.... with RoomSync!

by Sandy 20. October 2011 14:07

Hey guys, Sandy here!

So, this past week some of our RoomSync members have gone to a conference in Philly (exciting huh?!?!), and the interns have been doing awesome things, like working on RoomSync projects and going to Prague! We’re excited for Michelle, Anjali and Rob to get back from their travels to our office in Gainesville. 

I’m currently on my Fall break and have had way too much free time (or more accurately, too many hours wasted surfing the net), and I have found a million different articles, jokes, videos, dancing chipmunks, etc. to share with you guys, but I chose to go with this one. So, there’s this awesome website called Surviving College Life, and it publishes all kinds of awesome stories, articles, etc. I found two awesome links that I thought were great. They both are things I’ve done with MY roommates.

The first one is about which places to take a trip to, and the second is things roommates spit ($$!!). Two of the best experiences of my college life have been road trips, one to Washington, DC (from Central FL! That’s 12 hours), and the second to Daytona Beach (where it rained every single day). They both involved my long-time friend and former roommate Jonathan, who is totally awesome and 4 years later, is still one of my best friends!

Splitting costs is also a great roommate bonding experience. I’m a graduate business student living with two law students; clearly, we are the best negotiators out there, yet we don’t bicker about expenses. We buy paper towels, toilet paper, detergent, cleaning products, etc., together at Sam’s Club and split it 3-ways. Saves us some serious dough (same thing with Netflix, now that prices have gone up)!

How does this relate to RoomSync? Well, if you want the perks of awesome roommates, including the great experiences and awesome cost-saving measures, you’ve got to start with great roommates you can relate to. That’s where RoomSync steps in, and makes college the best time of your life. 

Remember, check out www.survivingcollegelife.com for more college tips for students, and leave comments on this post telling us what you think!

Sandy

Tags:

Roommate Matching

RoomSync Integrates Defensio to Protect Users from Profanity

by Rob 12. October 2011 10:15

The web is brimming with all types of content, some good and some bad. In the RoomSync application, there is also a lot of content that users can access while searching for the perfect roommate at their university or off-campus apartment. We give users access to Facebook profiles and lifestyle preferences to help them make the roommate decision. As we were building the application, we received a lot of great feedback from our clients. What we heard is that they wanted to see an editable text area where users can write down what they are looking for in a roommate. This was a great idea and we decided to implement the “About Me” and “About My Roommate” tabs for this purpose.

 

 

With great power comes great responsibility. Now that we have given users the ability to enter whatever descriptive text they would like to, how do we make sure that they enter appropriate content? With thousands of users, it becomes difficult to monitor language through manually searching each RoomSync network. Enter Defensio!

Defensio is a new security suite for the Web, and it has the ability to integrate directly into Facebook applications like RoomSync. What Defensio does is allow the RoomSync application to block users from entering inappropriate and malicious content within these two sections, helping to keep the site clean of offensive language.

 

 

If a user is attempting to post content with a word that Defensio deems offensive, the user will be directed go back and edit their content because of the profanity. In a case where the content passes through, the user will be prompted with a message that their About Me section was updated successfully.

 

Let us know what you think about our integration with Defensio, comments are always welcome!

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Roommate Matching | Technology

Best Roommates Video Contest

by Philip 2. September 2011 11:49


Are you and your roommate the best combo in the country?

…then enter RoomSync’s Best Roommates Video Contest today! All you have to do is submit one 30-60 second video to the RoomSync Facebook wall, and you could win prizes like iTunes gift cards, a dinner for two at Chili’s, or a pair of tickets to the movies!

 

How To Enter:

Entering the contest is simple. Simply post either a YouTube or a Facebook video to the RoomSync Facebook wall. The video must be of you and your roommate, and you must be roommates that met using the RoomSync app. In your video, please reference us as RoomSync (we recently changed our name from RoomBug to RoomSync!). The 30-60 second video must include:

-Your names

-Your university

-What you love about RoomSync

-What you love about your roommate

 

The Prizes:

Third Place Prize: $10 iTunes Gift Card

Second Place Prize: Chili’s Dinner For 2 or Movie Tickets for 2

First Place Prize: $10 iTunes Gift Card + Chili’s Dinner For 2 + Movie Tickets For 2

 

Entry Deadline:

The contest will end on September 23, 2011 at 6:00PM EST. For all rules and regulations go to http://blog.roomsync.com/?p=344 .

All it takes is 30 seconds of your time to enter for a chance to win some great prizes- so enter your video today!

 

Tags:

Facebook | Roommate Matching

New RoomSync Features Help Clients

by Anjali 23. August 2011 18:35

New Layout for Client Network Pages

We’re excited to announce our new layout for RoomSync network pages! Our team has designed the layout to enhance the app and create a more streamlined and richer user experience. This new optimized layout seamlessly walks users through the RoomSync process and incorporates graphic elements to highlight features & important info, as well as gives users immediate access to features and their community.


Left-side Navigation Menu

Users can quickly access important info and pages in new streamlined left-margin menu 

Instead of reading information off one congested static network page, users can now easily navigate through multiple pages using our quick-access side navigation tab. This menu gives users easy access to relevant information on specific pages, with options of “Getting Started,” “Network Pages,” “Wall,” and “Find Roommates.”

 

GETTING STARTED

Users are directed here when they click on "Find Roommates" on the network homepage

The ‘Getting Started’ tab helps jump-start the roommate matching process on RoomSync by immediately prompting users to take action, starting with “Get Familiar with Network Info.” The process is clearly presented and users are walked through key steps they should take to find their ideal roommate.

 

NETWORK INFO

Students easy can view special network matching information under "Network Info" tab

The “Network Info” page, which is 100% customizable by clients, gives users access to important client/network information, including how matches work, that requests must be made to the network administrator, and the active network dates. This section ensures that users are given all the information they need to complete the process, so they can provide the housing department with the correct information in time.

 

WALL

Open network wall allows users to initiate public interaction with other members/potential matches in network

The interactive wall gives members a place to introduce themselves and interact with the community in order to start building connections, both as roommates and as friends.

 

FIND ROOMMATES

Users can either Browse or Search under the "Find Roommates" tab

The “Find Roommates” tab has “Browse” and “Search” options that make it easy and exciting for users to find potential roommates. The “Browse” option takes users to the roommates browse page where they can view a list of all their potential roommates, filtered by lifestyle preferences. The “Search” option lets users search for potential roommates with specific interests listed in their Facebook profile (e.g. “Soccer”). Users can also search by academic major and/or preferred residence hall.


Final Roommate Request Date and Members

 The "Final Roommate Request Date" and "Members" sections give users immediate access to important information

Below the new side navigation tabs on the left hand column, users will find our newly added “Final Roommate Request Date.” This section graphically highlights the network close date and constantly reminds users of the last day they can turn in their roommate request.

Finally, users can easily view other members in the network through the “Members” section, which is the last section in the left hand column.


User Experience and Satisfaction

We believe our new streamlined menu and other features will increase user success in finding a great roommate, but we are always looking to improve the application. Please let us know what you think about the new network page layout by commenting below or post additional feature ideas!

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Features | Roommate Matching | Social Media

RoomBug is Now RoomSync; Adds More Top Universities

by Rob 7. July 2011 05:33

As a company, we are obsessed with improving the roommate matching process for residents and for our clients. We spend a significant amount of time evaluating new feature suggestions that will achieve this goal. In line with this goal, we have received feedback from our clients that the name of our Facebook application is not truly descriptive of the excellent service that we provide. For this reason, we are announcing that we’ve changed our company’s name from RoomBug to RoomSync. RoomSync describes what we do, which is syncing up roommates who are compatible in close living environments. Here is the full press release:

Leading Facebook® App for College Roommate Selection, RoomSync™, Now has 20 Universities on Board for 2011 Academic Year Formerly Known as RoomBug, RoomSync Makes “Rooming Blind” a Thing of the Past Gainesville, FL—July 7, 2011— RoomSync (www.roomsync.com), a leading Facebook application for college roommate selection that has reinvented the roommate-finding process, is now being used by 20 Universities across the United States. To date, more than 25,000 students have used the RoomSync app to find their college roommates. The app, which launched under the name RoomBug in 2010, has unveiled a plethora of new features, including   a top roommate recommendations engine and academic major and residence hall preference options, which will continue to innovate the roommate selection process nationwide. With a high majority of college students on Facebook, the social site has become the go-to location for students to scrutinize their roommates once they are assigned by their universities.

The RoomSync app helps students to identify potential roommates by accessing their Facebook profiles and answering a lifestyle preferences questionnaire. People who use RoomSync are also now able to view mutual friends, giving them the ability to gain further insight into potential roommates. In its first year of service, RoomSync partnered with four universities. Now, in its second year, the company is working with 20 universities, and is in discussions with many more for the 2012-2013 academic year. With more than 15,000 on-campus students, Michigan State University is the largest residence hall system in the United States and the latest college to sign up with RoomSync.

"We believe that this product fulfills the need of today's student wanting more options for finding roommates,” said Vennie Gore, Assistant Vice President, Residential & Hospitality Services, Michigan State University. “This social tool is a game-changer for housing organizations. We anticipate student satisfaction with the assignment process will increase."

“As a company, we are obsessed with improving the roommate selection process for residents and for our partner institutions,” said Michael Hacker, RoomSync Co-founder and President. “As we work with new schools, we are able to refine our product and satisfy the increasingly complex desires of students. At the same time, we do the ‘heavy lifting’ for the university’s housing department, which frees that staff to focus on other housing issues. It’s a win-win both for students and for housing officers.”

About RoomSync: RoomSync (www.roomsync.com), formerly known as RoomBug, is the leading Facebook app for selecting college roommates. Founded in 2009 by Robert Castellucci, Michael Hacker, Alex Edelsburg and Ariel Himmelstern, RoomSync currently has more than 20 university clients and 50 off-campus apartment clients. Through the RoomSync app, students are able to easily identify potential roommates based on information found through Facebook profiles. To date, 25,000 students have used RoomSync to identify potential roommates. A 2009 FB Fund finalist, RoomSync is privately held and is headquartered in Gainesville, Florida. Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

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College | Facebook | Roommate Matching | Social Media