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Dissertation
Exploring brand reputation in sustainable undergraduate enrollment at a public american university
University of West Florida Libraries
Doctor of Education (EDD), University of West Florida
2021
Abstract
The decrease in the college-going population, along with the deregulation of the higher education sector has contributed to the consistent decline in undergraduate enrollment in several American universities and colleges, including the research site for this study. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSC Research Center, 2019) reported that the total enrollment of college students in the United States has decreased for 8 successive years (2011-2019), resulting in the closure or merger of some higher educational institutions. Scholars and strategic management professionals have proposed the use of strategic resources to help institutions achieve sustainable enrollment growth. Using a qualitative case study approach and the resourcebased view theory (RBV) as a theoretical framework, the study explored how select administrative stakeholders in a public university leverage brand reputation as a strategic resource for achieving sustainable undergraduate enrollment growth in the Southeastern United States. The RBV comprises four constructs (valuable, rare, inimitable, organize) that describe resources essential to distinguish an institution's brand. Eight participants were purposefully selected and interviewed. Findings from the study revealed that the administrative stakeholders employed several brand strategies including creating consistent brand messages, exploiting visual identity, highlighting high-impact practices, and leveraging the university's historic and geographic location to ensure sustainable enrollment. This study can inform higher educational leaders on how to strategically re-align their brand reputation management strategies to achieve long-term enrollment sustainability. Since this study's findings may be more relevant to public sector institutions, future studies can explore the same phenomenon among proprietary and faithbased institutions.
Details
- Title
- Exploring brand reputation in sustainable undergraduate enrollment at a public american university
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Contributors
- Stefan Vaughn (Committee Member) - University of West FloridaShelby Vaughn (General Contributor)Hongwei Yang (Committee Chair) - University of West Florida, School of Education
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries; [Pensacola, Florida] :
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 275
- Copyright
- Unpublished work © Bright Da-Costa Aboagye
- Identifiers
- 99380090733106600
- Academic Unit
- School of Education
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Doctor of Education (EDD)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Education (EDD), University of West Florida