Date of Award

Spring 5-2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Chair

Kyna Shelley

Committee Chair Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Member 2

Thomas Lipscomb

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Member 3

Lilian Hill

Committee Member 3 Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Member 4

Taralynn Hartsell

Committee Member 4 Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to determine the ways in which community college administrators, faculty, staff, counselors, recruiters, and current students report using social networking, specifically, strategies related to recruitment were examined. There was an extensive review of the literature that included background, theoretical foundations, and pertinent research of social media. Along with data collection, there were also analysis reports, conclusions, recommendations for college personnel, and those for research.

The study was conducted to determine if there was a difference in social networking usage for community college recruitment; a difference in the views of the effectiveness as a communication tool; and if there was a difference in the opinions of this effectiveness, each across different demographics such as gender, age, and education attained thus far.

Participants of this research endeavor included 240 students, and various faculty, staff, recruiters, counselors, and administrators representing the 15 community colleges in the state of Mississippi.

This research study revealed that the largest population of participants, that being 87.5%, use social media, and 82% of those who use social media also have a Facebook account. It was also determined through this research, that the majority of faculty, staff, and administrators representing the 15 community colleges agree that Facebook is an effective communication tool for recruitment of college students. The majority of current students neither agreed nor disagreed that Facebook is an effective communication tool. Interestingly, though the majority of community college counselors disagreed that Facebook is an effective communication tool.

ORCID ID

0000-0002-0451-5234

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