Raftr Blog

Alumni Reunions, General

Reunion 2022: How to Optimize Community Engagement for the 2022 Alumni Reunion (Part 2 of 4)

Oct 19, 2021

Alumni reunions are the most anticipated university activity for college graduates. It’s a celebration where former classmates and friends are invited to reconnect, reminisce over memories from decades past, and learn what others have been up to since their last encounter. Jerome Short, a psychology professor at George Mason University said in an article, “In the college years, we had goals of identity establishment and emotional intimacy in relationships. A reunion allows us to fill in details of our life stories.” While social media has become the go-to source for your alumni network, the pandemic has reminded us of the…

Product Updates, Support

Raftr Support: October 19 Update

Oct 19, 2021

All platforms: Continued metrics updates Updated messages and navigation after creating content Android: Introduced views counts on Posts Replaced bookmark, file, and media archives for default Channels with filters in the conversation view Enabled support for admin-selected default page (Home vs. Campus) on Portal Some fixes and improvements: Improved reply gestures in chat Updated some onboarding text and graphics Updated UI for the "see all" view for Pinned content on Rafts A variety of small UI tweaks to get to spec on the Campus page Updated content on Home page to reflect various statuses like frozen or restricted Updated Rafts'…

Alumni Reunions, Higher Ed

Reunion 2022: The Significance of the 2022 Alumni Reunion (Part 1 of 4)

Oct 12, 2021

The pandemic has impacted universities worldwide along with the beloved traditions and activities that campus communities look forward to on an annual basis. Since early 2020, most universities have either chosen to innovate and safely plan remote activities or otherwise delay on-campus experiences such as homecoming, family weekends, and class reunions. As more positive health-related progress has been made in comparison to the start of the pandemic, these universities are finally planning to make good on that delayed rain check, set dates, distribute invitations, and prepare for the ultimate 2022 alumni multi-reunion. But, university reunions of 2022 will look quite…

Product Updates, Support

Raftr Support: September 28 Update

Sep 28, 2021

All platforms: Continued metrics improvements, including new option for tracking "claimed" accounts more accurately Some fixes and improvements: Enabled hiding the Channels section on Premium Rafts when there are no Channels to show there Renamed carousel on app-level Events page to "Popular Events" Removed the Raft carousel on the News page Updated Events section on Home page to include AGC Android: Continued cobranding support Updated app icon and Play Store screenshots Some fixes and improvements like preventing some crashes and updating navigation from the Home page's All section iOS: Continued cobranding support Refreshed UI for Raft Home pages, including some…

Higher Ed, Student Affairs

5 Tips on How to Balance Your New Career in Higher Ed and Graduate School

Sep 22, 2021

To put it simply, you are on cloud nine. You just got hired for your dream job in higher education and were accepted into your dream graduate program. Congratulations! So, what happens now? While balancing a career in higher education and graduate school is no simple task, it certainly isn’t impossible. There are definitive upsides to working while in graduate school, such as acquiring less debt down the road. Not to mention, you will have the advantage over a person with similar education but lacks your firsthand work experience in higher education. With extra self-discipline and advanced planning, you’ll ace…

Higher Ed, Peer Leadership

8 Strategies for Building the Power of Belonging at Your University for First-Year Students

Sep 09, 2021

The first year of university can be a challenging transition for students. There’s an increase in responsibilities, a brand new social environment, and often no safety net to soothe related anxieties. This difficult adjustment period can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, especially without robust on-campus support. It’s a problem that’s increased over the pandemic and one that must be addressed at the beginning of the academic year. Implementing dynamic strategies helps foster a sense of community and social belonging for first-year students. In doing so successfully, you’ll create an environment where students feel welcome and safe, therefore setting…

Product Updates, Support

Raftr Support: September 7 Update

Sep 07, 2021

All platforms: Enabled the Faculty Persona Introduced Secret Channels (ie: invite-only membership and hidden from non-members) Some improvements: Updated Search results to include Joinable Channels (ie: non-member Public or Private Channels from your member Rafts) Updated sort order for Rafts' Channels pages: member Channels at the top of the list, sorted by recency of activity; followed by Joinable Channels, sorted alphabetically Updated the Home All page to include Rafts and Channels that do not yet have activity Updated the activity preview text for Rafts on the Home All page Continued metrics updates Updated text in Cross-Posting section of Content Management…

Higher Ed

10 In-Person and Online Welcome Week Activity Ideas

Aug 25, 2021

As students prepare for the new academic year, universities are gearing up to welcome new and returning students this Fall 2021. The pandemic, specifically the Delta variant, has been a cause of concern for many universities as they decide between predominantly in-person activities or hosting virtual events online. Whether your college leans toward one method, we wanted to help your team plan for a hybrid. Here are ten welcome week activity ideas you can execute for your students who prefer to participate on campus or for your students who would like to join in the fun remotely. 1) Food Fest…

Product Updates, Support

Raftr Support: August 17 Update

Aug 17, 2021

Android: Introduced new Home page "Don't Miss It" section with content from member Rafts All page with a list of all member Rafts and non-default Channels with previews of recent activity, and which is sorted according to recency of content (default/ Everyone Channel messages are included on the Rafts, rather than on a separate line item) Chat, Events, and Posts feeds for member Rafts Channel invites can be found via the three-dots menu in the feeds header Contextual create prompts for each feed Updated app-level feeds Events feed is now all (member and non-member) Rafts Former Posts feed is now…

Higher Ed

5 Ways to Ease College Students’ Apprehensions About Studying Abroad

Aug 12, 2021

College students have a bucket list of goals to accomplish during their university journey. From social to academic, they can range in all areas, including joining Greek life, earning an internship at their dream company, and residing in another country for a semester. These are all attainable, but there’s no denying that the pandemic has become a roadblock, especially for studying abroad. As more universities open this fall, offices of global engagement/international education’s study abroad programs will also return this upcoming school year. According to the Forum on Education Abroad, over 40% of organization respondents said they plan to resume…

Reunion 2022: How to Optimize Community Engagement for the 2022 Alumni Reunion (Part 2 of 4)

Raftr Support: October 19 Update

Reunion 2022: The Significance of the 2022 Alumni Reunion (Part 1 of 4)

Raftr Support: September 28 Update

5 Tips on How to Balance Your New Career in Higher Ed and Graduate School

8 Strategies for Building the Power of Belonging at Your University for First-Year Students

Raftr Support: September 7 Update

10 In-Person and Online Welcome Week Activity Ideas

Raftr Support: August 17 Update

5 Ways to Ease College Students’ Apprehensions About Studying Abroad

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