Recognizing that for many teens email has become passé, UB is among the first universities in the country to use instant messaging (IM)-the preferred method of online communication of American teens-to communicate with prospective students.

Tapping into teen-agers' demand for rapid response, the Office of Admissions went live with instant messaging last September and to date has logged more than 1,100 individual contacts with prospective students.

"As use of technology is a key factor in our marketing messages, use of this tool helps us to 'walk the walk,'" notes Regina S. Toomey, associate vice provost for new student recruitment programs at UB, which has been ranked by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine as the 11th most wired campus in the United States.

IM, Toomey adds, not only is cost-effective and user-friendly, it's also comfortable in its anonymity, which seems to ease teens' pain of asking a question.

Nearly three out of four of America's 13 million online teens use IM, according to a study released recently by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Among the 73 percent of American teens who go online daily, it noted, 89 percent use instant messaging, and one in five consider it their primary form of keeping in touch with friends.

UB's Office of Admissions has found IM integral to drawing prospective students into the admissions process: They know IM, they like it and, most importantly, it's part of their social scene, according to Andrew H. Morris, the project's overseer and telecounseling supervisor in the Office of Admissions.

Morris notes that as a conduit for connecting with prospective students, instant messaging offers real-time, interactive, one-on-one communication between a student looking for answers to questions about UB and a UB student telecounselor who can offer an insider's perspective.

Just as email requires a username, IM requires a "screen name"-the individual, however, remains anonymous-in order to communicate with another user through America On Line Instant Messenger (AIM), the software used at UB. Prospective students also hooked into AIM can contact UB through one of two screen names: ubadmit for general inquiries and ubadmitmetro for New York City-area students. Prospective students are encouraged to add ubadmit to their IM "buddy list" from their earliest contacts with the admissions office.

Part of an intensive telecounseling program that also includes phoning and emailing students, IM for prospective students has been available only during evening hours, but will expand to include daytime hours this fall, Morris adds.

And to promote greater access, the Office of Admissions is preparing to expand its service to users of other IM providers, such as ICQ, MSN and Yahoo, and plans to add a screen name for students at other institutions interested in transferring to UB.

The goal of the UB teleteam-comprised of some 20 trained undergraduate telecounselors -is to build lasting relationships with prospective students that will see them through the recruiting process, into acceptance and right up to enrollment, Morris says.

And given that among teens email no longer ranks as the fastest or most fashionable mode of online communication, Morris says UB's IM approach gives young adults the opportunity to reach out to the university in a way that appeals to them.