As young people live more of their social lives online, universities are plunging into the social networking world to interact with past, present and future students.
Facebook applications such as "Blackboard Sync" and "Courses 2.0" allow students at participating universities to access grades, post schedules and view classmates.
UF, on the other hand, is still testing the water.
Because of UF's strict privacy policies, students can't use the applications, according to Jeff Stevens, webmaster for UF's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Under UF's acceptable use policy, all material used for day-to-day business must be done through a UF domain, Stevens said. If the policy were to allow school information to be accessed through another Web site, such as Facebook, information would have to be transferred and would become vulnerable to hacking.
"It's always a gray area when you're building something outside of the university," he said.
The policies are in place to ensure UF is following the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which regulates what student information can be shared, according to Christine Schoaff, director of UF Web Administration.
Although UF will not likely transfer student information to a third-party domain such as Facebook, Stevens said he expects students will see an increase in participation among colleges and teachers within the next few years.
"Facebook has taken off tremendously," he said. "It's going to be something that snowballs and grows over time."
Stevens said the Facebook page he created in June for CLAS has helped bring more students to the college's events.
Martin Wortman, the academic program coordinator for the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in Plant City, said he set up a Facebook page a few months ago to target potential students.
He said he hoped it would serve as a recruitment tool because the program is six years old and attracts fewer applicants than other campuses.
"To get students into my program, I really have to work hard," he said. "Because it's free, I'm going to give Facebook a shot."
The UF Alumni Association is planning to integrate Facebook with the Gator Nation Network in light of Facebook's appeal to alumni, said Katie Marquis, director of membership and marketing.
Marquis said Affinity Circles, creator of the Gator Nation Network, plans to integrate the network's features - primarily professional resources such as job listings - into Facebook by the end of the year.
She said the network has more than 30,000 users, and the integration is expected to bring more Gators aboard.
