By Madelin Shelton — 

The University of Louisville has become one of 30 universities in the country to pilot the new Facebook platform, Facebook Campus.

This platform is a college-only space to help university students connect with their fellow classmates through features like a Campus-only News Feed, events, groups and group rooms.

Students will be able to access the Campus channel through their personal Facebook accounts and find other participating U of L students in a directory.

To participate in Facebook Campus, students will have to provide their graduation year and louisville.edu email address. They will then be required to design a new profile specifically for the Campus platform, where they can add information including their classes, dorm and major.

The U of L specific Facebook Campus page will include groups and events students can join to find fellow students with similar interests.

“In the early days, Facebook was a college-only network, and now we’re returning to our roots with Facebook Campus to help students make and maintain these relationships, even if they’re away from their college,” Facebook said in a story on  their Facebook Newsroom.

In a U of L news release, President Bendapudi said, “The University of Louisville is so honored that Facebook has given our students the opportunity to be among the first in the nation to use this incredible product. We know they can’t wait to explore and discover all of the ways this tool can help them communicate with their peers. Facebook Campus is the latest innovation that makes our community unique. It is a tremendous asset to Card Nation.”

U of L will be joined by the likes of universities including Duke, the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins in the pilot program.

“U of L became one of these 30 universities because Facebook saw U of L as a great potential university partner in this initiative and has been impressed with the work we have done as a university,” Karen Freberg, an associate professor in strategic communication at U of L, said.

When asked how she thought this new feature would help U of L students struggling to make meaningful connections due to COVID-19 restrictions, Freberg said, “This new feature is exactly designed to create a sense of community during this time with COVID, but also allow students to network, connect and bring the U of L culture to the online space.”

“There will also be some potential professional opportunities for students as part of this partnership as well,” she said.

The Facebook Campus platform is available now for students to use.

Graphic by Shayla Kerr // The Louisville Cardinal