TikTok has unveiled a new “Campus Hub,” the company informed TechCrunch via email on Thursday. This newly created hub includes specific group chats for college students and tailored feeds aimed at keeping students connected to their campus communities, even during the summer break.

The hub enhances the app’s campus verification feature, which was introduced last August, allowing users to include their college campus on their TikTok profile and explore a roster of fellow students from their institution to connect with peers. This feature is accessible at over 6,000 universities through TikTok’s collaboration with UNiDAYS, a platform for student verification that validates student status.

After students confirm their status as students, they can access the new dedicated campus hub.

Students have the ability to create and join group chats featuring up to 300 fellow classmates. These chats are exclusive to verified students from the same school. TikTok claims these chats can serve as a means to maintain communication, arrange gatherings, or continue discussions throughout the summer.

While these chats may prove beneficial during the summer, TikTok might also be incentivizing students to use its platform for daily school-related communication, such as class or club discussions typically conducted on other platforms like Discord, Facebook Messenger, or Instagram.

Regarding the new college feeds, users will receive a customized feed that showcases a combination of content shared by verified students and material related to their university. TikTok mentions that these feeds will enable students to remain engaged with campus activities, trends, and updates, regardless of their location.

These new offerings echo Facebook’s early phase, where the platform was entirely centered around college campuses and mandated individuals to register with a valid “.edu” email address to connect with classmates and meet people at their institution.

It should be noted that TikTok is not the sole social media heavyweight attempting to ease college students’ connectivity, as Meta-owned Instagram introduced a feature last year that closely resembles TikTok’s campus verification option, permitting U.S. students to add their educational institution to their profile banner and view a list of fellow students from their university.