​UK has created a Web site that mimicks Facebook in order to add a forum to gather students opinions about campus life.

The Big Blue Network, or NetworkBlue, is an exclusive online community created to moderate discussion about issues on campus in order to resolve them, as well as increase retention rates, said Randolph Hollingsworth, provost assistant in Integrated Academic Services.

An invitation-only e-mail was sent to freshmen and first-year transfer students, said the Online Community Manager and political science professor Christopher Rice. In the e-mail, Rice said NetworkBlue is not set up to spy on students, but students should abide by the university’s Student Code of Conduct.

Rice said the assessment data that is collected, including discussion topics and the number of hits on a certain group or page, are stripped of the students’ usernames. After being asked about betraying students’ privacy, Rice said he would add a clarifying statement on the front page of the NetworkBlue Web site by the end of the week.

“We’re not following every single thread and storing it,” Rice said. “We want (students) to feel free to talk, to joke… All we’re looking at is data that helps us assess what is working.”

Even though the comments and discussions are monitored, Hollingsworth said NetworkBlue is not a formal research project.

“You can call that a focus group, or research, but the best way to describe it is as listening,” Hollingsworth said. “We’re making changes that improve the university experience.”

Hollingsworth said data is collected using web analytic solution programs such as Google Analytics and Webtrends.

“(With the programs) you can see, in a big snapshot, where the activity is happening,” Hollingsworth said. “We’re going to have numbers of hits on pages and groups… that would help guide discussions.”

Both Hollingsworth and Rice agreed the site, sponsored by Provost Kumble R. Subbaswamy, was a risk.

“The Provost is paying for this thing, so as a consequence, we have to ask, is it worth it?” Hollingsworth said.

Leaders from various student organizations, such as K Crew and Student Government, were involved in the creation and design of the social networking site, and were among the first members of NetworkBlue, Ben Duncan, chief of staff of Student Government, said.

Since NetworkBlue is hosted on a UK site, it should be assumed that UK is monitoring it, Duncan said.

The student leaders were invited to help guide the Web site’s discussions, Rice said. Faculty and staff, such as college advisers, are also invited.

All of the freshmen have received invitations, and some more than once, Hollingsworth said.

“I got almost 20 different e-mails, like one a day,” Morgan Flournoy, an undeclared freshman, said.

Flournoy was not aware comments on NetworkBlue were monitored.

“It’s kind of an invasion of privacy… what if you write something bad?” Flournoy said.

Just like any other social networking site, abusive content, such as inappropriate pictures or threatening comments, is removed and the student who posted the content is notified, Rice said.

Abby Puckett, a pre-nursing freshman, said she figured UK was monitoring the Web site since it was responsible for its creation.

However, the monitoring does not influence her reasons for not using the site.

“It’s just not pertinent,” Puckett said. “You can do everything at once with Facebook, and be friends with people at UK and not (at UK).”

NetworkBlue was not created to discourage students from Facebook, Rice said.

“Facebook is focused on a lot of different aspects of your life, not so much on the university aspect,” Rice said. “NetworkBlue specifically focuses on building the community around the University of Kentucky with the goal of improving student access.”

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