Clarion University College of Business Administration has launched pages on LinkedIn and Facebook.

David Hartley, COBA's assistant dean, said the pages, ‘Clarion University Business Professionals' on both sites, are intended to facilitate networking among alumni, provide an opportunity for students to interact and network with alumni at a professional level, enable alumni and others to post job announcements, and allow prospective business students to see what Clarion University business professionals are doing.

"We launched the pages in late September, and we have grown them from about 30 people on LinkedIn to more than 60," Hartley said. "I post information on what's happening in the college, and we've had some other folks posting on what they're doing in their careers. As we build more people, we'll get more synergy and build more buzz."

The Facebook page has about 45 members. Hartley sees both pages as a recruiting and networking tool.

"This is one way we can promote and facilitate the success of our business professionals," Hartley said. "The other piece is for the prospective student to see what Clarion graduates are up to and how successful they are.'

Along with the social networking pages, COBA has enhanced its dialog with current and future students through text messaging, a medium with which they are familiar and that they have at their fingertips.

"We know that in some cases, email is passé for students, so we thought, why not give them a phone number they can use to contact us with issues, questions. When we do recruiting events, prospective students get my business card with the text messaging number on it, and I can answer questions about the MBA or associate degree program. They can get in touch with us right away, and I can answer pretty quickly," Hartley said.

Hartley responds personally to the text messages, and he is administrator of the LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

"The biggest benefit of text messaging is, in my mind, to be able to provide the customer service our students expect and deserve, to be able to answer queries quickly," he said. "For LinkedIn and Facebook, I see it as potential for networking. We're all about Clarion and success; this is one way we can promote and facilitate the success of our business professionals."

To access the LinkedIn and Facebook pages, search for "Clarion University Business Professionals" on the respective websites. To contact COBA via text, enter 814-682-6221.