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Traditional media, social media or word-of-mouth? Examining the information sources that influence Chinese students' decision-making processes when applying to U.S. graduate schools

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Traditional media, social media or word-of-mouth? Examining the information sources that influence Chinese students' decision-making processes when applying to U.S. graduate schools

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Content TRADITIONAL MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA OR WORD-OF-MOUTH? EXAMINING THE INFORMATION SOURCES THAT INFLUENCE CHINESE STUDENTS’ DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES WHEN APPLYING TO U.S. GRADUATE SCHOOLS by Wenyi Shi A Thesis Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS (STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS) December 2013 Copyright 2013 Wenyi Shi ii Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis chair, Jennifer Floto, for her unwavering support and understanding. Professor Floto inspired me with her words of encouragement and energetic character. For that, I am eternally grateful. I would also like to extend my appreciation to my thesis committee members, Jay Wang and Dr. Dennis Rook, for their much appreciated feedback and patience. Additionally, I would like to thank my beloved family: father, mother and fiancé. The following work would not have been possible without their unconditional love, support and understanding. Finally, I would like to give special thanks to my interviewees for their patience and consideration during this process. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vi Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vii Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Statement of the Problem ....................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Purpose of the Study .............................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Significance of the Study ....................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Limitations ............................................................................................................................. 7 Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 9 2.1 The Importance of International Students to U.S. Graduate Schools .................................. 10 2.1.1 Academic Contributions to the U.S. ........................................................................ 11 2.1.2 Economic Contributions to the U.S. ........................................................................ 12 2.2 Trends among Chinese Applicants ....................................................................................... 14 2.3 Lack of Research Regarding Communications Channels for Recruitment of International Students ................................................................................................................................ 16 2.4 Difficulties in Communicating with International Students ................................................ 17 Chapter Three: Research Methodology ........................................................................................ 19 3.1 Research Design ................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Sampling Design .................................................................................................................. 20 3.3 Defining Influencers ............................................................................................................. 21 3.3.1 Traditional Media .................................................................................................. 22 3.3.2 Social Media .......................................................................................................... 22 3.3.3 Word of Mouth ...................................................................................................... 23 3.3.4 Study Abroad Agencies ......................................................................................... 24 3.4 Research Process .................................................................................................................. 24 3.5 Interview Questions ............................................................................................................. 25 3.6 Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 26 3.7 Content Analysis .................................................................................................................. 26 iv 3.7.1 Popularity .............................................................................................................. 27 3.7.2 Usage Frequency ................................................................................................... 29 3.7.3 Word of Mouth ...................................................................................................... 30 3.7.4 Accessibility .......................................................................................................... 31 3.7.5 Cost ........................................................................................................................ 32 3.7.6 Information Completeness ..................................................................................... 32 3.7.7 Helpfulness ............................................................................................................ 34 3.7.8 Reliability .............................................................................................................. 35 3.8 Analysis of Other Factors That Influence Graduate School Enrollment Decisions ............. 38 3.9.1 Safety and Security ................................................................................................ 38 3.9.2 Reputation .............................................................................................................. 40 Chapter Four: Key Findings .......................................................................................................... 43 4.1 Key Finding #1 ..................................................................................................................... 44 4.2 Key Finding #2 ..................................................................................................................... 48 4.3 Key Finding #3 ..................................................................................................................... 50 Chapter Five: Implication and Recommendations ........................................................................ 54 5.1 Specific Recommendations for Prestigious and Well-Known Universities ........................ 56 5.2 Specific Recommendations for Less Well-Known Universities with Certain High-Ranking Programs .............................................................................................................................. 59 5.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 61 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 64 v List of Tables Table 1: The Economic Benefits of International Education to the United States ....................... 12 Table 2: Comparison of Key Influencers ...................................................................................... 27 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Tweets per Day ................................................................................................................ 4 Figure 2: Top Three Places of Origin ............................................................................................. 6 Figure 3: Disposable Income per Capita (US Dollar) in China .................................................... 14 Figure 4: Claimed Main Sources of News, by Platform ............................................................... 38 Figure 5: Familiarity-Favorability Rating ..................................................................................... 54 vii Abstract The market for Chinese students seeking foreign education has exploded in recent years thanks to a decade of growth in the Chinese economy. Chinese international students are now a valuable source of monetary income for many American universities as well as valuable sources of human capital for American society. While there have been many studies that look into the factors that influence Chinese students’ decisions about which schools to attend, there have been almost no studies that look into how students gather the important information that ultimately helps them decide which schools they attend. By gathering and interpreting information from various online and offline works of literature and personal interviews with Chinese international student, the author of this paper has identified several core communication channels that Chinese students use as sources of information about foreign universities. These channels include traditional media (newspapers and TV), social media (RenRen), word of mouth (alumni, family and friends) and study abroad agencies. In analyzing the influence of the various communications channels on the ways Chinese students gather information about foreign universities, the author has developed several recommendations for both well-known and less well-known universities on how to most effectively communicate with and recruit Chinese international students. 1 Chapter One: Introduction As globalization continues, businesses are finding that they face ever-increasing competition from both near and far. One hundred years ago, businesses only had to worry about competition from across town; 50 years ago, they only had to worry about competition from across the nation; 25 years ago, they only had to worry about competition from industrialized nations. Now, in 2013, businesses have to worry about competition from every corner of the Earth, not only against old foes but also against powerful new ones in up-and-coming nations such as India, China, and Brazil. The business of education is not immune to this increased competition. As recently as 30 years ago, a few prestigious universities dominated the market, easily attracting the best and brightest minds from all over the world. However, today, these prestigious universities suffer fierce competition not only from new universities within their national borders but also from foreign universities setting up shop on their own shores. In addition, as countries such as China and India start pumping massive amounts of money into their own education systems, it is expected that all existing universities, regardless of their prestige, will have to fight for the minds and wallets of aspiring students everywhere. With increased competition, even the most prestigious universities can no longer just sit back and wait for students to show up to their admissions offices. To secure a continued inflow of cash as well as an inflow of the best minds in the world, universities of all sizes and prestige will have to start actively recruiting students from a much wider pool of prospects. Like with all recruiting activities, the key to successfully recruiting students will be effective communication. This paper will limit the scope of its targeted students to those from China because the country is the biggest and most lucrative source of foreign students for American universities. It 2 will focus on U.S. universities and their graduate programs because graduate school applicants account for about 60 percent of Chinese students seeking to study abroad (EIC Group, 2012). 1.1 Statement of the Problem Problem 1 – The best way for students to learn what U.S. graduate schools are like and to get answers to their questions about living and learning in different university communities is to visit the schools in person. Once potential students are onsite, a school can arrange for expert recruiters from the admissions office to take the students on a tour and demonstrate all the wonderful things the school has to offer. However, an onsite visit to an American university is simply not possible for many prospective Chinese students. Because of various issues such as the high cost of travel and time-consuming visa procedures, they can rarely experience school-specific programs or observe classes with current students and faculty in person. Without the ability to personally visit a school and learn about it directly from its staff, Chinese graduate students often have to rely heavily on study abroad agencies, online communities and American schools’ websites for application information. In other words, it is very difficult for graduate schools to have direct personal contact with their prospective students. Problem 2 – Since it is difficult for Chinese students to visit their prospective schools and learn about them onsite and in person from school officials, they must learn about their prospective schools from second- or third-hand sources. One of the most common sources from which Chinese students first learn about their prospective schools is the US News and World Report annual college rankings. This listing is the starting point for many Chinese students’ search for U.S. graduate schools. Popular online communities such as Taisha and Gter also are important destinations to which almost every Chinese student who wants to study overseas goes for information and advice. Many Chinese students also rely on study abroad agencies to assist 3 them in finding schools that best fit their personal interests and academic goals. They will often use lists of schools and programs provided by the study abroad agencies as a basis for their search for potential graduate schools. Due to the important role these third-party sources of information play in the search for graduate schools, it is imperative that American universities have a significant presence on these sites in order to secure talented international students. According to a 2012 survey of 22,305 Chinese students and their parents, more than 60 percent of Chinese potential graduate students only consider Top 100 universities when applying to U.S. graduate schools (EIC Group, 2012). There are many schools in the U.S. that have very good graduate programs in specific fields; however, if a school does not have a high overall ranking, then chances are that it will not even be considered by many Chinese students as a possible candidate for graduate school. Problem 3 – Chinese parents play a crucial role during the entire decision-making process. Compared to students in Western countries, Chinese students are more likely to follow their parents’ will (Bodycott & Lai, 2012). As a result, methods used by U.S. graduate schools to communicate with students may not work well with their older, and sometimes much more traditional, parents. Chinese parents tend to be less knowledgeable about individual academic institutions, but they watch TV and read newspapers to find out about what’s happening in various countries. Often, this information will influence the decisions they make regarding what institutions their children attend. Word of mouth from fellow parents, alumni recommendations and study abroad agents also have a great deal of influence on Chinese parents (Zhang, 2010). 1.2 Purpose of the Study The last 70 years have brought about a revolution in communication that has been unprecedented in human history. To secure news and information, people have gravitated from 4 the radio to television to computers to smartphones. Social media and the Internet have enabled us to communicate with each other quickly, cheaply and easily. Information can be posted and consumed by anyone with a smart phone. While technology has made it generally easier for people to communicate, it has, at the same time, sometimes made it difficult to engage in effective communication or get a message across (Morley, 2008). By making it easier to distribute information, technology has also made it easier to distribute useless and misleading information. Figure 1: Tweets per Day Source: Retrieved from McGee, Matt. "By The Numbers: Twitter Vs. Facebook Vs. Google Buzz." Search Engine Land. 2010. Trying to send a clear message to a specific audience through the sea of information in today’s communication channels is akin to hurling a message in a bottle into the ocean and praying that the waves will bring it to those for whom the message is intended. However, this is 5 the conundrum each university must address as it seeks to reach potential students in order to convince them to enroll in its graduate programs. This study, therefore, will examine solutions to this conundrum by: 1. Enhancing understanding about Chinese students’ experiences in applying for graduate schools in the U.S. 2. Examining what media sources have the greatest influence on Chinese students’ decision-making experiences. 3. Finding out what role public relations and communications departments play in getting their schools’ messages across. It is impossible to guarantee successful recruitment. However, by gaining a solid understanding of how Chinese students learn about their prospective schools and the media sources to which they pay the most attention, universities can increase their opportunities to communicate with prospective Chinese students and convince them to attend their schools. 1.3 Significance of the Study Schools all around the world have long understood the importance of attracting international students. While U.S. universities have historically been the number one destination for ambitious students from around the world, they have met increased competition from schools in Europe and Canada, as well as fellow domestic universities, in recent years. With China having the fastest- growing economy of the last decade, many universities around the world have come to view China as one of the biggest and most important sources of potential foreign students. Many of China’s wealthiest families send their children to study abroad, making it the largest source of international students for the U.S. (see Figure 2). In the academic year 2011-12, 6 China was the top place of origin among international students, with the percentage of students coming from there increasing 23 percent over the previous year (IIE, 2012). Figure 2: Top Three Places of Origin Source: Institute of International Education. Retrieved from Open Doors 2012: Report on International Educational Exchange. Washington, DC, 2012. Schools have been conducting research into the qualities that attract students to attend them for many years. As a result, universities all across America have pumped millions of dollars into improving their campuses. They put massive amounts of money into scholarships and grants. They scour the world for the best and brightest professors to add to their faculties. Universities have even spent massive amounts of money trying to understand all the factors that could attract international students to their campuses. However, despite all of the money and efforts spent, universities have failed to research and analyze the most effective channels through which to communicate with Chinese students. These students, by virtue of the Chinese government’s media policy and close grip on the 7 Internet, use very different means of communication than do most international students. In China, many Western social media websites and communication channels are not accessible. The search engine that many Chinese students use is very different from those used by students in other countries. Therefore, many methods that might be useful for communication with international students are not applicable to communication with Chinese students. In addition, China’s unique cultural emphasis on the importance of “face” and the opinions of parents have severe implications for how and with whom American universities need to communicate in order to increase their chances of attracting Chinese students. It is necessary for U.S. graduate schools to find the most effective channels to best serve their PR purposes regarding their reputations in the Chinese market. It is hoped that this knowledge can help U.S. graduate schools get a better understanding of the roles different communication channels play in how Chinese students select the graduate schools they want to attend, thus increasing their enrollment of Chinese students. 1.4 Limitations This research examines the channels that Chinese students most often use to find information regarding graduate schools that they might want to apply to or ultimately attend. While there are many such channels, this paper will concentrate on a few, chosen based on previous research (Bodycott, 2009), those channels being: 1. Traditional media – newspapers and TV. 2. Social media – social networking site (Renren.com) and online forums (Taisha.com, Gter.com and ChaseDream.com). 3. Word of mouth – information from alumni, family and friends and study abroad agencies. 8 While the above channels are the most prominently used by students, they do not paint a complete picture of all the channels available to Chinese students through which to research and learn about potential U.S. graduate schools. Today, we live in an era of changes unprecedented in both scale and pace. Within the last 10 years, disruptive innovations such as Wikipedia (launched in 2001), Facebook (launched in 2004) and Twitter (launched in 2006) have fundamentally changed the ways we communicate and search for information. There is no doubt that such great innovations will continue to emerge in the years to come. People who have grown up in this era of disruptive technology and fast changes have learned to embrace new technology and adapt quickly. Therefore, this research is, at best, merely a snapshot of the communication channels currently used by Chinese students. It is perfectly conceivable that, in a matter of years, as technology continues to evolve and disruptive technologies continues to emerge, a new disruptive technology will come along and completely invalidate all the findings of this research. Moreover, if this study could have interviewed recruiting officials from U.S. educational institutions, its findings would have provided more information about the success factors of U.S. graduate schools seeking to market themselves internationally. These officials could also have helped analyze the underlying dimensions of communicating with foreign students. 9 Chapter Two: Literature Review Educational demands in the U.S. have changed recently, thanks to new information and communication technologies, the globalization of economic activity and growing independence for the individual (OECD, 2007). More than 90 percent of Americans believe that it is important to prepare for a global society (NAFSA, 2007). International students not only contribute varied perspectives to the experiences of all students but also, more importantly, have a significant impact on the socio-cultural advancement and development of their host cities’ international profiles and host institutions’ reputations (Bodycott, 2009). Although U.S. colleges and universities enroll more international students than universities in any other country in the world, international students still account for less than 4 percent of total U.S. higher education enrollment (IIE, 2012). Moreover, new competitors have entered the market for higher education as more and more countries make investments in developing their higher education systems (Ivy, 2001; Soutar & Turner, 2002). Competition between the nations to attract the best and the brightest minds in the world has never been greater. The number of students seeking overseas education is expected to grow from 1.8 million in 2000 to 8 million by 2025 (Maslen, 2012). Colleges and universities, as well as governments, are focusing strongly on how to attract the dramatically-increasing number of international students. Relatively little has been written from the perspective of university marketing within international markets (Mazzarol, 1998;Cubillo, Sánchez & Cerviño, 2006). There is little to no literature that analyzes the decision-making process of prospective international students. Further analysis of the influencers and determining factors in the decision-making process is 10 indispensable to higher education institutions as well as national, regional and local governments seeking to adopt marketing strategies geared toward international students (Cubillo, Sánchez & Cerviño, 2006). This chapter provides a review of various literature that explains the importance of international students to American higher education as well as to American society in general. It will then dive deeper, specifically detailing the importance of Chinese international students to America’s higher education system. Lastly, it will examine some of the challenges of communicating with Chinese international students and provide examples of why it is important to understand how to better communicate with these students and potential students. 2.1 The Importance of International Students to U.S. Graduate Schools International student mobility is a rapidly-growing worldwide phenomenon, with over 4.31 million students pursuing higher education outside their home countries each year (IIE, 2012). During the 2011-12 academic year, the total number of international students enrolled at colleges and universities in the U.S. increased 6 percent to a record high of 764,495 (IIE, 2010). California, New York and Texas hosted 32 percent of all international students in the U.S. in 2011-12. International students strengthen the connection between different nations and provide opportunities for domestic students to communicate and interact with and learn from people from all over the world. “International educational exchange has never been more important for the United States. International students bring intellectual, economic, and cultural benefits to the U.S. campuses and communities.” – Allan Goodman, President and CEO of the Institute of International Education (IIE, 2003) 11 International students play several important roles at U.S. colleges and universities. American students who enroll in schools with substantial numbers of international students will benefit from being exposed to a diverse group of people who have different backgrounds and cultural practices. Although they are most often singled out for their scientific and cultural contributions, international students are becoming an increasingly important force in the U.S. economy. 2.1.1 Academic Contributions to the U.S. International students mainly study in the fields of business and management, engineering, mathematics, computer science and physical and social sciences (IIE, 2012). They help sustain academic research in American colleges and universities, especially in fields such as science, engineering and math, for which a decreasing number of American students are interested in pursuing degrees (Zhang, 2011). In fact, some research, particularly in graduate schools, may not even be possible without international students wanting to undertake their studies in the U.S. With respect to classes and programs, international students enrich the overall learning experiences of other students by bringing their backgrounds, perspectives and cultures to American campuses (Zhao, Kuh & Carini, 2005). They constitute an increasingly relevant and important source of diversity on campuses. Both inside and outside academia, commentators believe that an important goal of higher education should be to develop in students a high degree of cultural competence so that they are able to work effectively with people from different backgrounds (Carnevale, 1999; Mori, 2000; Sandhu, 1995; Smith & Schonfeld, 2000). The benefit of diversity in the classroom is that it not only helps American students develop some key 12 global cultural skills but also contributes to the growth of U.S. higher education systems (McNamara & Harris, 1997). 2.1.2 Economic Contributions to the U.S. International education has become a notable industry. In major international education destinations such as the U.S., Canada and Australia, international students have a significant impact on their host countries. International students not only contribute huge sums of money in tuition fees and living expenses but also generate a substantive amount of work for the people of the destination country (Källström, 2009). Although they represent less than 4 percent of the total students in U.S. higher education, international students contributed over $20.2 billion to the U.S. economy in 2011 (See Table 1). On average, each international student in the U.S. contributed approximately $30,000 to the U.S. economy in the academic year 2011-12. These expenditures on tuition, accommodation, books, food and other expenses are directly paid by the 64 percent of international students who rely primarily on personal and family funds to pay for their studies at U.S. higher education institutions (IIE, 2012). The important benefits that international students bring to the economy last well after the students graduate. Many tech companies such as Google and Microsoft have emphasized the fact that the U.S. higher education system is not producing enough science and engineering students to fill demand. They have warned that a continued and sustained lack of availability of workers is who are knowledgeable in science and engineering can threaten the U.S.’s long-term competitiveness. As many international students who study in the U.S. ultimately end up working and living in the U.S., they provide the crucial science and engineering talents that U.S. companies desperately need. 13 Table 1: The Economic Benefits of International Education to the United States Academic Year US $ Million Percentage Increase 1999-2000 10,350 / 2000-2001 11,480 10.92% 2001-2002 12,630 10.02% 2002-2003 13,310 5.38% 2003-2004 13,640 2.48% 2004-2005 14,120 3.52% 2005-2006 13,491 -4.45% 2006-2007 14,499 7.47% 2007-2008 15,543 7.20% 2008-2009 17,657 13.60% 2009-2010 18,776 6.34% 2010-2011 20,232 7.75% 2011-2012 21,807 7.78% Source: NAFSA. " Economic Impact Statements.” Retrieved from NAFSA.org. 2013. The steady rise in the population of international students in the United States has had influences on American campus life. The cultural, educational and economic values international students provide to their destination countries are powerful (O'Connell, 2012). While it is important for universities to attract international students from all over the world, China’s economic miracle of the last two decades has made Chinese students stand out as one of the most important groups, if not the most important group, of international students to attract. The next 14 section of this paper examines the importance of Chinese students to U.S. graduate schools and society and some of the factors that affect their study abroad decisions. 2.2 Trends among Chinese Applicants With China’s one-child policy and growing middle class, more and more families there can afford the significant costs of an international education for their only children. According to a recent report from the International Business Times, nearly 90 percent of China’s high-net-worth families are planning to send their children to study abroad (IB Times). With the rise in its economy, China is now the world’s biggest source of international students. Chinese students studying overseas account for 14 percent of the total international students worldwide (Choudaha & Chang, 2012). Unlike most international students, about 90 percent of Chinese students rely on personal or family funds as their primary monetary source (Xinhua News). Fifty-three percent of those surveyed by Zinch China (Fischer, 2011) said that their families could afford to spend $40,000 or more per year on undergraduate education. Another 22 percent reported that they could spend between $10,000 and $40,000 a year (see Figure 3). 15 Figure 3: Disposable Income per Capita (US Dollar) in China Source: www.tradingeconomics.com; National bureau of statistics, China. The EIC Group conducted a survey of nearly 20,000 university and high school students and their parents in 17 major cities. Some key findings from the survey include: a. The favorite countries of Chinese university and middle school students seeking overseas studies are the U.S. (favored by 33.86 percent of the respondents), the U.K. (16.14 percent), Australia (12.72 percent) and Canada (12.68 percent). b. Among Chinese students seeking to study abroad, those with bachelor’s degrees account for 60 percent, while senior middle school students and those with master’s degrees account for 22.6 percent and 10 percent respectively. 1059.03 1177.70 1311.63 1469.94 1969.40 2254.39 2453.52 2939.91 3355.38 3779.23 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 16 c. The core product Chinese students are buying from international education is not a higher-quality education. Rather, improved career prospects and greater competitive advantages that stimulate Chinese students to participate in international education. d. Among 40 percent of Chinese students who choose not to study abroad, a lack of professional guidance and reliable sources of information are the key factors that stop them from engaging in international education. According to the report, Chinese students are motivated by the employment and study opportunities offered by cross-border education, the personal experiences of visiting other countries, the influence of family and friends and stories from peers who had returned to give school talks. The influencing factors that EIC found ‘push’ students to seek cross-border study are consistent with those found in previous studies. Other recent studies reinforce the idea that the major factors affecting Chinese students’ study abroad choices include the availability of their desired programs of study, the quality of education offered, safety, cost, rankings and the programs’ philosophical approach to education. To maintain their international competitive advantage, U.S. colleges and universities must develop marketing strategies to grow enrollment of international students. 2.3 Lack of Research Regarding Communications Channels for Recruitment of International Students While there are many studies that look into the factors that influence schools’ selection processes (Malaney, 1987; Olson, 1992; Ruby, 2007) and international students’ decision-making processes (Cubillo, Sánchez & Cerviño, 2006; Bodycott & Lai, 2012), the existing literature tends to focus on what institutions can do in terms of changing themselves to better attract international students (Cubillo, Sánchez & Cerviño, 2006). There have not been any 17 studies that look at how universities can best get the attention of international students through communication. Lee Iacocca said, “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere”; similarly, a university can have the most attractive facilities and best programs in the world, but unless it can effectively communicate those facts to its potential students, the facilities won’t do it any good. However, due to the diverse backgrounds of international students, communicating with them is extremely difficult, with communication with students from China being no exception. Such a task poses a unique set of issues. 2.4 Difficulties in Communicating with International Students Developing a competitive advantage for international education suppliers via marketing strategies is a complex issue. Education is a product that is both highly intangible and comprised of characteristics that create special problems for marketing (Mazzarol, 1998). Consumers usually associate intangibility with a high level of risk. Thus, intangibility hinders the communication of services to customers and the setting of prices for international education (Mazzarol, 1998). Consequently, consumers’ decision processes are influenced by indirect mechanisms of service evaluation. Consumers analyze factors such as the image of a brand or, in this case, the image of the institutions and destination countries. Furthermore, unlike international students from Europe and India, where English is often taught as a second language, many Chinese students possess a limited command of English and their parents often do not know any English at all. Many Chinese students don't speak English fluently enough to be confident in an American classroom (Fischer, 2011). Due to the language barrier, Chinese students and parents often get their information through word of mouth from peers or through third-party agents. While it is possible for schools to create wonderful websites 18 and posts good information online, it's nearly impossible to control what these third party agents communicate to and charge families overseas. Governments and universities need to offer international students what they are looking for, but they also need to be able to communicate and market this information. Competition within the education industry is intense, so countries and institutions need to identify and maintain their competitive advantages and work on positioning themselves in the market. International education is an interesting research field not only because of its importance for many people and countries but also because relatively little has been written on the marketing of education within international markets (Mazzarol, 1998). Many institutions seek full-paying students when recruiting abroad, and China is a great place to recruit such types of students. Research has shown that colleges could stop giving financial assistance to many Chinese students without affecting their admission rates if they can targeted these students well (Melcher, 2010). 19 Chapter Three: Research Methodology The purpose of this study is to examine the most influential factors in Chinese graduate students’ decision-making processes from the perspective of public relations. Specifically, it aims to 1) investigate what communication channels Chinese students applying to graduate school use, 2) determine what the influencers are and how they influence graduate school enrollment decisions and 3) explore Chinese students’ satisfaction with and concerns about the sources of information they refer to throughout the application process. This chapter summarizes the methodology used to collect data. It includes a description of the research design, a summary of the research process, content analysis and an analysis of other factors that influence graduate school enrollment decisions. Choice of sampling is defined and profiles of participants are provided. 3.1 Research Design The decision to study abroad is not a simple one, and since “Most complex and expensive decisions are more likely to involve deeper buyer deliberation” (Assael, 1981) the research participant selection process is complex (Cubillo, Sánchez & Cerviño, 2006). A qualitative approach, individual interviews, was used to collect data to gain a better understanding of Chinese students’ decision-making processes. It was believed that semi-structured interviews would yield more insightful data than a focus group in this study. To make the research practical and reliable, several steps were taken with all the theoretical and practical issues taken into account. 20 3.2 Sampling Design The sample population for this research was Chinese students who finished undergraduate study in China, applied for post-graduate studies in the U.S., and were, at the time of the interviews, full-time students in U.S. graduate schools. There are about 240,344 Chinese graduate students studying in the U.S. that meet these requirements. It is obvious that the entire population could not be tested. Therefore, both nonprobability sampling and random sampling were employed in this study. Accidental sampling was used in this study to narrow down members of the qualifying population based on relative ease of access. Chinese students who attend graduate school at the University of Southern California (USC) were chosen to participate in this research due to their ease of access and because USC hosts the largest number of international students in the nation (IIE, 2012). In the academic year 2010-11, USC enrolled 6,944 international students in total, of which 71 percent were graduate students. A total of 1,593 graduate students from China enrolled at USC in Fall 2010 (USC, 2010). Students from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, the Viterbi School of Engineering and the Marshall School of Business were invited to do interviews. Samples were selected from the engineering and business schools because these schools have the highest level of Chinese graduate student enrollment. Chinese graduate students studying in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) make up the biggest percentage of the total population, while the Business and Management major has been the most popular major among Chinese international students for the past several years (with about 25 percent of them pursuing it). Lastly, there is a distinct increasing trend of Chinese students 21 studying abroad in the non-science and non-business fields (Xinhua News). Therefore, students from the Annenberg School are chosen to help represent this group of Chinese students. A sample of 12 Chinese graduate students – participants A1, A2, A3 and A4 from Annenberg, participants B1, B2, B3, and B4 from Viterbi and participants C1, C2, C3 and C4 from Marshall – were randomly selected to participate in the study. Interviews were conducted between the researcher and the participants to mirror the reality of their application processes to U.S. graduate schools. By capturing a wide range of perspectives relating to the research focuses, this sampling technique best enabled the researcher to identify common themes that are notable across the sample. 3.3 Defining Influencers Now, in the second decade of the 21st century, emerging communication technologies are continuing to create new options for both collecting feedback and disseminating information. These advances enable schools to reach out to diverse audiences and facilitate two-way communication with them. Based on previous research (Bodycott, 2009) and a review of the existing literature (Lee & Tan, 1984; Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002; Zhao & Guo, 2007; Zhang, 2011), this study selected the media sources that were previously reported to influence Chinese students’ decision-making processes in regard to choosing a study abroad destination as its main subjects of in-depth study (Bodycott, 2009). These sources of information are categorized into three groups: traditional media, social media and word of mouth. All of these are used for the purpose of providing information to the general public. 22 3.3.1 Traditional Media Traditional media is a means of communication and expression that has been used for years in the forms of print publications, advertising, public relations and direct marketing. This information source is used to deliver official messages and content, which are often designed by school PR planners. Examples include TV coverage of school events, school advertising on outdoor billboards, attention-getting news coverage and brochures for school programs. In this study, two of the traditional forms of media – newspapers and television – are considered as sources of information for Chinese students to learn about U.S. graduate schools. 3.3.2 Social Media Social media has become a powerful source of news and updates (Nielson). Students can get a full range of information on school programs, reputations and other consideration criteria from interacting on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, online communities, school web pages, blogs and other social media platforms. China has the world’s most active social media environment. Although Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked in China, China’s Internet users are still more active than those of any other country on social media sites, from blogs to social networking sites to microblogs and other online communities (Mckinsey, 2012a). To make the study less complex, web-based research, social networking sites (SNSs) and online communities are all considered to be social media. Since the population of this study consist of Chinese students who applied for graduate schools in the U.S., the social media platforms examined here are web-based research sources such as Baidu, SNSs such as Renren and online communities such as Taisha, Gter and ChaseDream forums, where young Chinese professionals and students share information and experiences about overseas study. 23 3.3.3 Word of Mouth Word of mouth (WOM) plays a vital role in the decision-making processes of potential students who are comparing and evaluating educational programs. WOM recommendations are typically generated by consumers who have no particular investments in recommending certain brands or products. As such, these recommendations are perceived to be more convincing and attention-getting in the marketplace (Arndt, 1967a; Arndt, 1967b; Dichter, 1966; Silverman, 1997). Positive attitudes toward products or brands alone may not cause satisfied customers to recommend them to others or engage in WOM (Holmes & Lett, 1977; Swan & Richard, 1989). Rather, satisfied customers need to feel motivated to initiate WOM recommendations. It has been found that the most effective advertising is that which follows the same psychological patterns of communication and satisfies the same motivations as WOM recommendations (Dichter, 1966). When it comes to evaluating potential U.S. graduate schools, WOM is a very influential source of information. Current students, school alumni, friends, family members and school professors can have a tremendous impact on potential students’ school selections. Students rely on their peers for information and are affected by these influencers’ attitudes toward their experiences with schools. In a recent study of Chinese students who had chosen to study in Hong Kong, researchers found that “Students were also heavily influenced by the perspectives and experiences of family and friends, including those of peers that had returned from studies abroad to share their experiences” (Bodycott & Lai, 2012). Therefore, school alumni, family and friends are included in this study as word-of-mouth influencers. 24 3.3.4 Study Abroad Agencies Study abroad agencies are a special kind of word-of-mouth influencers that deserve careful examination on their own due to the important role they play in students’ search for graduate school information. Unlike in the U.S., in China, there are for-profit agencies that act as “experts” when it comes to studying abroad. In many cases, Chinese students and parents trust information from these so-called “experts” more than information they obtain through their own research. Agencies that provide study abroad services are regarded as experts in this field and therefore play an indispensable role in students’ choice of both countries and prospective institutions (White, 2011). Given this fact, study abroad agencies are included in this research as an influencer. They are considered to be a source of word-of-mouth marketing. Since Chinese students and their parents don’t speak English as their first language, all the study abroad information from the above media sources is delivered to them in Chinese, except for American universities’ websites and American news and rankings reports. Some tools and channels used by American students may not be applicable to international students, and vice versa. But one sure thing is that the investment made in a postsecondary education can profoundly affect one’s career opportunities, financial well-being and quality of life. 3.4 Research Process The individual interviews were conducted in Mandarin. The same researcher interviewed the 12 participants individually and face to face at USC’s main campus. The interviews allowed participants to describe their decision-making experiences, from selecting where to apply to deciding which school to attend. Previously research on similar topics (Bodycott, 2009; Mazzarol, 1998; Cubillo, Sánchez & Cerviño, 2006; Huang & Rinaldp, 2006; White, 2011) guided the development of the interview questions. 25 3.5 Interview Questions This qualitative research explores the sources of information that are used by Chinese students during the application process and how influential these media channels are in their final decisions. A semi-structured interview method was applied to enable the researcher to obtain sufficient information based on the responses from participants. A rigorous set of questions was created in advance as a guide and an informal grouping of topics and questions was prepared for the specific interview situation. In the beginning, basic introductory questions were asked in order to collect information about the interviewees. Then, interviewees were asked about which media channels they used to acquire information and how those channels influenced their decision-making processes in choosing a higher education study-abroad destination. Questions were structured around the following decision-making steps: 1. The decision of which specific country to study in. 2. The decision of which graduate schools to apply to. 3. The decision of which graduate school to attend upon acceptance. Even though all participants were enrolled at the same university and some were from the same major, each participant was asked to talk about his or her own application process. Specific questions – about reasons for seeking international education, where the interviewee went to collect information, how much he or her trusted these sources of information and how influential these media channels were on the decision-making process – were asked in regard to all three parts of the decision-making process. Interviewees were also asked to rate, on a five-point scale, how strongly they were influenced by the sources of information they mentioned in their answers. 26 3.6 Data Collection The researcher conducted interviews and later translated the interviews into English and transcribed them. Efforts have been made to make sure the collated data is trustworthy. Since the focus of this study is not on the push-pull factors that drive Chinese students’ decisions (Bodycott, 2009), this study only covers the defining influencers of Chinese students’ decision-making about higher education institutions abroad: traditional media, social media, word of mouth and agencies. 3.7 Content Analysis A comparison of various media sources was done based on the criteria in the table below. These media sources are defined in Chapter 3 as influencers. The criteria were chosen because they are the best indicators for judging how influential a media source is on students’ study abroad decisions. This content analysis is based on the interview population (Chinese international students who are now full-time graduate students in U.S. graduate schools) but is also applicable to students who are interested in or seeking international education (see Table 2). 27 Table 2: Comparison of Key Influencers 3.7.1 Popularity Popularity measures how popular a particular media source is in the minds of Chinese students when it comes to acquiring information about graduate schools. Popularity is measured on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning the media source is rarely used and 5 meaning the media source is used by almost every Chinese student when it comes to acquiring information about graduate schools. Traditional Media – newspapers and TV have been widely accepted by Chinese families as sources of news and information. While there has been an accelerating decline of newspaper consumption in Western countries in the past two decades, newspapers are thriving in China, generating a record-high $50 billion in revenue in 2010 (Phoenix New Media). According to prior studies (Bodycott, 2009; EIC Group, 2012; Zhang, 2010), traditional media is most often used by Chinese parents to know what’s happening in their children’s destination countries – 28 both good and bad. Given that the subjects of this content analysis are students, the popularity of these two influencers is insignificant. Social Media – Chinese students are very active on social media and usually have multiple social media accounts (Nielson, 2012). According to a survey in 2012, “social media has a greater influence on purchasing decisions of consumers in China than for those anywhere else in the world” (McKinsey, 2012b). During the interviews, all 12 students mentioned that they regularly used online forums such as Taisha and Gter to learn from others’ application experiences. For participants from the Marshall School of Business, ChaseDream – an online forum focusing on business school applications and GMAT preparation – was most frequently used. Web-based information search engines such as Baidu are also very popular among Chinese students as they provide a convenient way to obtain information. College students are more likely to use social networks sites (SNSs) than those who have already graduated and are currently full-time workers. In China, 75 percent of college students use Renren. As the most popular SNS in China, Renren is used to meet diverse needs, with 45 percent of its users obtaining information and sharing news on it. Renren has more real-name users than any other social media sites in China, which indicates that it is a more real-life-based social network. This makes it an ideal way for potential Chinese students to find current students and alumni from the universities to which they are applying. However, students don’t frequently use Renren to obtain information about study abroad options. Word of mouth – due to their Confucian culture, Chinese students are “heavily influenced by the perspectives and experiences of family and friends, including those of peers that had returned from studies abroad to share their experiences” (Bodycott & Lai, 2012). Family and 29 friends play crucial roles in the decision-making processes of Chinese students. They are considered a 4 in popularity because they are often involved in students’ choices about colleges abroad. School alumni are also popular sources of information and are usually consulted whenever possible. Study abroad agencies are the most popular word-of-mouth sources among Chinese students. Nearly 67 percent of Chinese families choose to hire study abroad agencies to assist with international education applications. More than 2 million students in China use New Oriental – an agency specializing in international college admissions – every year for professional counseling and recruitment services (New Oriental). 3.7.2 Usage Frequency Usage frequency measures how often Chinese students return to each particular media source to utilize the information available therein. Usage frequency is measured as: a. Rarely – students consult this media source for less than 10 percent of the total time spent researching information regarding study abroad destinations. b. Occasionally – students consult this media for about 30 percent of the total research time to find information regarding study abroad destinations. c. Sometimes – students periodically return to this media source for new information regarding study abroad destinations, spending about 50 percent of the total research time here. d. Frequently – students spend the most time, more than 70 percent of the total research time, using this media channel as a source of information regarding study abroad destinations. 30 Traditional Media – Since traditional media is not a very popular source of information regarding overseas study options for Chinese students, they tend not to use these media sources frequently for information regarding potential graduate schools. Social Media – Social media is the most frequently used source of information for Chinese students researching study abroad destinations. Since most of the information on social media is user-generated, content is constantly being updated by users and is comprised of old posts and up-to-date information. The scale and frequency of posts on SNSs such as Renren and online communities such as Taisha, Gter, and ChaseDream make the sites key resources for all students’ needs, including reading news and connecting with friends. This has driven high loyalty to and usage of social media by Chinese students. 3.7.3 Word of Mouth Word of Mouth – word of mouth is a very popular way for students to get information about studying aboard destinations. However, parents and friends tend to have limited knowledge regarding studying abroad, and therefore students tend to consult them only once or twice during the entire application process. Alumni tend to have more information regarding the particular schools that they attended. Although they know more than parents and friends, their knowledge is still limited. As a result, students tend to consult them only a few times during the application process. Study abroad agencies have a very high level of popularity among Chinese students. Despite their high popularity, agents only assist students once a year with applications. Only when his or her applications are all rejected does a student goes back to the same agent for further help. Therefore, the usage frequency of study abroad agencies is only occasional. 31 3.7.4 Accessibility Accessibility measures how easy it is for students to access the media source. Accessibility is ranked as: a. Easy – this media source requires little effort to access and students can get access to it with no prior planning. b. Medium – this media source requires some effort to access. Some coordinating from the students is necessary to get access to it. c. Hard – this media source is difficult to access and students will often have to plan ahead to get access to it. Traditional Media – newspapers and TV have wide geographic coverage and broad audience reach in China. They are relatively affordable and easy to purchase. Most families of Chinese college students have TVs at home and newspapers can be bought at newsstands, which are common throughout cities. Social Media – social media is very accessible to students because they all have computers and Internet access. As long as students have access to the Internet, they can search for any study abroad news and information. Word of Mouth – family and friends are easy to access because they can often be reached by telephone. Alumni are more difficult to reach because not every potential student knows someone who has graduated from a foreign university. Study abroad agencies are very easy to access because there are offices for agencies throughout every major city in China. They are also very easy to find because they often promote their business online. 32 3.7.5 Cost Cost measures how expensive it is for Chinese students to access the media source as a source of information. Cost can be classified into the following ranks: a. Low – accessing the particular media source is often free or available at a low cost. b. Various – accessing the particular media source is affordable to all Chinese college students. However, the specific expense depends on the situation. c. High – the cost of accessing the particular media source is very high and college students often require financial help from their parents in order to access it. Traditional Media – newspapers and TV are very prevalent in China. Almost all homes have them and, as a result, accessing them is usually free to the student. Social media –all the online communities and SNSs are free to register for, so the cost of using social media to gather news and information can be considered to be very low. Word of Mouth – family and friends are willing to offer free advice to students regarding studying aboard. Talking with an alumnus face-to-face requires extra efforts to be made. Because of Chinese culture, the cost may be a meal with the alumnus as a way to maintain a long-term relationship. Agencies usually offer free consulting services; but for application services, the price is usually between 20,000 and 50,000 Yuan—or between $3,000 and $8,000—per student. A student can apply to up to 10 schools within the same major. If the student wants to apply to different majors, then he or she will need to pay extras. Using an agency is very expensive. 3.7.6 Information Completeness Information completeness measures how complete the information about overseas graduate schools is in each of the media sources. It is separated into the following ranks: a. Low – the media source contains limited information on overseas graduate schools. 33 b. Medium – the media source only contains information on some popular and top-ranked overseas graduate schools. c. High – the media source contains information on nearly every overseas graduate school that accepts international students. Traditional Media – general-interest newspapers and TV programs typically contain a wide variety of information on politics, national and local news, economic news and international events. In China, newspapers and TV networks are mostly state-owned and usually have the resources to do very in-depth research and news coverage. However, in-depth reporting on education, especially international education, is very limited. There are educational TV channels, but they are aimed primarily at K-12 education. Therefore, traditional media can’t meet the needs of Chinese students looking for comprehensive information about study abroad destinations. Social media – in terms of completeness, social media has perhaps the most complete collection of information on international graduate schools. Online forums such as Taisha, Gter and ChaseDream, as well as SNS websites such as Renren, are types of this media. For example, Taisha offers a full range of topics focusing on tests, language learning, North American universities applications, European universities applications and other related subjects. As of June 2013, it has 1,582,491 topics, 19,275,162 threads and 2,625,277 registered users (Taisha, 2013). Students can find everything they need on subjects ranging from language test preparation to school information, get involved in conversations with peers who are applying for the same programs and ask for advice from alumni. Web-based search engines such as Baidu also make it easy to get information on any subject Chinese students want. They can not only go through any 34 available articles but also read comments from other users to get different perspectives. Therefore, social media platforms are ranked highly when it comes to information completeness. Word of Mouth – compared to alumni and family and friends, study abroad agencies can provide more specific and organized information about students’ studying abroad options. Qualified agencies usually have the resources to assist students in all aspects of the process, from applications to interviews. Family and friends can give as much help as they want to applicants; however, due to their limited living and learning experiences in foreign countries, their advice is generally limited to whatever they hear from their friends or read in the news. Alumni from the school to which an applicant is applying are the most beneficial resource a Chinese students can have. They are ranked as low in terms of information completeness because they are only able to share their experiences of the schools they have attended. 3.7.7 Helpfulness The helpfulness of information from a specific source is measured on a 5-point scale, with 1 meaning that the media source is the least helpful and 5 meaning that the media source is the most helpful when it comes to obtaining information about overseas study options. Traditional Media – newspapers and TV are the least helpful sources relative to other media, from which Chinese students gather information regarding study abroad destinations. Traditional media is not a popular channel among Chinese students, and it is not easy to find a report featuring international education in Chinese newspapers or TV. Social Media – information gathered from this platform is usually very comprehensive and trustworthy. Online communities are very helpful, as most of the content is user-generated. 35 Their main users are students, alumni and people who have a lot of experience working in the field of international education. Social media is an open platform on which users can post questions and polls as well as engage in two-way communication on a specific topic. Word of Mouth – family and friends are willing to advise applicants, but their information can be very limited and often biased. As a result, the usefulness of their help is limited. Alumni tend to be more useful as a source of information. However each alumnus’s knowledge of study overseas tends to be limited to the particular school he or she attend. While they are each a great source of in-depth knowledge regarding a certain school, they are often limited in their ability to provide information regarding other possibilities that a student might also be interested in during the application process. Agencies can be very helpful sources of information simply due to the fact that they give advice about education as a full-time job. They tend to have sufficient information and lists of schools. They can also usually answer any questions a particular student might have. However, the biggest downside about agencies is that they might have financial incentives to refer students to particular schools with which they have built partnerships. Therefore, certain information from the agencies might be skewed toward certain schools. 3.7.8 Reliability Reliability measures how much the information from a media source can be trusted. A 5-point scale is used, with 1 meaning the media source is the least reliable and 5 meaning the media source is the most reliable when it comes to obtaining information about overseas study options. Traditional Media – both newspapers and TV have to follow strict journalistic guidelines in China. People who work for the government or benefit from the government often contribute 36 opinion pieces and interviews. As a result, press reports from these sources are edited several times before they are published in case the information is politically sensitive. Commercial pressures have also caused newspapers to publish press releases. There is more advertising on TV. According to the McKinsey report, newspapers and TV are not trusted by young Chinese audiences as reliable sources from which to collect news and information. Social Media – today, many students use online sources, rather than printed materials, to gather news and information. The Internet is a fast, low-cost and real-time platform, but it is also a public forum where anyone can make a claim or assertion. Since China is one of the most lucrative markets for international education, there are numerous advertisements and PR articles online that promote overseas study to Chinese students. Given that, the information from web-based searches is not very trustworthy and ranked the same as newspapers and TV. Renren has a higher trustworthiness ranking than web-based search engines because it requires user to register with real personal information. Renren is an online platform not just for sharning news and information but also for networking. However, with the rise of consumer-generated Internet media, there are also users paid by study abroad agencies to promote their businesses through SNSs. Therefore, SNSs are rated a 4 in reliability as a source of information for Chinese students. Online communities are the most reliable source for Chinese students who are seeking information and stories about the experience of studying abroad. There is a large amount of information about each step of the process on online forums such Taisha, Gter, and ChaseDream. These forums also offer alumni and current students the opportunity to share their experiences with test preparation, schoolwork and living in a foreign country and to answer questions posted by potential applicants. 37 Word of Mouth – information from family and friends can vary in terms of reliability. While family and friends are sincere in offering their advice to potential students, their lack of detailed understanding regarding international graduate schools makes the reliability of their information questionable. Information collected from alumni tends to be extremely reliable. The decision-making experiences of alumni can be valuable to students who are seeking to study in the same programs. Their living and academic experiences are also very useful for potential students to take into consideration. “In general, the Chinese populace is skeptical of information from news sources and advertising; people rely more on word-of-mouth from friends, family, and key opinion leaders, many of whom share information on social media.” – China’s social-media boom, McKinsey China, 2012 As explained in the article quoted above, Chinese consumers trust peer-to-peer recommendations due to their lack of confidence in formal institutions. To increase reliability, study abroad agencies often use previous clients, whom they have helped get into a world-famous universities, to attract more business. Qualified agents don’t lie to win business, but contracts with colleges and schools influence them to add their partner schools to their list of recommended schools for their clients. Generally, overseas universities and colleges that hire agencies to recruit for them guarantee agents commission for each student they enroll. Due to these types of partnerships, study abroad agencies are not always reliable sources of information. Content Analysis Summary According to my analysis, online forums and web search engines are the most popular, as well as the most frequently used, sources of information regarding graduate schools for Chinese 38 students. In addition, study abroad agencies are identified as the second most popular channel, followed by online forums. Traditional media outlets such as newspapers and TV, as expected, play extremely minor roles as sources of information on graduate schools for Chinese students. One interesting finding in the analysis is that all the media channels with high reliability and helpfulness scores (greater than or equal to 4) also have high popularity scores, with the exception of alumni. One can imagine that this might be due to the fact that alumni are difficult to access. Therefore, it is conceivable that by increasing the accessibility of alumni, we can also increase their popularity and thus increase their power as a channel for communication with potential Chinese students. 3.8 Analysis of Other Factors That Influence Graduate School Enrollment Decisions Having analyzed and come to an understanding about all the communication channels available to Chinese students, this paper will next analyze the various factors that influence graduate school enrollment decisions. It is only by understanding these factors that one can better understand what kinds of messages admissions offices should send through their communications channels. By sending the right messages through the right channels, U.S. graduate schools can drastically increase their chances of successfully recruiting potential Chinese students. 3.9.1 Safety and Security Safety and security are vital to people everywhere. They have become very important factors for international students to consider when choosing which university they will attend for their graduate studies. According to the 2012 Student Insight survey (British Council, 2012), personal safety and security concerns were the fifth most influential factor in students’ choice of 39 study abroad destinations, which is a sharp rise from 2007, when they were ranked as the 17th most important factors (Shepherd, 2012). News in China regarding safety and security in foreign countries can come from various news sources. Compared to people from the U.K. and U.S., the Chinese supposedly rely more on the Internet and TV as primary sources of news (see Figure 4). Among social media platforms, Weibo is showing an incremental increase in usage, with 74 percent of people using the site to get news and information and 69 percent using it to share news and information with peers (Nielson). Figure 4: Claimed Main Sources of News, by Platform Source: Ofcom, consumer research, September 2012. Retrieved from Ofcom. "International Communications Market Report 2012." Stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk. December 13, 2012. <http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/cmr/cmr12/icmr/ICMR-2012.pdf. During an interview, one participant mentioned that reports of safety issues on U.S. campuses left a negative impression on her and her parents when she was considering the U.S. as a destination. She learned about campus-related crimes from newspapers, television and Renren. These are the main resources for Chinese applicants to learn about potential schools. Besides the 40 three sources the interview participant mentioned, micro-blogs are also now generating substantial usage, with content focusing mainly on news, videos and photos (Nielson). When two Chinese students were fatally shot near USC’s campus last year, Chinese media disseminated the news within 24 hours. Reporting the truth is an important goal for journalists. However, in the Chinese media, the murders were portrayed “in a completely biased, subjective way with no truth” (Jackson, 2012). The initial coverage and commentary in China focused on “a luxury BMW vehicle,” causing misperceptions about the incident on Chinese social media. As a result, resentment towards rich families is soaring in Chinese society. USC is portrayed as “a private school where rich Chinese families send their kids.” Consequently, posts about concerns for Chinese students’ safety are rising on major social media platforms. Many parents of Chinese students studying abroad are terrified and outraged. With the influx of Chinese students to U.S. colleges and universities, as well as the emergence of communication technologies, many channels exist for Chinese students and their parents to learn about currents events in the U.S. These new channels of communication have brought new public relations challenges for universities. School staff members obviously need to find ways to deliver key information to the Chinese media while remaining sensitive to culture, tradition and other aspects that can influence the effectiveness of communication with non-English-speaking people. More importantly, cases such as the USC shooting incident taught U.S. schools’ PR practitioners the lessons that they need to prevent the dissemination of false news and develop crisis management strategies for diverse audiences. 3.9.2 Reputation In their book Rethinking Reputation: How PR Trumps Marketing and Advertising in the New Media World, Fraser P. Seitel and John Doorley, through various case studies, show how 41 important reputation is for businesses when it comes to acquiring new customers. The business of education is no different when it comes to school reputation and the ability to successfully recruit new students. According to Li and Bray, “Reputation for quality is an important factor when a student chooses a country to study in” (2007). In America, a university’s reputation in college athletics often plays an important role in its overall reputation. A 2003 study by The Sport Journal linked respect for a college with it having an involved athletic program. This respectful image positively affects the perception of a school’s academic quality and the value of a degree from it (Meier ,2012). In the minds of Americans students, the reputation of a school’s athletic programs impacts the reputation of the school’s academic quality; the same does not apply to Chinese students. One of the greatest differences between Chinese and American students (and to a greater extent, Chinese society and American society and media) is their attitudes toward collegiate sports. In China, there are universities dedicated to the study of sports and physicals education. However, students who attend these schools are seen as second-rate students who were unable to get into academia-based universities. In Chinese society, a university is a place of learning. While most of the larger and more prestigious universities do have sports teams, sports are always secondary to academic learning. Most Chinese people do not pay any attention to collegiate sports, and the mainstream media does not have any interest in college sports events. News coverage of college sports is hard to find and is often broadcast in timeslots when audience viewership is very low. This is vastly different from Americans’ view toward collegiate sports. Here in the U.S., collegiate sports are a major part of campus life. They play a huge role in a school’s reputation. Certain sports programs, such as those in football and basketball, can be huge sources of income 42 for the universities they represent. College athletes are usually celebrated in the media as celebrities. Popular collegiate sports events such as March Madness and the college bowls can attract millions of viewers and put billions of advertising dollars at stake. Therefore, in the U.S., scandals within sports program such as USC’s NCAA violation scandal can easily capture the attention of the media and result in damage to a school’s reputation. However, in China, collegiate sports don’t even register on the radar of things that Chinese students care about. Therefore, students and parents don’t typically pay attention to news regarding universities’ sports programs. Students ignore any news, whether positive or negative, about sports programs. 43 Chapter Four: Key Findings This chapter provides a summary of the qualitative data collected from the interviews. Interviewees were asked a group of questions concerning their school decision-making process. Each interview started with some warm-up questions: “Can you please tell me a little bit about yourself? What program are you in at USC? Did you apply to graduate school right after your undergraduate study?” Most interviewees were second-year graduate school students in their mid-twenties. Students from the Annenberg School and the Viterbi School applied to graduate school immediately after four-year undergraduate studies in China, but some had completed internships before continuing to graduate study. Most Marshall School students had spent a few years working after getting their undergraduate degrees and then gone back to school for their MBAs. At the time of the interviews, participants A1 and A2 were pursuing master’s degrees in journalism; participants A3 and A4 were PR majors students in the Annenberg School; participants B1 and B2 were studying computer science in the Viterbi School; participant B3 was studying industrial systems of materials; participant B4 was studying electrical engineering; participants C1 and C2 were full-time MBA students; and participants C3 and C4 were students in IBEAR, a one-year international MBA program at the Marshall School of Business. The sample consisted of five males and seven females. Numbers of schools applied to ranged from 3 to 11. Almost every interviewee had a wide selection of schools, with a number of reach schools (schools with highly selective admissions), a few match schools (schools for which the student measured up favorably with the typical applicants) and some safety schools (schools that the student was very confident about getting into). 44 4.1 Key Finding #1 Social media platforms and other online sources are the most popular forms of media used by interviewees to acquire information about destination countries, programs and educational institutions. All participants agreed that the Internet was their most-used tool to gather information during application process. They spent an average of at least three hours on the Internet every day during their application process to collect information. As they stated: “I always use the Internet to access information about news and politics. When I was preparing my application, I used the Internet to search for information about study abroad trends and other topics that were related to the schools I wanted to apply to.” – Participant A2 “Internet searching is very convenient. There was a lot of user-generated content online that I used to help find the school information that I needed.” – Participant C4 As explained in the research methods section in Chapter 3, web-based searches, online forums and SNSs are categorized as social media. To get a clearer understanding of interview responses, the researcher split the supporting data for the first key finding into these three categories. a. Web-based searching: Baidu is the most popular search engine among Chinese students followed by Google. When they first start to think about studying abroad, students use web-based search engines to gather information. Many research participants mentioned that they used Baidu because it was the most helpful search engine due to its index of Chinese keywords. They only 45 used Google when they needed to get news and information, such as program descriptions and requirements, in English. “When I first thought about studying in a foreign country, I conducted research via Baidu. I wanted to know people’s perspectives on studying abroad and to gather more information so as to persuade my parents to support me.” – Participant A4 “I prefer to read information in Chinese. It’s easier to understand. I used Baidu because it showed more results relating to Chinese students’ experiences.” – Participant B4 “I used Baidu and Google to compare immigration policies in different countries when I was deciding which country to go to.” – Participant A3 “I had a list of schools that I was interested in, so I checked them one by one with Google to get an idea of their requirements for international students so that I could prepare for the next step.” – Participant C2 b. Online forums: Taisha is the most popular online forum. ChaseDream is more often used as an information source for MBA applicants. All students mentioned the importance of online forums such as Taisha, Gter and ChaseDream because they provided them with sufficient information to help them determine whether they should apply to a specific program. “I know there are so many universities in the U.S. that offers computer science majors, but I didn’t know which universities were well-ranked, so I looked through the ranking posts on 46 Taisha to narrow down my choices of schools. I then read posts by other applicants in the application section to see if I met the requirement of those schools and to see the backgrounds of students who got admitted to those schools.” – Participant B2 “My decision to study in the U.S. was made last minute, so I didn’t have GRE scores by the time I started my application. It was impossible for me to browse through every U.S. graduate school’s website to see if they accepted students without GRE scores. Therefore, I went to Taisha to read posts by people that mentioned CS program admissions that didn’t require the GRE.” – Participant B1 “Taisha and Gter helped me so much during my application process. Because I didn’t hire an agent to assist me, I had to do all the research by myself. Through these online forums, I learned about famous journalism programs in the U.S. that are well-known both in China and in America. Compared to information about engineer schools, information about journalism schools is rare and hard to find via web-based search. By viewing the posts and threads on Taisha and Gter, I came up with a list of schools to which I wanted to apply. I’m very grateful for the many users on those forums who shared their knowledge and experiences of U.S. graduate schools and programs.” – Participant A1 For participants from MBA programs, ChaseDream was the most used media when determining which schools to apply to. “I read many b-school-related topics and members’ discussions when I was preparing my applications. I chatted with users who had applied to business schools as well as people who 47 were in working on their applications just like me. Based on the information I collected from ChaseDream and other sources, I put together a list of b-schools that I ultimately applied to.” – Participant C1 “ChaseDream is a very helpful source of information for full-time workers like me preparing for b-school applications. I went to the North America MBA application section the most to learn about my options and to communicate with other users.” – Participant C2 “I visited ChaseDream almost every day during the time I was working on my application. It’s very user-friendly and informative. I was able to chat with and learn from students who have successfully received offers from top world business schools.” – Participant C3 “My decisions to come to the IBEAR program was a combination of many factors, but ChaseDream played an important role throughout my application process.” – Participant C4 c. SNS: SNSs are used mostly for building networks with alumni and peers. Renren is the most popular SNS among Chinese students and a means through which they get connected with alumni. Some students mentioned Renren during their interviews, but it is not the key media channel used by students to acquire information. Weibo was not mentioned by participants as a source for study abroad information. “I read articles about studying abroad in PR on Renren. I don't usually go to Renren to look for information, but I trusted the information because it was shared by people I know.” – Participant B3 48 “My study abroad agent introduced me to some students she had helped before, so I went to Renren to get in touch with them. It’s not a channel to gather information, but it helped me meet current students in schools I wanted to apply to.” – Participant A4 “I had seen some articles on Renren sharing information related to U.S. graduate schools, but I just skimmed through the articles...not very helpful for me. ” – Participant A1 4.2 Key Finding #2 Students still use traditional media to obtain news and information on current events. However, in terms of study abroad information, students barely use them during the decision-making process. When participants were asked, “how often do you read newspapers or watch TV for information regarding your study abroad options?” The researcher found that many of them first shook their heads and then gave answers. The details of the second key finding are also broken down by media type (newspapers and TV) as outlined in Chapter 3. a. Newspapers: Chinese news reports are not helpful in making an informed decision about U.S. graduate schools. “I read newspapers every day, but usually for local and national news so that I’m aware of what’s happening…Information I collected from newspapers definitely did not influence my decision of which school to attend.” – Participant C4 “Due to my major, I read local newspapers and China Daily. During certain times, such as May and June when Gaokao is taking place, there are featured articles related to 49 international education. I remember some articles about the increasing population of Chinese study abroad students, immigration trends, and who had enrolled at Harvard, Yale and other Ivy League schools…I’d have missed it if I had just quickly flipped over the newspaper.” – Participant A2 “I’ve seen reports about the International Education Exhibition in newspapers and on TV, but it didn’t affect my choice of school. Good universities don’t promote themselves. They are just always on students’ wish list.” – Participant A1 “I rarely read newspapers in college. I just search on the Internet for information I need.” – Participant B1 “I have noticed that some educational institutions put ads in newspapers, but it is mostly done by schools in Australia and the UK, touting their MBA programs…. I doubt the quality of those schools that advertise for themselves… I guess that’s another reason why I prefer U.S. schools because I barely see them advertising.” – Participant C1 b. TV: TV is used most often for watching entertainment programs and sports news. If a TV program is also available online, students will watch it online instead of on television. “I prefer watching videos and TV programs via video-sharing website. During my application, I didn’t gather any valuable information from TV.” – Participant B1 50 “There were no TVs in the dorms or classrooms when I was in college preparing my application, so it is not a source I used for collecting information.” – Participant B4 “I don’t watch TV, but my parents were frightened by the TV news about campus crimes at U.S. universities. They warned me about my safety but I still came to study in the U.S.” – Participant A3 “I watch TV for entertainment. It didn’t have any influence on my decision. TV is not a source I’d look to for information regarding my application.” – Participant B3 “It was not easy to prepare GMAT and application materials while working, so I didn’t have time to watch TV at all. If there is any useful information I can get from TV, I believe I can get the same information, without paying extras, from the Internet.” – Participant C3 4.3 Key Finding #3 Chinese students like to seek out information and advice through word of mouth to inform their decisions. Word-of-mouth recommendations are mostly positive and have a huge impact on shaping students’ opinions when making decisions. To understand the influence of word of mouth and whether the information gleaned from it affects students’ decision-making processes, open-ended questions were asked to extract useful information. For example, “Who did you go to for information during your decision-making process?” After students responded, further questions were asked, such as “How much do you trust XYZ?” and “Did XYZ influence your study abroad decision?” Responses are summarized and presented by types of word of mouth. 51 a. Family and friends: Family and friends are willing to offer advice. Students respect their parents but make the final decisions on their own. “My friends played an important role in my decision. I talked to them more than I talked to my parents when I was researching U.S. universities. My friends gave me recommendations that helped me compile my list of schools.” – Participant B3 “I’m the only child in my family so I carry the hope of my family. They don’t know much about U.S. graduate schools but they wanted me to study in the U.S., so they got involved in my decision-making process by offering me information they collected from their coworkers and friends whose children had previously studied abroad.” – Participant B4 “My final decision to come to USC was made after talking to my family and many friends. I treated their recommendations and advice very seriously. I feel that I like to get advice from my friends because they have similar backgrounds and experiences. As to my parents, they shared news and information they had obtained from newspapers, TV and their friends, and they also finally determined if I could finally go study abroad.” – Participant C3 “My parents didn’t have any influence on my choice of graduate school. They know that a U.S. degree has a high status, but they don’t know the differences among different U.S. universities… The good thing is that they trusted me, so they didn’t interfere with my decision.” – Participant A3 b. Alumni: Information from alumni is considered to be the most valuable to Chinese students. They trust alumni as a source of information regarding school choices. 52 “Alumni had a large influence on me. Since I was applying to business school, alumni networks were a key factor I considered. I talked to alumni before I crafted a list of grad schools I wanted to apply to. Their responses add credibility to a school.” – Participant C2 “They have first-hand knowledge of the university. Since I can’t go visit the university in person, I trust alumni as a source of information.” – Participant B2 “I chatted with alumni from the university into which I got accepted. The information they provided gave me a better understanding of the school and was instrumental when helping me decide which school to go to.” – Participant A2 “There were not many Chinese alumni in my major, so I didn’t meet or talk to any alumni, but I read an article on Gter written by an alumnus that provided me valuable information during my decision-making process.” – Participant A4 c. Study abroad agencies: Students hire study abroad agencies not because they trust them but to save time and convenience. “I contacted a study abroad agency but didn’t use it. The agent gave me information and brochures of some graduate programs and U.S. universities…using an agent to assist with applications is so expensive. I didn’t want to pay that much.” – Participant A1 “I didn’t use a study abroad agency to assist with the whole application because I was able to get most of the information from ChaseDream. Attending business school is a huge 53 investment; I didn’t want to be rejected by my dream school because of using a third-party organization.” – Participant C2 “I hired an agency to help me with the application process for U.S. graduate schools. They provided me with valuable information about the differences among universities and about campus life. They also gave a clear list of application requirements for each school I applied to. After I received school offers, they guided me in how to successfully get a visa. The agent saved me lots of time.” – Participant A4 “Study abroad agencies in China don’t have a good reputation. But due to lack of knowledge about the application process, we need them to navigate us through the process. I saved a lot of time and energy because my agent helped me do all the work: selecting schools that fit me, filling out all the online applications and mailing my documents.” – Participant B2 54 Chapter Five: Implication and Recommendations According to Chapter 4, this study’s key findings are: 1. Social media and other kinds of online media have become the most popular sources of information about potential international graduate schools for Chinese students. Of all of the social media sites and online information sources, Baidu, Taisha, ChaseDream and Renren are the four most popular. 2. Traditional media continues to decline as a source of information for current Chinese students. 3. Word of mouth plays an influential role in the process of deciding which foreign university to attend. Specifically, parents, alumni and study abroad agencies are the three most important sources of word of mouth information for Chinese students. By understanding the processes and communication channels that Chinese students use when deciding which graduate school to attend, U.S. graduate schools can better design recruitment and communication strategies to reach potential Chinese students. This chapter will explain the implications of this study and develop recommendations for how U.S. graduate schools can best take advantage of the results of this study. For the reasons that 1) not all universities are created equal; 2) all universities face slightly different challenges with their reputations; and 3) program offerings have the biggest influence on what strategies universities should employ, universities are divided into one of four positions, based on a two-dimension figure (Barnes, 1993), each with a different marketing strategy according to circumstances (see Figure 5). 55 Figure 5: Familiarity-Favorability Rating Source: Adapted from Chris Barnes, Practical Marketing for Schools, 1993. In this chapter, recommendations are given to those schools described as having a “strong image” and that are “popular but not well known.” Schools that are described as having “weak images” and being “not well known” are not discussed because they are not top-ranked and therefore are not often selected by Chinese students as destinations for graduate school study. Schools in the favorable attitude positions were divided into two categories: a. Universities that are less well known but with certain high-ranking graduate school programs. b. Universities that are less well known and with average graduate school programs. 56 5.1 Specific Recommendations for Prestigious and Well-Known Universities Prestigious and well-known universities in this case include all of the Ivy Leagues as well as other well-known universities such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, NYU and USC. These universities are usually in the top 30 of US News and World Report’s college rankings. They tend to have a huge advantage when it comes to recruiting Chinese international students because they are well known and popular in China. Usually, both parents and students have heard about these schools from mainstream media outlets or friends and peers, so they are “reach” and “match” schools that students and their parents look into first. As tuition costs continue to rise at U.S. universities, these high-ranking private schools tend to have the highest tuition rates. While China does have a growing middle class and most parents are very generous when it comes to spending on education, one mustn’t forget that the average Chinese middle-class family earns only $9,000 a year compared to the average American middle-class family income of $35,000 to $57,000 a year (Censky, 2012). Cost is still a major factor for many students, in addition to university prestige, when choosing which universities they will ultimately attend (Xinhua News). One benefit of these top-ranked universities is that they are also the richest universities in the nation (NACUBO, 2013). Financial endowments of Ivy League universities range from Brown’s $2.2 billion to Harvard’s $32 billion. The rest of the top-ranked universities also have endowments of more than $1 billion each. If these universities wish to compete against other prestigious institutions for some of the best minds in the world, they can offer scholarships and other financial aid as incentives. 57 Specifically in the Chinese market, these top-ranked universities may want to target Chinese parents. According to key finding #3, most children take their parents’ advice into consideration. Therefore, whichever university can do the best job in communicating about potential financial aid to none-English-speaking parents will ultimately hold an advantage in successfully recruiting students. Prestigious universities can also attract more Chinese students if they increase their brand prestige in China. China is heavily influence by the concept of “face”; it is the Chinese version of keeping up with the Jones. In China, someone’s parenting skills are often associated with their child’s accomplishments. If a child attends a prestigious university, it is a sign that the child’s parents are good parents and thus they gain “face.” Therefore, parents push their kids to attend top-ranked universities that they perceive as being more prestigious. If universities can successfully influence parents into thinking that they are prestigious, then they will also increase their chances of successfully recruiting the best Chinese students. Base on the research, the following ideas are proposed to help the most prestigious universities increase their chances of recruiting students. Currently, Chinese parents still get their information mainly from traditional media such as TV and newspapers. Therefore, the best way for a university to communicate with Chinese parents is through traditional media. Such a university can allocate dedicated staff in its PR department to communicate with traditional Chinese media outlets. These dedicated staff members can push to have news articles released about the size of the university’s financial endowment and the generosity of its scholarship programs. By letting people know that it is willing to give financial aid to students, the university will be able to reduce the chance of the Chinese parents writing it off due to high costs as well as increase the chances of students accepting its offers. 58 The dedicated staff can also help the university gain prestige in China by pushing to have the traditional Chinese media report about the school’s accomplishments as well as the accomplishment of Chinese students at the school. Most Chinese parents don’t speak English and have little to no knowledge about the differences among different U.S. universities. Engaging current students and alumni as a resource for student recruitment can benefit well-known universities. According to key finding #3, word-of-mouth recommendations are the most trusted channel for getting information. Current students’ and alumni’s first-hand experiences can be potent communication tools for developing knowledge and appreciation. Alumni who have become very successful in their careers, such as Ma Ying-jeou who is the president of Taiwan and a graduate of NYU, can be tremendous aids to recruitment in China. School PR professionals can custom-design alumni strategies for famous alumni to have them advocate the school brand. Having a famous alumnus speak for a school would greatly enhance the prestige of the school in the minds of Chinese students. Another benefit to having a dedicated staff to communicate with the Chinese media is that the staff can quickly react to any bad news that might develop and communicate with Chinese media outlets to try to limit the damage. Unfounded rumors and other misinformation can hurt a school’s reputation. In the case of the USC shooting incident last year, neglect of media relations with Chinese mainstream media outlets turned the incident from a minor event into a major public relations calamity. Because the incident involved two Chinese international students, the news was picked up by CCTV1, the primary channel of China Central Television (Wikipedia), and thus USC took a huge blow to its reputation. If USC had a dedicated staff to work with the Chinese traditional media, it would have been able to minimize the damage done 59 to the USC brand as well as to tell the university’s side of the story and reassure parents that their children are safe attending USC. 5.2 Specific Recommendations for Less Well-Known Universities with Certain High-Ranking Programs Universities in this category are usually technology-oriented or public. While they might routinely have places in the top 50 of college rankings, they are not very well known in China. Consequently, Chinese applicants tend to think of these universities as “safety” and “match” schools, or they don’t even apply to these universities at all. Despite their lack of name recognition in China, many of these schools often rank among the top 10 for specific graduate school programs, including UCSD (for bio-engineering) and Georgia Tech (for computer science) (Irwin, 2013). This study may have more implications for schools in this category. While they don’t have the natural name recognition of the better-known universities, they often have the necessary academic excellence and prestige within specific fields to make them extremely competitive against even some of the most elite universities. Unlike the prestigious universities, universities in this category need to be more proactive to make sure that they make it onto lists of universities that students are considering. In addition, since universities in this category don’t have the necessary prestige for parents to naturally want their children to choose them, the universities will have to reach out to students directly. If a university within this category can communicate effectively with students who are interested in the field that the school specializes in, it will be able to win against fellow universities in the same category. With an integrative marketing strategy, they might even be able to stand toe to toe against some of the most prestigious universities for some of the smartest students, as well as the most lucrative. 60 Here are some recommendations for how these universities can exploit their excellence in specific fields and programs to attract more Chinese students. According to key finding #3, almost all Chinese students go to study abroad agencies at some point, and so the information they receive from these agencies, often in Chinese, becomes a starting point for their research. Agents hired by students work with them to create lists of possible universities to apply to, from which the students select the programs and universities that fit them. Therefore, universities in this category must work with agencies in China to make sure that the agencies recommend them for the programs that they excel in. Secondly, similarly to how different brands pay supermarkets for shelf space, these universities should strive to get the agencies to place their names as highly as possible. While many students will be sure to apply to the prestigious schools and schools they like, they will often also apply to schools that agencies recommend as backups. The way that most students choose their backup schools is by simply selecting two to three schools recommended by agencies. By making sure that agencies place them at the top of their recommendation lists, universities can increase the chances of student applying to them. Another way for universities to increase the chances of students applying to them is to make the use of the popular channels through which Chinese students acquire information regarding study abroad options. They can employ people to monitor and post information on popular online forums such as Taisha, Gter and ChaseDream. Almost all students go to these websites for information as well as to ask questions about prospective schools. By being actively engaged on these sites, schools can pitch themselves to students and understand the types of worries and concerns students have so as to address them properly. By working with agencies 61 and being proactive on these online communities, many of the universities in this category can increase their chances of receiving applications from Chinese students. Once a school has received a student’s application, it should actively engage the student. According to key finding #3, students often appreciate and trust information given by alumni. Therefore, the best way to engage a student is to have local alumni contact the prospective student on online forums. By actively engaging prospective students, universities will be able to make the case for attending their schools to the students. At the same time, universities should make the most use of current students who are enthusiastic supporters of their schools. Universities can ask these students to make videos about their own stories in Chinese and put these videos on their school websites. While parents do play an important role in influencing their children’s decision of which school to attend, my research shows that parents generally defer to their children when making the final decision. Therefore, by directly reaching out to students, universities can increase their chances of successfully recruiting Chinese students. 5.3 Conclusion By better understanding all the communication channels that can be leveraged to communicate with potential students, universities can better tailor their communication strategies and increase their chances of recruiting the best students by both creating the right message and ensuring that the message is reaching its intended audience. While prestigious and well-known universities have a natural advantage when it comes to recruitment, even they cannot afford to be complacent as the competition for Chinese graduate students intensifies. By offering more incentives in the form of scholarships, establishing better communication with Chinese parents who hold the power of the purse and further appealing to 62 Chinese parents’ need to have “face,” prestigious universities can maximize the natural competitive advantage their fame affords them and can stay competitive regardless of how the higher education landscape changes. On the other hand, for universities that are less well-known but with certain high-ranking programs, the many technological innovations in communications of the last decade have greatly helped increase competitiveness. Social media and online forums have afforded these universities a cheap yet extremely effective medium through which to reach out directly to students. They also give universities the ability to immediately response to questions posted by students as well as unprecedented insights into what students care about. The Chinese economic boom of the last decade has given rise to study abroad agencies, which nearly all students consult with as they look into places to study. These agencies are also an important way for less well-known universities to expose themselves to Chinese international students. By forming partnerships with study abroad agencies and making good use of social media and online platforms, less well-known universities can greatly increase their chances of successfully recruiting Chinese international students. In his book Masters of the Word, William Bernstein points out the important role that communication plays in the evolution and growth of society and of human civilization. Historically, those who communicate most effectively have always held the advantage in any and all human endeavors, regardless of whether they be making friends, doing business or running for political office. The business of higher education is no exception to this rule. Those universities that communicate the most effectively will be able to recruit the most total students and the most well-qualified students. In order to have effective communication, they must ensure that the right messages get to the right people. 63 While there have been many studies that give universities insights into what Chinese international students care about, thus helping them to formulate the correct messages, there have been few to no studies that look into how these messages can be communicated to students through certain channels. This research paper is one of the few attempts to look into all the possible channels that can be used to communicate with Chinese international students. 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Asset Metadata

Creator Shi, Wenyi (author)

Core Title Traditional media, social media or word-of-mouth? Examining the information sources that influence Chinese students' decision-making processes when applying to U.S. graduate schools

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Strategic Public Relations

Publication Date 09/23/2013

Defense Date 09/12/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Chinese students,decision-making,influencer,information sources,international education,OAI-PMH Harvest,school PR

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Floto, Jennifer D. (committee chair), Rook, Dennis (committee member), Wang, Jay (committee member)

Creator Email swy315@gmail.com,wenyishi@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-328176

Unique identifier UC11295232

Identifier etd-ShiWenyi-2046.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-328176 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-ShiWenyi-2046.pdf

Dmrecord 328176

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Shi, Wenyi

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA