Ohio University is using technology to yield greater enrollment as it works with Student Senate to maintain message boards on the university Web site.

Candace Boeninger, assistant director for communication and technical operations for undergraduate admissions said that the message boards, which cost $1,200 annually, are not the most effective recruiting technique, but they are not the most expensive, either. OU’s message boards, as well as its online chats — $2,400 annually — are run by Hobsons Enrollment Management Technology, an education technology company.

The university pays less, though, because it was already a Hobsons customer when it added the message board service.

“It’s something we feel is worth the money,” she said.

Boeninger said that the message boards have been around for a few years, but they have not run continuously. In 2005 and 2006 the message boards were available for admitted students during yield season, which is the period of time from the application deadline to the housing deposit deadline, May 1.

The message boards were monitored, but not moderated, in 2005 when a user, who was not a student or a staff member, left “malicious” posts “bordering on threatening” on the boards, Boeninger said. The posts were deleted and the user was banned.

In fall 2006, the message boards were opened to both admitted and prospective students, but they are now moderated, Boeninger said.

Every comment is reviewed before it is posted. In addition to a few admissions representatives, about eight students are trained to moderate the message boards.

The message boards are “not high-traffic,” Boeninger said, adding that her office works more through e-mail and online chats than through the message boards.

Message boards have the advantage of being available at all hours, and people can go back to view questions and responses, Boeninger said, adding that transcripts are available for the online chats, but it’s not really the same.

Some students also like the anonymity of message boards because they can ask questions without fear of looking foolish, Boeninger said. Parents can also ask questions on the message boards, alleviating some of the students’ embarrassment at campus visits, she added.

Because of the Internet’s anonymity, people often do not follow social norms and limitations in online communities, especially if there is no physical community to parallel the virtual one, said Bernhard Debatin, associate professor for multimedia policy. Academic online communities are less likely to need moderation.

When running a message board, it is important to have clearly defined rules and sanctions, Debatin said.

While the admissions Web site does not have a specific list of rules for its message boards, it includes a statement that users are expected to follow the OU Student Code of Conduct along with a link to the University Judiciaries Web site, where the code is posted.

University Judiciaries cannot take action against non-students, and there is no posted policy for dealing with non-students on the message boards.

Besides allowing possible future students to interact with current students and staff, the message boards also allow them to interact with each other, Boeninger said.

“They really end up connecting with each other,” she added.