Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effectiveness Of The University Of Southern Mississippi's Marketing And Branding Efforts Among Prospective Students, Amy Clevenger

Honors Theses

With enrollment rates expected to surge over the next decade, the competition

between institutions of higher learning will also increase. Because of this, marketing

material produced by all institutions will need to adjust to become more effective at

establishing brand identity to attract the attention of prospective students. Using Aaker’s

brand identity model as a framework to understand branding methods, this research aims

to identify marketing communication strategies that are more effective in a prospective

student’s decision-making process. The thesis also investigates prospective students’

recall and perception of marketing material produced by USM to determine its overall

effectiveness and differences …

Sustainable Development Among Four–Year Higher Education Institutions In The United States: A Geographic And Anthropological Perspective, Kori Nadine Armstrong

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the factors that contribute to the cultural characteristics of sustainability among higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States to shed light on how they represent themselves as sustainable. It documents four-year HEIs in the United States that self-identify as sustainable; evaluates how these institutions portray themselves to society as sustainable; and documents who is leading sustainability on U.S. college campuses. This dissertation fills an important gap in the literature on sustainable development in higher education that Holm and others (2016) have identified. Although education for sustainable development (ESD) has been recognized as an important topic, and …

Risk Perception And Response Among International Students Of The University Of Southern Mississippi, Elida Lopes Souza Rocha

Master's Theses

Given the exposure of university campuses to hazards, disaster mitigation is a critical element of higher education policy. Although U.S. higher education institutions are leaders in the global education market, emergency warning systems give little consideration to how international students perceive risk, prepare for hazards, or access warning technologies available to them. This poses several questions regarding the suitability of hazards mitigation practices and the welfare of international students.

This thesis investigates the relationship between USM international students and natural hazards. Responses from online surveys and semi-structured interviews data were analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods to document the extent …

Higher Education Business And Technology Leaders’ Behaviors That Drive Outcome Alignment, Katherine Lynch-Holmes

Dissertations

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face unprecedented challenges, including capacity alignment, financial sustainability, and even public confidence (Grajeck & Brooks, 2020; Grawe, 2019; Oblinger, 2019; Simone, 2020, Wheeler, 2020, Witt & Coyne, 2019). Financial challenges force HEIs to reduce costs by making decisions like cutting programs, laying off staff or merging institutions to reduce operating costs (Chen et al., 2019; Sellingo, 2017; Witt & Coyne, 2019). Higher education leaders (HELs) must act as trusted partners and broker technology to align processes, support, and outcomes (Luftman 2000; Petkovics, 2018; Reinitz, 2019). Unfortunately, higher education’s business-technology (BITA) alignment remains lower than other national …

Peer Vs. Professional: Assessing The Communicative Experience Of Student Orientation Leaders, Casey M. Ford

Honors Theses

Current literature reveals that peer-leadership is valuable and integral within institutions of higher learning. While extensive research reveals how peer-leaders benefit the overall student experience and contribute to institutional recruitment and retention, (Tinto, 2012) little research has considered the actual experience of student peer-leaders. The current study considers the communicative challenges and triumphs student orientation leaders encounter in their roles as students and university ambassadors. During a university’s new student orientation, student orientation leaders function as both student leaders and university professionals; they serve as liaisons between students, their parents and families, and the university they represent, often working as …

Essential Leadership Competencies For College Presidents In A Metrics-Driven Community College System, Mark Mclean

Dissertations

Leaders in higher education face more change than ever before in a complex, challenging, and continually shifting social, political, and economic environment (Kezar & Holcombe, 2017). As a result, presidents are increasingly accountable for performance and metrics serve as an important component of accountability (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2017). However, presidents may not possess the “rare combination of skills that enables them to be both strong transactional and operational leaders as well as more visionary and transformational ones” (Pelletier, 2016, p. 31). As a consequence, leadership failure produces significant adverse results for presidents and institutions including the loss of positions and the threat …

Police Education And Training: A Comparative Analysis Of Law Enforcement Preparation In The United States And Canada, Citlali Alexandra Déverge

Master's Theses

Police academy training for newly hired officers varies across locations and regions in regard to both training process and training content. The needs and demands of modern-day societies have evolved, and it is very important for police training academies to keep up with the practice of the police profession. Higher education adds value to police training as it reinforces the development of critical thinking skills and the necessary values needed to face the needs and demands of society, particularly in terms of accountability, professionalism, and legitimacy. This research presents a case study of two police training academies located in a …

Source-Message-Receiver In Integrated Marketing Communication: A Study Of U.S. Institutional Advancement, Sharee Leblanc Broussard

Dissertations

Because integrated marketing communication (IMC) research has traditionally been problematic, this study used an existing scale to determine that higher educational institutional advancement (alumni, marketing-communications, development) is an appropriate venue to study the process model. Responses from practitioners representing every department within advancement, every regional accrediting body and each of the baccalaureate to doctoral Carnegie Classification levels indicated the IMC process model is both understood and its tenets practiced by practitioners at all sizes and levels of institution. The study was of interest to the practitioners as more than half of the respondents requested a copy of the results. Additionally, …