Business Commons^™

Visual Representation Of Black Students And Its Effect On Enrollment At Predominantly White, Faith-Based Universities, Namon Pope

McNair Scholars Research

As higher education institutions diversify their student body, they employ tactics specifically aimed at reaching prospective students from minority groups. This study examined marketing tactics used by universities through a content analysis of photographs posted to the Instagram accounts of three faith-based universities in the United States. Photographed individuals were classified into different ethnic groups to understand how frequently members of those groups were visually represented. A Pearson Correlation using data gathered from the content analysis and each university’s enrollment and retention data for Black students did not find statistical significance. Limitations of the study and future research are discussed.