The Inside Higher Ed article is longer. This is a snippet.
Facebook groups targeting incoming freshmen have long been a source of frustration for the institutions whose names they use. But this year some unaffiliated groups are profiting off students by asking them to pay to join a “Class of 2027” page.
Most of the groups are titled some variation of “[Institution Name] Class of 2027 (Official)” and use the college’s logo or a campus photo as the header image. The page description typically encourages incoming students to join the group to connect with potential roommates, learn more about the institution or find textbooks.
At the end of the description, the group usually offers a disclaimer: “Please note that this group is not affiliated with the university. For more and accurate information, please refer to the official school website.”
Humans of University, the company behind many of these groups, said in an email exchange with Inside Higher Ed that it didn’t set out to make money off students seeking connections in college. The emails were unsigned, though they said the company was started by a group of college sophomores as a “Humans of New York”–like page to share college students’ stories.
The spokesperson wrote that the membership fee—$2.99, billed monthly until the subscription is canceled through the billing platform—is used to prevent scammers from joining the group and can be circumvented if someone sends them proof that they really are a prospective student at the university, though that workaround isn’t publicized on the pages.
The groups only recently began charging users, Humans of University said; they had previously used a Facebook feature that allows groups to ask potential members verification questions.
“We did have a built-in method of asking student questions before they can join. However, scammers can simply google these and put up an answer,” wrote the spokesperson. The company became incorporated in Ontario in April of this year.
Still, Humans of University likely makes a solid profit from its endeavors. Its Virginia Tech Class of 2027 group has 2,620 members. If they all paid the $2.99 fee once, it would have earned Humans of University nearly $8,000. The company runs nearly 800 unique “Class of” Facebook groups—including 361 for the Class of 2027—many of which have over 1,000 members. The company did not immediately respond to questions about how much it has earned from these fees and where the money goes.