In response to new challenges caused by the pandemic, Facebook is rolling out its new Facebook Campus feature, a college-only zone reminiscent of the social media giant’s formative years.
According to a company blog post, the new feature is “designed to help students connect with fellow classmates over shared interests. Facebook Campus makes it easy to find and start conversations within your college community.”
Facebook Campus is planned to be a new, specific section of the social media site just for college students in response to the myriad challenges as campuses adjust to remote learning in various capacities. Students can sign up with their college email and graduation year. Then, they can take advantage of groups and unique events to their schools, according to the post.
The features will include a campus-specific news feed, with students being able to create study groups, plan virtual concerts and ask for advice only in the realm of their own schools. They’ll be able to access a database to search for only people at their schools, the post stated, and create chats specific for their dorms or any other organizations on campus.
The goal is to bring some semblance of the way Facebook was at its inception.
“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,” the post stated.
The new features have been rolled out at select colleges and universities so far.
College students, like other people, have been affected by the pandemic, and many are seeking reduced tuition costs as several colleges move to online or partially-online classes instead of in-person ones. Some have even filed lawsuits against colleges not budging on the issue. Many have cited drastically less impressive online class options as reasons why they shouldn’t have to pay full tuitions.