Newsletter 
Facebook is returning to its college roots with a new in-app feature called Facebook Campus. As might be guessed from the branding, that’s a new segment of the app reportedly engineered for use by college students.
The new feature allows users to create a profile for college life that’s separate from their main profile. In effect, separating out their personal and educational online personas and interactions. All that’s needed to get started is a valid college email and graduation year to sign up. And, of course, users can also share whatever other information they want fellow students to know.
That includes details such as their major, classes, hometown, or minor.
Campus lets users discover Groups and Events that are directly related to their school. That’s in addition to connecting with classmates more directly. The feature will also be private. So anything students choose to share on Campus, Facebook says, will remain on Campus.
Here are the key features
In terms of key features for Facebook Campus, the search giant lists out three. First, users will have access to a Campus-only News Feed. That’s essentially an “email-verified space” that’s just for students. So users will be able to get updates from classmates, groups, and events that are all directly related to their school. The feed will also allow for the creation and sharing of study groups, planning for digital events, or advice sharing.
Tying directly back into the feed is the Campus directory. That will help users discover and connect directly with verified classmates. Facebook says the tool will be useful for networking among college students by class, major, year, university, and more. That’s without wading through the primary Facebook app.
Last but not least is Campus Chats. Those are real-time chat rooms dedicated to the college in question. As opposed to the more general chats available elsewhere on Facebook. So students can share more in real-time and more privately to replicate the college experience and reinforce their network of fellow students.
You can start using Facebook Campus now… probably
Now, for the time being, Facebook Campus isn’t going to be available to every user right away. And it’s being limited to US colleges for starters. The company lists out colleges where students can find Campus in the Facebook app as follows;
- University at Albany – State University of New York
- Benedict College
- Brown University
- California Institute of Technology
- College of William & Mary
- Duke University
- Florida International University
- Georgia Southern University
- Georgia State University
- University of Hartford
- Johns Hopkins University
- Lane College
- Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)
- University of Louisville
- Middlebury College
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Northwestern University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Rice University
- Sarah Lawrence College
- Scripps College
- Smith College
- Spelman College
- Stephen F Austin State University
- Tufts University
- Vassar College
- Virginia Tech
- Wellesley College
- Wesleyan University
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
