Raftr Blog - Raftr

Product Updates

Raftr Support: November 18 Update

Nov 18, 2020

Android: Events feed now has a map view to be able to see and discover events based on their locations Search now has additional filter options to further refine results Career info and locations on peoples' profiles can now be tapped to Search for other people with the same info, and you can now see phone numbers on other people's profiles if they've set them to be visible there Events now have a video conference field Some fixes like ensuring channels show their rafts' names when seen apart from the raft iOS: Events feed now has a map view to…

Residence Life, Student Engagement Platform

8 Res Life Engagement Platform Must-Have Features

Nov 12, 2020

Throughout 2020, Res Life programs have transformed into more socially distant programming and virtual activities. Communication and engagement are essential to maintaining a positive residence life experience. With the power of a Res Life engagement platform, it makes it a lot more efficient to manage these interactive efforts and continuously provide entertainment and connection between residents. We’ve compiled 8 features your residence life engagement platform must-have to build a dynamic space for residents to not only stay informed on the latest updates, but also discover and participate in activities, whether in person and socially distant or virtual. 1) Virtual Communities…

Alumni Reunions

6 Ideas to Build Alumni Communication with an Alumni Relations App

Oct 29, 2020

How do you currently engage your alumni network? Instead of monthly printed newsletters mailed out with the potential of being sent to an old address or immediately thrown away, or emails that sit in someone’s inbox or redirected to their spam folder, universities are turning to a more proactive approach. It not only organizes and maintains communication among your alumni, with an alumni relations mobile app, it provides them with constant communication between your former students. The alumni app gives alumni users the ability to network at their own leisure and is a communication method that resonates with this modern…

Product Updates

Raftr Support: October 27 Update

Oct 29, 2020

Android: Chat messages can now have files attached ProUsers can now enable check-in for events they (or their aliases) create, with attendance tracking Lots of notifications improvements, including: Notifications can now be marked as "read" (individually, or all at once) Notifications screen now has "new" and "earlier" sections to make it more clear which have already been seen there Opening push notifications will now update the related notification in the app to be marked as read, as well as reducing the unread tally Notifications can now be longer – for a better preview of their related content The Messages screen…

Campus Engagement, Student Engagement Platform

Why Traditional Student Engagement Platforms Fail to Engage

Oct 15, 2020

It’s become the norm for universities to utilize a student engagement platform to help manage student communications, maintain organization, connect student groups, simplify processes, and track and measure student engagement. Traditional student engagement platforms help you accomplish all of these, but can be limiting when it comes to modern capabilities and essentials for the modern student body. Modern student engagement platforms go beyond these essentials and offer a roster of features and benefits that can help universities thrive when it comes to operation and offerings. There’s multiple ways traditional student engagement platforms fail to truly engage, and where modern platforms…

Campus Engagement, Higher Ed, Residence Life

Safety in Numbers: How to Make Your Residential Communities Thrive in Small Groups

Oct 14, 2020

It's 2020, and nothing is as it was a year ago. In years' past, college and university residential communities would have been teeming with packed lobbies, movie nights with dozens - or more - residents packed into community spaces within the residence hall. Today, these busy, large-scale campus events are memories of the not-so-distant past, replaced by, in the best cases, small group activities led by student residential leaders. While this shifting dynamic has been received by most students as temporary, leaving them eager and anxious to a return to the campus experience they once knew, there are some great…

Campus Engagement, Contact Tracing, Higher Ed, Student Affairs

Beyond the Dashboard: How to Communicate COVID-19 Updates on Your Campus

Oct 10, 2020

While campus contact tracing and COVID-19 dashboards have become the norm at many colleges and universities worldwide during the second half of 2020, there are still some innovative ways to communicating with students in an interactive and informational format. Many institutions have established blogs, updated case counts, and other timely COVID-19 updates on web-based dashboards, there are a few ways beyond the dashboard to reach students, maintain order, and calm nerves. Make 2-Way Communication Possible It's not a great leap to suggest that most people - students included - are completely overwhelmed by the amount of information related to the…

Product Updates

Raftr Support: October 7 Update

Oct 07, 2020

Android: Rafts now show how many people are currently online Lots of fixes like: a new collapsed state for the prompts to create content adding access to the Notifications settings via the Profile settings enabling the "forever" mute option for rafts replacing the word "media" with photo/video videos on posts are now shown in their full aspect ratio link previews now have more info or are hidden when not enough info to show iOS: It's now possible to add a phone number to your profile for others to see there Rafts can now have a video as the cover image…

Alumni Reunions

5 Tips for a Successful Alumni Reunion App

Oct 05, 2020

Connecting alumni to engage with your college or university long after their last class on campus can be a challenge, and the alumni reunion or homecoming event can be the catalyst that brings alumni coming back again and again. That said, keeping up with alumni years after graduation can be a challenge, though advances in technology and development of an alumni reunion app have made great strides in reconnecting alumni. If your alumni relations team is considering introducing an alumni reunion app, read on for five tips for success: Distribute a Clear Calendar of Events Reunions and homecoming weekends can…

General, Peer Leadership

8 Ways to Strengthen Peer Leadership Communication

Oct 02, 2020

As a new student at a new school, it can be an overwhelming transition. From not knowing where key spots are located, as well as not knowing anyone on campus - this is where peer leaders play a crucial role in welcoming incoming students. In the midst of COVID-19, it can be even more challenging for the Class of 2024 to get acquainted with the community. How do you build an environment where students feel a connection to their new university? When planning a virtual orientation, orientation peer leaders can leverage multiple efforts online to help engage, communicate, and connect…