CollegeNET.com Announces New Voting Rules for Online Scholarships
Online Social Network Further Democratizes its Weekly Scholarship Process
Portland, OR, June 24, 2010
In order to ensure that all student participants have an equal opportunity to earn points toward winning a scholarship, CollegeNET.com, the social network through which students create topics, write about them and vote to determine who will win scholarships, today announced that it has updated its student voting process. The changes will reinforce and protect the goal of the scholarship site – to reward students for their level of participation in student forums – by ensuring that all votes are received in a fair and legitimate manner.
CollegeNET.com's new voting system will be weighted and the point value assigned to each vote will vary according to participation, communication skill and engagement factors. The scoring algorithm will assign higher weights to voters and candidates who make greater contributions to CollegeNET.com as assessed collectively by other voters.
"We created CollegeNET.com to democratize the scholarship process, and our goal has always been to empower students to decide who is leading the most interesting discussion," said Mark Bridges, associate vice president of Internet development, CollegeNET. Inc. "Today's new voting rules further extend this mission while broadening our commitment to helping a diverse pool of students to fund their higher education."
CollegeNET.com has awarded over $500,000 in scholarships to date. Unlike traditional scholarships where applicants have to wait quietly for scholarship results, CollegeNET.com's system encourages students to actively participate in forums each week right up to the moment scholarships are awarded. This engagement has produced a dedicated student user base to which foundations, universities, companies and other third-party scholarship providers are connecting through advertisements and sponsored scholarships on the site.
Media Contacts:
Schwartz Communications, Inc.
Allison Bedard or Naomi Evarts
415-512-0770
CollegeNET@schwartz-pr.com
About CollegeNET, Inc.
CollegeNET, Inc. builds Web-based, on-demand technologies that help institutions improve operational efficiency, enhance communication with constituents and save money. The company's systems are used by more than 1,300 organizations worldwide for event and academic scheduling, prospect and admissions management, Web-based tuition processing, and alumni development. CollegeNET's new www.collegenet.com is a social network through which students create topics, write about them, and vote to determine who will win scholarships. This site has become one of the Internet's most referred to destinations for college-bound students. The company is headquartered in Portland, Ore.