The KSU nursing program was ranked eighth in nursing-school.com’s Top 50 Social Media Friendly Schools of Nursing.

The site defines itself as a social community for new and existing nurses. An article posted on Dec. 19 listed 50 nursing schools thought to provide a friendly social environment and strong social media charisma.

According to the website, “Kent State’s expert faculty is dedicated to helping all students reach their full potential, whether they’re studying for an associate’s degree or a PhD.”

The ranking awarded points for the number of followers and amount of activity on social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.

Kathleen Donchess, marketing coordinator for the College of Nursing, and Corey Moore, associate multimedia developer for the College of Nursing, work together to update the college’s social media sites including Kent State University College of Nursing on Facebook, @kentnursing on Twitter, as well as Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.

“The college is using social media for a multitude of reasons,” Moore said. “To inform, educate, collaborate and communicate.”

The college has been active on these sites since October 2012.

“Looking at what we’ve done in that short amount of time, knowing what we did and getting ranked that high was really a lot to accomplish in three months,” Donchess said.

The sites are updated multiple times a day, Moore said, and occasionally on the weekends.

“We are using Facebook more for sharing photos and videos of our activities at the college, as well as communicating with our current students,” Moore said. “Twitter is more useful for communicating with potential students and sharing news and information from other nursing professionals. Pinterest is more about pinning content that is relevant to the daily lives of our students.”

Donchess said that the college’s social networking sites help connect students to the college on a more personal level.

As of Tuesday, the college’s Facebook page has 270 likes and the Twitter page is at 347 followers.

Moore said it is still too soon to see the immediate effects social networking has had on the college, but that it is raising awareness for the college and all of the activities going on there.

“Fortunately, we have a lot to talk about. We don’t have to make stuff up,” Donchess said. “It’s really effortless because we have a lot of good things going on and great faculty.”

The college is looking into blogging for the future, as well as updating their YouTube site more often, Donchess said.

“We are using social media more effectively than many of the other top nursing schools in the country,” Moore said. “I believe that trend will continue as we continue to build our social community with these tools.”

Contact Amanda Knauer at [email protected].