"As colleges try to adapt their more traditional outreach methods to the successive waves of students who live much of their lives online, it's inevitable that some will start to ask whether they can marshal the ubiquity of social networking to attract applicants, connect to enrolled students and, once they graduate, keep track of them as alumni," Inside Higher Ed reports. "Companies are already offering up tools that connect key components of the student experience to their favored online playground, Facebook. While the social network originally focused on college students, complete with course listings, those functions have since been shed and third-party developers have picked up the slack. ... Meanwhile, colleges are also exploring the possibilities of social networking for rounding up donations from alumni, retaining students who are enrolled and other central tasks."