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Using digital marketing to reach students in graduate school admissions: an innovation study

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Using digital marketing to reach students in graduate school admissions: an innovation study

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Content Running head: DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 1
USING DIGITAL MARKETING TO REACH STUDENTS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL
ADMISSIONS: AN INNOV ATION STUDY
by
Kelleen Scanlan Esperias
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
December 2019
Copyright 2019 Kelleen Scanlan Esperias
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 2
DEDICATION
To the world’s greatest mom and dad, Mike and Ginny Scanlan. Thank you for your
consistent and unwavering support and encouragement throughout all of my personal,
professional, and academic pursuits. You have always been in the front row for all of my
accomplishments, and this is no exception. I was given a tremendous blessing to have you both
as my parents, and I work every day to ensure that you both understand that I am eternally
grateful for you.
You are my greatest treasures in life.

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my husband, Kerwin Esperias. Thank you for your support over the past three years.
For the countless meals you prepared, and late nights looking at me over the computer screen.
You can now turn the TV up. Te amo mucho.
To my chair, Dr. Hasan, for her consistent guidance and encouragement throughout the
process of writing this dissertation. To my committee members, Dr. Malloy, and Dr. Lucido
thank you for your knowledge and expertise, and for pushing me to refine my thoughts and
assertions.
To my SC Squad: Amanda Vanni, Chelsea Heyward, Christine Ruth, and Leslie Hughes
for your friendship and support throughout this program. The best thing I have gained from SC
is you as lifelong friends.
To my friends Katie Lourenco, Megan Joyce, Michelle Thomas, Erin Quillen, and Jessica
Garcia who allowed me the space and time to complete this degree, cheered me on from near and
far and helped me believe in myself when I didn’t think I was going to make it. Thank you for
being great friends.
And finally, to my Aunt, Dr. June Tait who received this same degree in December of
1984 from USC. You taught me grit, perseverance, and a passion for lifelong learning. I miss
you. Fight on!

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 4
Table of Contents
Dedication 2
Acknowledgments 3
List of Tables 7
List of Figures 8
Abstract 9
Chapter One: Introduction 10
Organizational Context and Mission 10
Organizational Performance Need 11
Related Literature 12
Enrollment Declines in Higher Education 12
Student Decisions Using Digital Media 13
The Reputation of Marketing in Higher Education 14
Importance of Organizational Innovation 14
Organizational Performance Goal 16
Description of Stakeholder Groups 16
Stakeholder Group for the Study 19
Purpose of the Project and Questions 19
Methodological Framework 20
Definitions 20
Organization of the Study 22
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature 24
Influences on the Problem of Practice 25
Graduate School Admissions 25
History and Performance of Graduate Schools in the United States 26
Practices in Graduate School Admissions 27
Practices in Graduate School Marketing 28
Digital Media 29
History of Digital Media 29
Digital Media and Marketing in Higher Education 30
Adult Learners 32
Types of Students Seeking Admission to Graduate School 32
Adult Students and Digital Media 33
What Adult Learners Want from Graduate Schools 34
Role of Stakeholder Group of Focus 35
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences Framework 35
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences 37
Knowledge and Skills 37
Motivation 42
Organization 46
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context 52
Conclusion 56
Chapter Three: Methodology 58
Participating Stakeholders 59
Interview and Focus Group Sampling Criteria and Rationale 60
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 5
Interview Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale 61
Data Collection and Instrumentation 62
Interviews 64
Interview Questions for Stakeholders 65
Documents and Artifacts 68
Data Analysis 69
Credibility and Trustworthiness 70
Ethics 71
Limitations and Delimitations 74
Chapter Four: Results 76
Participating Stakeholders 78
Data Validation 81
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes 82
Factual Knowledge 82
Conceptual Knowledge 85
Procedural Knowledge 87
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes 88
Expectancy Value 88
Self-Efficacy 90
Results and Findings for Organization Causes 92
Cultural Models 92
Cultural Settings 95
Summary of Validated Influences 96
Knowledge 96
Organization 98
Chapter Five: Solutions, Implementation, and Evaluation 102
Introduction and Overview 102
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 103
Knowledge Recommendations 103
Motivation Recommendations 107
Organization Recommendations 109
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 113
Implementation and Evaluation Framework 113
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations 113
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators 114
Level 3: Behavior 115
Level 2: Learning 119
Level 1: Reaction 122
Evaluation Tools 123
Data Analysis and Reporting 125
Summary 127
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Approach 129
Limitations and Delimitations 130
Future Research 131
Conclusion 133
References 135
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 6
Appendix A: Request for Interview Participation 157
Appendix B: Interview Protocol 159
Appendix C: Immediate Post-Program Evaluation Instrument 164
Appendix D: Immediate Post-Program Evaluation Blended Instrument 166
Appendix E: Inquiry Leads 169
Appendix F: Marketing Source 170
Appendix G: Admissions Pipeline 171
Appendix H: Geography Map 172
Appendix I: Distance Groupings Map 173
Appendix J: Yield Rate 174
Appendix K: Admissions Efficiency 175
Appendix L: Staff Performance 176
Appendix M: Performance to Goal 177

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 7
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Organizational Mission, Organizational goals, and Stakeholder Performance Goals 18
Table 2: Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis 41
Table 3: Motivational Influences and Assessments for Motivation Gap Analysis 46
Table 4: Organizational Influences 52
Table 5: Stakeholder Demographics 80
Table 6: Summary of Influences by Type of Validation 100
Table 7: Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 104
Table 8: Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 107
Table 9: Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 110
Table 10: Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 114
Table 11: Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 116
Table 12: Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 117
Table 13: Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program. 121
Table 14: Components to Measure Reactions to the Program. 123
Table 15: Key Performance Indicators for Accountability 126

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Enrollment at all United States HEIs 13
Figure 2: Master’s degrees in key subjects conferred in 2013 through 2018. 15
Figure 3: Graduate enrollment at not-for-profit institutions. 26
Figure 4: Conceptual Framework Figure 54
Figure 5: Enrollment over eight years. 76
Figure 6: Gender of stakeholders interviewed. 80
Figure 7: Enrollment dashboard. 127

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 9
ABSTRACT
This study was developed to evaluate the use of digital media in increasing prospective student
inquiries through the top of the enrollment funnel at a graduate university by 4%. This study was
conducted using a gap analysis framework to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs of the school’s admissions and marketing officers. Data were collected
through interviews to answer three research questions: (a) What are the stakeholder’s knowledge
and motivation related to increasing the use of digital marketing in admissions to increase
enrollment in key programs by 4%? (b) What is the interaction between organizational culture
and context and stakeholder knowledge and motivation? (c) What are the recommended
knowledge, motivations, and organizational solutions?
There were factual, conceptual, and procedural knowledge issues with regards to the use of
digital media and funding activities. Motivational gaps pertained to time management and self-
efficacy in learning new technologies. The organizational needs involve promotion of
admissions goals and the acceptance of education as a marketable entity by faculty, staff, and
administration.
After the study, the researcher provided a comprehensive training, monitoring, and evaluation
plan. To make a substantial impact on the volume of individuals exposed to the institution’s
academic opportunities, the school needs to use varying types of digital media to broaden its
reach. The recommendations allow both the stakeholders and their supervisors to consistently
evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and its goal of increasing inquiries to the school by 4%.
Keywords: Higher Education, Admissions, Marketing, Advertising, Digital Media
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 10
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Moody’s, which provides ratings of global capital markets, recently revised the 2018
outlook for United States higher education from stable to negative (Rudgers & Peterson, 2018).
While higher education institutions (HEIs) have always competed to attract and retain high-
quality students, global marketization increases the challenge (Judson & Taylor, 2014).
Government funding for HEIs decreased significantly in recent years, leaving schools to look for
additional ways to improve revenue streams through, for example, developing programs for and
recruitment of international students (Russell, 2005). The goals of such initiatives are to increase
enrollment. According to Ivy (2008), recruitment and enrollment strategies must include diverse
marketing approaches to stay competitive. Prospective students must be introduced to a
university’s brand where they spend the majority of their time: online.
Organizational Context and Mission
Science Graduate University (SGU), located in Southern California, is a graduate school
focused on educating post-baccalaureate students in applied life sciences and healthcare. Its
mission is to enrich society with breakthrough approaches to education and translational research
in the sciences. Additionally, SGU works to maintain an interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial
culture, working in partnership with various industries to develop leaders in the biosciences.
Each program at the institution employs team-based active learning. Its institutional academic
outcomes emphasize interprofessional collaboration, systematic problem solving, the use of
technology and biotechnology, and personalized patient care.
In addition to the academic mission, the diversity of the faculty and student body are also
hallmarks of the institution. The variety of backgrounds, cultures, disciplines, identities, and
thought within the learning community foster collaboration and excellence in all its pursuits.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 11
Their most recent class is 60% female and 71% non-White. With 76% of students coming from
the United States and 84% of them coming from California, the admissions officers focus on
recruiting students from undergraduate universities within the state. Students’ average age is 25,
and the average cumulative undergraduate GPA is 3.15. Science Graduate University competes
for students by offering high-value programs and by providing significant tuition discounts. To
increase the number of inquiries and enrolled students, SGU aims to use digital marketing to take
advantage of innovative advertising techniques, to gain students’ attention, and to solidify their
decision to pursue graduate-level education.
Organizational Performance Need
Private graduate institutions saw a 1.4% increase in applications and first-time
enrollment, rising by 3% when using digital marketing (Okahana & Zhou, 2018). However, SGU
faces a significant need for innovation in its admissions marketing practices due to a declining
number of applications and enrolled students. In the 2018 admissions cycle, the expected
revenue from tuition was $23 million. Moreover, all program revenues were down 51%,
resulting in a deficit of $1.2 million. In the 2017 school year, SGU also had a deficit of $1
million. As a result of revenue concerns, the cross-functional strategic plan committee
developed a performance goal for admissions to use digital marketing techniques to enlarge the
applicant pool. In a 2018 decline analysis report, over 50% of students who left SGU stated they
chose another school to pursue their education. Total enrollment at SGU is 700 students in 14
programs, but that number has been steadily declining despite significant educational program
development. Without growth in enrollment in vital programs, the institution’s mission of
making breakthroughs in education and translational research may fail, and the institution may
not achieve a critical mass of students with diverse backgrounds and disciplines.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 12
Related Literature
A review of the literature revealed many topics related to this decline in enrollment.
Three issues in particular affect the state of digital marketing and its potential impact on higher
education: (a) enrollment declines in higher education, (b) student decisions using digital media,
and (c) the stigma and value of digital marketing. Although the literature presented here applies
to a variety of contexts, this review focuses primarily on the literature’s application to improving
the number of inquiries and students matriculating to SGU. Due to the innovative nature of
digital media, recent peer-reviewed research available is limited. Nevertheless, the following
serves as a comprehensive, scholarly literature review of digital media and advertising in higher
education.
Enrollment Declines in Higher Education
The current market share of higher education is over $250 billion, making it one of the
largest sectors of the global economy (Cavanagh, 2013; Maslen, 2012). According to HM
Government (2013), in the last 30 years, higher education has taken a top spot in the global
economy as a result of the growing number of students: over 140 million. While higher
education benefitted from a high level of government funding which required control (Kwong,
2000; Whitty & Power, 2000; Young, 2002), there was a shift toward decreased funding with less
supervision, leading to what experts call the marketization of education (Jongbloed, 2003;
Newman & Jahdi, 2009). Hemsley-Brown (2011) defined the marketization of education as
changing the operations of educational institutions to mirror those of traditional businesses where
costs are allocated based on revenue and where profit margins are evaluated to determine
success. Russell (2005) noted, due to the decline in enrollment, schools are finding alternative
ways to meet their goals, which include attracting international students who pay much higher
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 13
tuition. As indicated in Figure 1 below, enrollment tends to spike nationally during and
immediately following recessions. Since peaking in 2010, national enrollment has, at best,
stabilized.

Figure 1. Enrollment at all United States HEIs
Student Decisions Using Digital Media
Adult students can be engaged in different ways, depending on their familiarity with
digital media. A central aspect of a prospective student’s research of potential universities occurs
online (Coulter & Collins, 2011). Therefore, it is essential to understand the generational
differences between adult learners to determine specific approaches to appeal to them. Chang,
Schulmann, and Lu (2014) revealed 56% of millennial students use a smartphone and 26% use a
tablet to search for and apply to colleges and universities. In 2014, more users accessed the
internet via a mobile device than via a desktop computer (Murtagh, 2014), and the time spent
consuming digital media exceeded the time spent consuming television (Nielsen & Schrøder,
2014).

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 14
The Reputation of Marketing in Higher Education
Although marketing courses are offered at colleges and universities, faculty regularly
question the action of marketing on behalf of such institutions. There is a widely held belief
within higher education that the values of the business world contradict the benefits of teaching
and learning (Hemsley-Brown & Goonawardana, 2007). Marketing was a word not regarded
highly in academic institutions (Edmiston-Strasser, 2009), with faculty rejecting corporate-like
terms when referring to the institution as a business (Chapleo, 2010; Whisman, 2008).
Nevertheless, Roper and Davies (2007) argued universities are a business and should identify
with brands in the service industry. Longden and Bélanger (2013) found education faculty
protest the most to labeling students as customers. With education, customers do not see the
results immediately after purchase, so the challenge for marketers is to determine the benefits
they provide in comparison with their competition (Anctil, 2008a). While colleges and
universities catch up with popular corporate brands and with the stigma and value of using new
technologies, students’ expectations are higher than ever. HEIs’ ability to gain the attention and
appreciation of a diverse population of prospective students both internationally and
domestically is a crucial aspect of improving the number of students entering the admissions
funnel.
Importance of Organizational Innovation
Science Graduate University must integrate digital marketing and advertising into
admissions for a variety of reasons. Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka (2006) highlighted a lack of
published information on HEI marketing successes and failures. Discovering the models that
work in higher education requires research into what is working in advertising for major
corporate brands. Mehaffy (2012) confirmed for-profit institutions are taking over market shares
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 15
despite not offering the same quality of faculty for their programs. This allows them to keep the
costs of operating their programs low, which affords them higher advertising budgets (Mehaffy,
2012). Galway (2000) added it is becoming increasingly important for schools to use various
media of engagement to attract students in an international marketplace where access and
information are readily available. Implementing strategic marketing initiatives aimed at gaining
the interest of a diverse population of foreign and domestic students is the key to ensuring higher
education maintains its position in the U.S. economy (Naidoo & Wu, 2011). While operating on
modest admissions and marketing budgets (spending less than 1% of its net revenue), SGU saw a
decline in the number of applicants and of students enrolling into its programs over the past four
years. Figure 2 below indicates SGU is falling behind on enrollment numbers as compared to its
competitors. The graphic shows SGU’s performance in their most popular niche master’s
program as compared to other programs nationally.

Figure 2. Master’s degrees in key subjects conferred in 2013 through 2018.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 16
With the state of higher education and the amount spent by for-profit institutions, non-
profit schools need to take a look at the success other educational institutions have by investing
in marketing and admissions to attract and retain top talent.
Organizational Performance Goal
Science Graduate University has yearly revenues of $33 million. The operating budgets
of all academic and non-academic programs are dependent on a small number of revenue-
producing departments. The admissions and marketing departments work together to track
students from inquiry to enrollment through their prospect management system and digital
advertising monitoring system. The revenue goal of the admissions department makes for two-
thirds of SGU’s overall budget, and the department must meet its enrollment goals for the
institution to balance its budget. In this regard, the organizational performance goal of SGU is to
increase inquiries regarding enrollment in its essential programs by a minimum of 4%. This goal
was a part of SGU’s five-year institutional strategic planning. The senior administrative team
developed cross-functional groups made up of faculty, staff, students, and alumni to offer the
board of trustees’ suggestions to improve performance or efficiency. Benchmarking data from
the latest Council of Graduate Schools Enrollment & Degrees Report was used to inform the
trustees regarding this goal (Okahana & Zhou, 2018). Results are provided to the trustees
through a dashboard of information and metrics to determine the success and return on
investment for admissions and digital marketing plans.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
At SGU, the stakeholders involved in achieving the organizational goal include
employees from the admissions and marketing offices, those charged with allocating budgets,
and prospective students. The admissions and marketing officers are responsible for all recruiting
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 17
efforts throughout the country and abroad. For example, enrollment officers are accountable for
all incoming applications. The marketing and communications team oversees management of
the SGU brand and provides content to the admissions team to help attract and recruit students.
The senior administrators of those two divisions report directly to the president of the institution.
All staff within the enrollment services department report to the dean of admissions and financial
aid. All staff within the marketing and communications office report to the vice president of
institutional development and partnerships. While both departments report to different senior
administrators, they are charged by the president to work together to achieve enrollment goals.
However, the admissions department is solely responsible for admissions recruitment goals in
each program.
The administrative departments charged with allocating the budget are the business and
finance office and the office of the president. While each department submits its budget requests
to the business and finance office, those requests are evaluated and allocated based on other
departments’ forecasted revenues. In this regard, most departments request more than the
previous year. Each department’s senior administrator meets individually with the leadership in
the finance office and in the office of the president to explain and advocate for their department’s
budget requests. Their immediate supervisor assigns goals. Before the start of the fiscal year, the
vice president of finance and operations, in consultation with the president of the institution,
develop a balanced budget and notify each department of its approved expenses and revenue
goals. These two senior officers are essential stakeholders in the problem of practice because
they must understand the vision behind innovative projects and what is needed both in personnel
and financial resources to accomplish these goals. If they do not know the background
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 18
information or potential approach toward a department’s stated goals, they may not be in favor of
funding the project.
The third stakeholder group, prospective students, will measure the effectiveness of using
digital marketing to increase the number of inquiries and students enrolling in critical programs.
Students are responsible for the behaviors which will influence the organizational goal. Personas
are a group of prospective students with similar identities and help focus admissions and
marketing messages to appeal to each group. The information students provide will inform
admissions and marketing officers on whether their appeals and actions are working and will
give valuable insight regarding how their tactics can adapt as generations change.
Stakeholder Groups’ Performance Goals
Table 1
Organizational Mission, Organizational goals, and Stakeholder Performance Goals
Organizational Mission
Science Graduate University (SGU) is a graduate school focusing on applied life
sciences and healthcare education. A member of a prestigious and selective consortium of
colleges, its mission is to enrich society with breakthrough approaches to education and
translational research in the sciences.
Organizational Performance Goal
By 2020, the admissions and marketing departments of SGU will develop and
implement a strategic digital media plan.
Admissions & Marketing
Officers Goal
By 2020, the admissions and
marketing departments of
SGU will increase the
number of inquiries to the
top of the enrollment funnel
to key programs by 4%.
Administration Goal

Evaluate budget requests of an
additional 10% for online
marketing requests from the
admissions and marketing
departments.
Prospective Students Goal

Direct their attention while
using digital media to SGU and
engage with the institution
using their preferred platform.

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 19
Stakeholder Group for the Study
While a complete evaluation of this project would focus on all SGU stakeholders, this
research focuses primarily on the admissions and marketing officers for practical purposes.
While the other two stakeholder groups play an essential role in the support and measurement of
the organizational goal, they are not responsible for the management of approaches to meet the
goal. All stakeholders at the institution involved in the recruitment of students contribute to the
achievement of the goal. Conversely, while all stakeholder groups can impact enrollment, the
accountability for enrollment goals falls to the admissions officers with support from the
marketing officers. Therefore, this study focused on the admissions and marketing officers.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this research was to conduct a needs analysis and evaluate the influences
on the admissions and marketing officers to effectively integrate digital marketing in the
admissions strategy. Specifically, this research assessed the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences that affect the ability to use innovative digital marketing strategies in
the institution. The analysis began by generating a list of possible needs and systematically
examining these needs to focus on those that are actual or validated. While a complete needs
analysis would focus on all stakeholders, this analysis focused on the admissions and marketing
officers of SGU for practical purposes. Three questions guided this research:
1. What are the stakeholder’s knowledge and motivation related to increasing the use of
digital marketing in admissions to increase enrollment in key programs by 4%?
2. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context, and stakeholder
knowledge and motivation?
3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivations, and organizational solutions?
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 20
Methodological Framework
This study used a qualitative methodological approach using a developmental process
that considers the strengths and weaknesses of a new intervention in operations. Critical research
advised the qualitative approach of this study. Face-to-face conversations with stakeholders
through a third-party interviewer provided indirect information to the researcher. The
interviewer was an administrator in another higher education institution, a colleague within the
same program and also an Ed.D. candidate at the researcher’s institution. Her experience in the
program, as well as with the type of information sought in this study pertaining to the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of the school helped in the data collection
(Creswell, 2003). The primary focus of the research was an evaluation of the current admissions
practices at SGU and the performance of the number of inquiries and enrolled students. It then
transitioned to the needs and motivations of the admissions and marketing officers to assist them
in using innovative digital marketing techniques. Finally, the research explored the knowledge,
personnel, and financial resources needed to meet the stated goals. Studying current practices in
admissions and innovations in digital marketing provided information on how stakeholders can
model non-academic advertising practices to increase revenue.
Definitions
CRM: Customer Relationship Management: Technology for managing all enrollment
relationships and interactions with potential students.
Decline Analysis: A graphical procedure used for analyzing declining enrollment and
forecasting the future performance of admissions activities.
Digital Marketing: Using digital technologies to market a product or a service. These
technologies take place on the internet and through any other digital medium.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 21
Differentiating Value Proposition: A business or marketing statement that a brand uses
to summarize the need for a consumer to buy a product or use a service.
Discount Rate: The process by which an institution offsets its published tuition price
with institutional grant aid for enrolling students. The rate is calculated by dividing the total
institutional grant aid received by the total gross tuition revenues at an institution.
Enrollment: Well-planned strategies and tactics to meet established goals.
Enrollment Funnel: Process of advancing students from the prospective pool to the
following categories of inquirers, applicants, admits, and enrollees.
FTE (Full-time employee): The hours worked by one employee on a full-time basis.
The average for an FTE is 8 hours per day.
Google AdWords: An advertising service by Google for businesses wanting to display
ads on Google and its advertising network. It enables enterprises to set a budget for advertising
and pay only when people click on the ads.
GPA: Grade point average. The mean or average of all final grades.
HEI: Higher education institution. A level of education provided by universities,
vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and
other collegiate institutions.
Inquiry: A student who contacts an institution through any source (phone, email, inquiry
card, website contact, sent test scores, or application for admissions)
Enrollment: Admission to a school, consisting of these steps of admissions, recruitment,
and registration.
Melt: The phenomenon that students pay a deposit to attend a particular college (usually
in the summer) but do not enter college the following fall.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 22
Personas: Characterization of a subject which represents a segment of the target
audience that is representative of the subject’s needs and desires.
Post Baccalaureate: Student working toward a second bachelor’s degree or second entry
degree after receiving an undergraduate degree.
Prospective Student: Students who might attend a school in the future.
Retargeting/Remarketing: A form of online advertising that can help keep a brand in
front of bounced online traffic after it leaves a website.
ROI (Return on investment): A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of
an investment or to compare the effectiveness of different investments.
ROO (Return on objective): A flexible approach to event measurement reflecting a
specific set of event objectives.
Rolling Admissions: A policy used by many colleges to admit students. Candidates are
invited to submit their applications to a university anytime throughout the year.
SEO (Search engine optimization): the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of
traffic to a website through organic search engine results.
Social Media: Online platforms which encourage communication and sharing of
information or content.
Yield: The percentage of students who choose to enroll in a particular college or
university after having been accepted.
Organization of the Study
This study uses five chapters. The first chapter provides the reader the fundamental
concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about higher education admissions
and marketing techniques. An evaluation of the organization’s mission, goals, and stakeholder
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 23
assist in introducing the initial concepts of a gap analysis. Chapter Two provides a review of the
current literature surrounding the scope of the study. This chapter addresses the topics of
graduate school admissions, the role of digital media, and adult learners. Chapter Three details
the assumed needs for this study as well as the methodology in terms of the choice of
participants, data collection, and analysis. In Chapter Four, the data and the assessment and
analysis of the results provide a foundation for solutions to close the gap. The final chapter
provides answers based on data and literature which address the needs analysis and provide
suggestions on how to close the performance gap. It also makes recommendations for
implementing and evaluating the solutions.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 24
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This literature review examines the use of digital media and marketing to reach potential
students in graduate school admissions. This is important to study because government funding
for HEIs decreased significantly in recent years, and competition from for-profit institutions is
causing non-profit schools to seek additional ways to increase their revenue streams, by, for
example, developing new innovative programs and recruiting international students (Newman,
Couturier, & Scurry, 2004). The College Board (2013) noted the increase of $1,390 in inflation-
adjusted tuition and the decrease of government subsidies by $920 per student directly affected
tuition-dependent schools (College Board, 2013). As a result, strategic plans for recruitment and
enrollment must include diverse marketing approaches for such universities to remain
competitive. The goal of those plans is to increase the number of students enrolling in graduate
education by introducing them to an institution and its brand online, where they spend the
majority of their time.
While there are few empirical studies on institutional advertising in higher education,
there have been many literature reviews on the topic (Kittle, 2000). This chapter presents a
review of extensive research on the state of graduate school admissions, including the history
and performance of graduate schools in the U.S., current practices in admissions and recruitment,
and ongoing marketing practices. Also reviewed is the role of digital media, highlighting the use
of websites, social media, and digital advertising. Finally, the chapter presents an overview of
adult student learners, the types of students seeking graduate school admissions, their use of
digital media, and their desires regarding graduate schools. This overview identifies methods of
encouraging enrollment. The literature review precedes an explanation of the relevant
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that affect the stakeholders of the study.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 25
After that, Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis conceptual framework is discussed in terms of
the role of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on personnel and resources
needed to implement a digital marketing plan SGU.
Influences on the Problem of Practice
Graduate School Admissions
Higher education institutions have previously benefitted from a large number of
applicants to their undergraduate programs, allowing them to be selective regarding whom they
admit. Graduate programs have a much lower number of applicants and, therefore, have to be
positioned in front of a larger audience to meet enrollment goals. Master’s programs’ acceptance
rates average around 50%, with doctoral programs showing an average of 20% (Okahana &
Zhou, 2018). The decrease in applicants is directly related to the changing economy, causing
admissions and marketing offices to change the way they approach recruitment (Anctil, 2008b).
Changes in the practice of admissions led to commercialization of recruiting and admitting
students, which has been criticized in the profession (Thacker, 2005). With the addition of for-
profit institutions, traditional colleges and universities are forced to move away from
conventional models of attracting students’ attention and increasing enrollment. For-profit
institutions take advantage of the convenience of online platforms for low-income, minority, and
female students and tailor their marketing and advertising toward those groups (Kinser, 2006).
While overall graduate enrollment continues to grow, residential program enrollment dropped
13% at non-profit academic institutions. That is a drop of nearly 120,000 students since 2012.
This drop comes at a time when part-time and online programs are more prevalent in the
marketplace. Figure 3 indicates the changes taking place in graduate school admissions.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 26

Figure 3. Graduate enrollment at not-for-profit institutions.
History and Performance of Graduate Schools in the United States
Many factors cause the stagnant performance of graduate schools in the U.S. It is
essential to understand graduate school admissions’ history and progression of practices to
evaluate their impact on enrollment across the country. Financial profitability depends on
implementing new and innovative strategies to increase the number of students accepting
admission to HEIs (Hanover Research, 2018). However, profitability in the higher education
sector continues to decrease after a multi-year decline in higher education enrollment (Hanover
Research, 2018). Research showed a 6% decrease in undergraduate admissions and a drop of
2.3% in high school graduates with the West and Northwest parts of the U.S. seeing substantial
declines upward of 10% (Hanover Research, 2018). There was a decrease of 1.8% in graduate
school admissions, despite there being 1.8 million students in colleges and universities (Okahana
& Zhou, 2018). A survey of chief business officers for colleges and universities showed that
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 27
almost half (44%) are worried their institutions will not be financially stable in five years and
over 70% believe reports on the dire state of higher education are accurate (Hanover Research,
2018). Private institutions, which are tuition-dependent with small endowments, have been
drastically affected by the decline in enrollment (Fischer, 2011; Selingo, 2013). Hanover
Research (2018) found the 1.4% tax on endowments at universities with $500,000 in net assets
per students will both encourage and discourage school spending from shrinking endowments.
Not only is it essential for HEIs to break even, but, to maintain sustainability and balance their
budgets, they also need to increase their enrollment every year (Bontrager, 2004). Increasing
enrollment involves looking at the areas of potential growth. Schools must employ creative and
innovative marketing strategies to improve recruitment of both international and domestic
students (Naidoo & Wu, 2011). Naidoo and Wu (2011) discovered that 70% of individual staff
members interviewed at universities believed those strategies need to align with the school’s
strategic plan. Without employing creative approaches, there will continue to be poor
performance in graduate school recruiting.
Practices in Graduate School Admissions
Admissions professionals are responsible for understanding the admissions behavior of
students who intend to enroll in an institution. Before the launch of the internet, admissions
departments used traditional print-driven marketing techniques, which involved glossy view
books and traveling across the country (Hayes, Ruschman, & Walker, 2009). Bernoff and Li
(2008) found 4 out of 5 Americans take advantage of the internet by creating or consuming social
content at least once a month. Additionally, Hanover Research (2018) found inbound internet
marketing is 61% less expensive than traditional marketing and offers a better way to track
results.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 28
Recruitment and admissions personnel work together in the same department to create
interest in prospective students (Beneke & Human, 2010). As the industry changed, so did the
practice of admissions and recruiting, which is now called enrollment management (Vander
Schee, 2009). This concept takes a new approach in that, while recruitment is challenging, the
most crucial part is preventing students from choosing not to attend an institution after paying
their deposit (Vander Schee, 2009). Enrolling students involves a sequence of events:
prospective student, accepted student, enrolling student, and enrolled student (Whiteside &
Mentz, 2003). Admissions and enrollment offices must continually reinvent their approach
depending on the marketing needs and student population to differentiate their institutions and
remain competitive (Ivy, 2008; Szekeres, 2010). The change in admissions practices in higher
education requires adaptable admissions officers and specialized marketing departments that
implement new approaches.
Practices in Graduate School Marketing
The foundation of unique approaches to higher education marketing was developed in the
1970s (Krachenberg, 1972). Since then, there is growing interest in marketing as it relates to
higher education due to changes directly affecting admissions (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka,
2006; Stachowski, 2011). For example, it has become critical for admissions officers to employ
marketing approaches to increase enrollment (Ivy, 2008). While admissions officers use
marketing tactics, there are also marketing offices that influence admissions tactics. It is typical
for the marketing and admissions offices to be housed in different areas despite sharing the same
goals of improving an HEI’s reputation and increasing its enrollment (Huddleston, 2000).
Highly organized marketing departments began to take shape as a result of the changes to the
higher education market and the resulting competition for students (Anctil, 2008b). By
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 29
combining marketing concepts with enrollment principles, admissions officers developed
recruitment strategies to reach the broadest possible pool of potential students (Perna, 2005).
Because marketers tend to develop their ideas to sell something, they appreciate the admissions
sales process and enrollment funnel, as it provides a clear pathway for prospective students
(Lewison & Hawes, 2007). Marketers can, thus, partner with admissions officers to identify the
gap between the prospective communication students’ desire and the communication provided
by a university (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2006). Traditional and historical practices within
enrollment management are not as successful in the modern changing economic climate.
Combining admissions and marketing principles in the recruitment of students has proven
effective, and over the past decade, both areas have embraced the digital revolution.
Digital Media
History of Digital Media
Newspaper organizations are closing, and, because magazines are not purchased as
frequently, traditional marketing techniques have become less cost-effective than digital media
marketing (Rainie, 2005). Rainie (2005) stated the majority of adults have adopted technology
as part of their daily lives. Digital media, often referred to as Web 2.0, includes all
technologically enabled formats which can be viewed, created, shared, and edited on digital
devices (Bughin & Manyika, 2007). The history of digital media began as a series of
innovations: the home computer developed in the 1970s, the first mobile phone in 1983, the
World Wide Web in 1991, and social media starting in 2004 (Schoenherr, 2015). The transition
from print to digital media occurred gradually over the past 30 years, and the result is that users
have control and can interact with content. Lievrouw and Livingstone (2002) discussed the idea
of two aspects of digital media: the message and the technology. The impact of digital media is
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 30
wide-ranging and has a significant effect on society and culture. The world has become a digital
marketplace, forcing all industries to diversify their content across a variety of platforms. About
the topic of this thesis, it is most important to note that the highest consumers of online content
are students entering college (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010).
Digital Media and Marketing in Higher Education
Using digital media to improve business results is a common practice in some industries
(Constantinides & Zinck Stagno, 2012). With inquiry response rates showing favorable data,
schools engaging in social media, websites, and digital advertising can directly affect recruitment
(Constantinides & Zinck Stagno, 2012). Moreover, Evans (2009) added many schools find
online advertising to be a reasonably low-cost option that also has more extensive reach to target
audiences. Higher education can imitate other industries’ success by using digital media to gain
the attention of younger generations (Boyd, 2008). While traditional printed marketing is the
industry standard for colleges and universities, Roberts (2004) found word-of-mouth promotion
is much more effective in persuading customers to make decisions. Furthermore, Constantinides
and Zinck Stagno (2012) observed that this type of marketing is the most effective in increasing
engagement with target markets and building brand loyalty.
Social media. Words, pictures, and videos on social media engage people online through
networking sites that allow the creation and sharing of content (Evans, 2009). With prospective
student learners turning to these networks to learn about academic programs, universities rely on
this media space to further their messaging and brand platforms (Beal, 2014). For example,
Kang and McAllister (2011) discovered a positive correlation between students’ visiting a
university’s social media page and their subsequent application to that university.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 31
Websites. A university or college website is a critical component of the school’s image,
and prospective students use it to develop opinions about the school’s programs and student life
(Sung, Kinsey, & Yang, 2008). While providing useful and clear messaging on their website,
schools also need to make the user experience on their sites a priority (Stack, 2016). In this
regard, Jager and Jan (2015) stated it is essential for HEIs to dedicate a significant amount of
resources toward their websites due to the prospective student pool making decisions based on
the information they find online. Correctly, Stack (2016) found written words on the site are not
as important as visual elements in telling the story of the institution.
Digital advertising. Digital media is an umbrella term that encompasses a large number
of platforms which allow businesses and organizations to manage and grow their brands online.
As the forms of media grow and evolve, many industries find it necessary to do the same with
their content and marketing approaches. Digital advertising occurs online and places ads in front
of users on websites other than the advertiser’s own (Beal, 2014; Evans, 2009; Kang &
McAllister, 2011). Tuten (2008) explained online advertising as a way to target smaller topic-
specific audiences after choosing a larger group to attract attention. Online advertising is an
effective way to gain the attention of prospective students due to the idea that you can tailor a
message directly to them (Tuten, 2008).
Also, using digital media to attract adult students to graduate schools can be an
economical way of spending operational budget dollars to drive admissions goals (Qi & Mackie,
2014). Knowing one’s target audience and the way individuals in that audience consume and
relate to media is crucial information. Effective utilization of digital media has resulted in
improved customer engagement, communication, and brand loyalty (Constantinides & Zinck
Stagno o, 2012). In this regard, it is valuable for graduate schools to understand how adult
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 32
learners are different from undergraduate students. Adult learners’ needs, wants, and online
behavior varies, and, thus, the content and approaches need to be adapted to be effective. Using
technology and digital media can also address budget cuts that do not allow for more costly face-
to-face recruiting.
Adult Learners
Types of Students Seeking Admission to Graduate School
Graduate students, who are generally looking to attend school part-time, are older, multi-
generational, and the fastest-growing population in America (Stack, 2009). As a result of
students coming from across the globe and broadening educational choices, the competition in
higher education exists primarily online (Hemsley-Brown, 2011; Ivy, 2008). For example,
Chang et al. (2014) found knowing the current generation’s use of different platforms to acquire
and share information is a crucial component to understanding target markets. Students seeking
enrollment at U.S. HEIs are the first digitally native generation, meaning they are the first to find
the majority of their information on handheld devices (Chang et al., 2014). Generations Y and Z
are digitally savvy, and they evaluate the products and services they buy mostly in online
environments, using the platforms to ask questions and discover information (Hayes et al., 2009).
While the primary target demographics of HEIs are digitally native, it is essential to
understand the difference between the generations and their preferences to tailor messages
effectively and to capture their attention. Chang et al. (2014) found 24% of Millennials say
technology is a significant part of their identity as compared to only 12% of Gen Xers (Chang et
al., 2014). Baldwin and James (2000) stated colleges and universities need to fundamentally
understand that adult learners have changed over the past three generations; thus, such
institutions need to make more informed decisions. Online platforms also changed the types of
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 33
students entering colleges and universities; enrollees are highly creative and collaborative, so
schools need to use digital media to entertain them (Henderson, Selwyn, & Aston, 2017).
Henderson et al. (2017), in a study of over 1,600 students (ages 17 to 66) indicated that 46.9%
used digital media to organize and manage studying, 30% used it to save time on regular tasks,
and 27.9% used it to research information. Schools are marketing to older and more mature
students who have already been in the workforce and who select institutions based both on
reputation and value.
Adult Students and Digital Media
The internet has quickly become a central part of adult students’ everyday lives. If an
HEI expects to gain the attention of an adult learner, it needs to put information online, where
such learners spend the majority of their time (Hayes et al., 2009). Barnes and Mattson (2008)
explained that current generations are the most difficult to communicate with because all of their
devices are always on and because they expect instant responses and interaction with online
brands. Due to the need to demonstrate their brand online, an institution’s website allows the
extension of traditional marketing techniques to enhance outreach activities (Weiss, Lurie, &
MacInnis, 2008).
In a study on user activity at Xavier University, the percentage of deposits after logging
into the admissions website went from 93.2% to 98.7% (Hayes et al., 2009). Also, the statistic
that 70% of students accessed their university’s website on a mobile device suggests that schools
need to generate content that can be consumed on small screens and without sound (Ruffalo
Noel-Levitz, 2014). As a result of students’ buyer behaviors, the most important thing for an
institution to know is where potential students spend their time online. Once a school
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 34
understands the research behaviors of its prospective students, it can tailor its strategies to
maximize its financial digital media investments.
What Adult Learners Want from Graduate Schools
Research shows college choice is affected by the marketing messages prospective
students receive and how they evaluate those messages in making a decision (Gibbs, 2002;
Helgesen, 2008; Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2006). Hanover Research (2018) explained there is
a growing number of online shopping tools allowing students to evaluate institutions quickly and
increasing the complexity of convincing them to enroll. However, different generations have
different values regarding the characteristics of a school.
Hanover Research (2018) found 75% of Generation Z (those born between 1995 and
2005) are 26% of the population and have an average attention span of eight seconds. Some
students from Generation Y make their decision based on the information they consume on social
media, which depicts student life in the form of photos, videos, and graphics (Galan, Lawley, &
Clements, 2015). Galan et al. (2015) found 8 out of 12 students surveyed were using social
media to find information about schools student life, and using visual representation helped them
better evaluate the school. Hanover Research (2018) noted individuals from Generation Z value
affordable education, so they look for generous financial aid packages and other ways to finance
their education. Despite that specific requirement, Szekeres (2010) highlighted courses,
reputation, quality of instruction and faculty, location, and cost as the major factors influencing
all prospective students’ choice, regardless of generation.
Messaging regarding the culture of an institution may cause adult learners to want to
learn more about the school (Bernoff & Li, 2008). Mansfield (2009) added institutional
personality helps outsiders see themselves at that institution quickly through online communities.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 35
When leveraging digital tools to help draw students in and shape their perceptions, schools can
attract those who would be successful in their programs (Howard, 2013). Adult learners enable
institutions to target their efforts in a cost-effective way that focuses their recruitment tactics.
Because adult learners’ decisions are made primarily as a result of using digital media, such
media are central to the admission and marketing approaches of universities and colleges.
Role of Stakeholder Group of Focus
The change in students’ communication collection and process required admissions and
marketing departments to use a variety of strategies and platforms to attract, engage, and build
relationships with prospective students (Vander Schee, 2009). As a result of the changes in
students’ needs and expectations, specialized positions focusing on external engagement grew
over the last decade. Such specialized staff members have the most substantial impact on
potential students’ decision to attend a given university. It is essential to address the role of
admissions and marketing professionals as stakeholders in their roles at colleges and universities.
This focus group of stakeholders effectively uses innovative technologies to reach prospective
students through their preferred platforms (Schmidt & Ralph, 2016). While these two groups
operate daily as two independent groups, they frequently come together and work collaboratively
to achieve the goals of the admissions of the institution. Specific knowledge, motivation, and
organizational factors that influence their decisions regarding using digital media in graduate
school admissions are discussed later in this chapter.
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) recommended performing a gap analysis to understand if people
have the knowledge and skills to complete a task and obtain their goals. The combination of a
gap analysis and a literature review guided research on this subject as it related to colleges and
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 36
universities. As people examine their knowledge and skills and how they compare to their tasks,
they discover that learning is an excellent determinant of their success in achieving goals and
objectives (Clark & Estes, 2008). Meeting organizational goals is directly tied to performance
problems within an organization if knowledge and skill are part of the examination (Rueda,
2011).
There are four main knowledge dimensions: factual, conceptual, procedural, and
metacognitive (Krathwohl, 2002). Factual knowledge includes what and how much someone
knows about the details of the subject matter to determine how to solve a problem (Krathwohl,
2002; Rueda, 2011). Conceptual knowledge builds on facts to help learners find generalizations
or structures in question and create relationships with the elements they know (Krathwohl, 2002;
Rueda, 2011). Procedural knowledge typically involves process and skills for dealing with a
problem (Krathwohl, 2002). Metacognitive awareness is internal reflection which helps people
look at what they know and apply metacognitive theories to solving a problem (Krathwohl,
2002). Clark and Estes’ (2008) framework is well suited to study stakeholder performance
within this organization because it helps to identify where a gap exists in the ability to perform
the stated goal. Whether the deficit is a lack of knowledge, lack of motivation, or lack of
organizational support, this framework helped the researcher determine suggestions for
improving performance toward the goal.
The knowledge and motivation of admissions and marketing officers are discussed in the
next section, including their understanding of social and digital media. A gap analysis using the
framework by Clark and Estes (2008) sought to improve recruitment efforts at SGU. This gap
analysis was followed by considering the motivation of the employees in admissions and
marketing offices, categorizing them according to their knowledge types, which helps to
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 37
determine the methodology needed to correct any gaps either in knowledge or motivation. As a
result of using the framework, admissions and marketing officers will gain background
information about their influence over improving recruitment numbers by using digital media.
The final aspect of the framework measures the organizational forces that affect admissions and
marketing officers as well as their ability to employ innovative digital marketing techniques.
The three elements of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influence discussed in this
chapter are also addressed in the methodology chapter.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
Knowledge and Skills
Admissions and marketing departments within HEIs are responsible for revenue and for
managing the brand of an institution. Science Graduate University admits graduate students
focusing on applied life sciences and healthcare education. By 2020, the admissions and
marketing departments have the goal of investing 10% of their advertising budget in online
social platforms and digital marketing to attract potential students and to increase brand
awareness. To advocate for increased investment in digital marketing, the staff in both
departments must be knowledgeable about various social media and digital marketing platforms,
such as how they work and what type of results they can get by using them. It is essential to
understand the knowledge and motivational gaps faced by the admissions and marketing officers,
which could prevent them from achieving their goal. Therefore, Clark and Estes (2008)
recommend performing a gap analysis to understand if people have the skills to complete a task
and meet their goals. A look at the knowledge dimension within the model helps to determine
the factors that contribute to knowledge and motivation.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 38
Knowledge influences. The knowledge and skills of higher education professionals play
a significant role in their ability to use the technology needed to capture Millennials’ attention
and to influence the decision of where to attend college. In the past, the internet has not been a
factor in students’ decision on where to attend college (Wilson, 2010). Without direct
knowledge of the current digital space as it relates to higher education marketing, administrators
may be unable to evaluate whether it is worth it to invest in these areas. As people examine their
knowledge and skills and how they relate to their tasks, they discover that learning is an effective
determinant of their ability to achieve their goals and objectives (Clark & Estes, 2008). Indeed,
if knowledge and skills are a part of the examination, achieving organizational goals is directly
tied to performance problems (Rueda, 2011).
Factual knowledge of types of digital media consumed by prospective students. The
continually changing nature of digital media makes it challenging for admissions and marketing
professionals to adapt their approaches to the preferred type of media consumed by prospective
students (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). As a result, there is significant research on new media and
its use in business (Manyika, Roberts, & Sprague, 2008), with these media often being referred
to as Web 2.0. According to Ruffalo Noel-Levitz (2015), in 2011, only 21% of students used
digital media to find information during their university search, and, four years later, that number
increased to over 50%. Additionally, Dawley (2009) found more than 28% of students have
blogs, 48% have video sharing sites, and 28% have photo content sharing sites. Marketing and
admissions teams have to use traditional marketing techniques of segmentation, targeting,
positioning, and branding to understand their markets and to evaluate their media consumption
behaviors (Naidoo & Wu, 2011). Students access digital media on many different devices,
including desktop devices, tablets, and smartphones (Tomlinson & Rapoff, 2014). Students’
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 39
digital device preferences increase the knowledge needed by university staff. They need to know
which platforms prospective students use and understand what type of device they use to
consume information about the school. Social networking has increased in popularity with the
emergence of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube (Nyangau & Bado, 2012).
Understanding these types of media helps departments create effective messaging using these
technology-enabled tools (Ledford, 2012). Users of these types of technology tend to be
engaged when the content they view is about themselves (Weinberg, 2009). As HEIs investigate
the kind of digital media students consume, they should realize that communicating through such
platforms is not much different than traditional marketing, which starts by building trust, then
cultivating a relationship (Brink, 2010).
Admissions and marketing officers’ conceptual knowledge of digital media.
Admissions and marketing officers need to know more about emerging tools in social media and
digital marketing and how to integrate such tools into their current strategies. The highest use of
search engines is by younger generations, and, in 2008, half of internet users used them daily
(Fallows, 2005). Google was the most used search engine when students were looking for
information on college websites (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, 2010). The knowledge required in this
regard is conceptual knowledge because it focuses on building the data based on facts to help
employees categorize new concepts in light of the ones they already know.
The landscape of marketing and the use of social media increases by the day. According
to Barnes and Mattson (2010), digital marketing is growing in higher education, and 95% of
admissions officers use social media to attract students. In a time when attention is the largest
commodity for higher education, the use of digital tools has increased to capture that attention.
The most prevalent method of digital media in HEIs is in marketing, recruiting, and enrollment
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 40
(Constantinides & Zinck Stagno, 2011). Nevertheless, many responsible for the brand of an HEI
continue using tactics that were used before the digital age, and they do not use technology and
media to recruit and retain their student body. Additionally, Hearne (2010) acknowledged that
one of the most significant benefits of using digital media with students is the ability to respond
and interact with them rapidly. This conceptual gap was assessed through a survey of employees
within both of these departments to determine knowledge and competence in using and adapting
various platforms for use in marketing and admissions.
Admissions and marketing officers’ procedural knowledge of budget request process.
A significant barrier that prevents staff from trying new projects is operating budget allocation.
Many institutions’ budget controllers do not have direct interaction with admissions, marketing,
and communications professionals. Therefore, they do not have conversations about the value of
digital media in gaining additional revenue. This knowledge influence about the importance of
digital media is metacognitive because it involves using information that admissions and
marketing officers know about the digital media they want to use, assessing how that media will
help them meet their goals, and, most importantly, building a case for budget support from the
institution (Krathwohl, 2009). Using both the knowledge of the use of digital media and how to
meet their goals is an area of opportunity to explore knowledge-based adoption. The concept of
using media to gain constituents’ attention is relatively new to HEIs, which are developing their
strategic marketing plans to promote and sell their services (Saravanakumar &
SuganthaLakshmi, 2012).
Additionally, some universities follow the corporate business model of using media to
listen to their constituents to adapt programs and to meet their constituencies’ needs (Qi &
Mackie, 2014). Finally, Mazzarol and Soutar (2012) stressed that, during these competitive
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 41
times in higher education, those who maintain and further their brands online are more likely to
survive. If schools do not take advantage of the international scope of the internet, they are
missing opportunities to monetize their efforts (Mahaney, 2012). The method for assessing this
metacognitive gap is an analysis of the need and the metrics to document how this would
generate additional revenue and provide an appropriate ROI.
Table 2 below provides the organizational mission, organizational goal, and information
specific to knowledge influences, knowledge types, and knowledge influence assessments. As
the chart indicates, one conceptual and one metacognitive influence were used to gain insight
into the knowledge of the employees in the admissions and marketing department at SGU.
Table 2
Knowledge Influences, Types, and Assessments for Knowledge Gap Analysis
Knowledge Worksheet
Dissertation Model: __Evaluation __Improvement _x Innovation __Promising Practice
Organizational Mission
Science Graduate University (SGU) is a graduate school focusing on applied life sciences and
healthcare education. A member of a prestigious and selective consortium of colleges, its mission is to
enrich society with breakthrough approaches to education and translational research in the sciences.
Organizational Global Goal
By 2020, the admissions and marketing departments of SGU will develop and implement a
strategic digital media plan.
Stakeholder Goal
By 2020, the admissions and marketing departments of SGU will increase the number of inquiries
to the top of the enrollment funnel to key programs by 4%.
Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence
Assessment
Admissions and marketing officers need to know
which digital media prospective students spend their
time consuming.
Factual Interview
Admissions and marketing officers need to
understand how digital media works and the
difference between each platform.
Conceptual Interview
Admissions and marketing officers need to follow
the steps to make a case for investment by the
school in using digital media as a part of their
budget.

Procedural

Interview

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 42
Motivation
Motivation is the second component required for employees to achieve their goals.
Motivation is the foundation of people’s internal dialogue; it helps them determine whether they
want to start and exert effort in completing a task (Mayer, 2011a). Rueda (2011) noted the key to
understanding a performance problem is knowing the motivational influences which affect an
employee’s participation or engagement in the activity. Additionally, Clark and Estes (2008)
stated beliefs are a large part of motivation, including how someone feels about themselves and
others about whether they can achieve a task. The authors also identify the factors affecting
motivation: active choice, persistence, and mental effort. To reach prospective graduate students,
employees within the admissions and marketing department need to assess all three processes to
determine their motivation to employ the latest technology to benefit their areas of responsibility.
A review of the literature on motivation-related influences revealed beliefs about how
competence and self-efficacy play a role in people’s judgment of their capabilities to perform.
Attributions also play a role in success or failure at a task (Rueda, 2011). Admissions and
marketing employees at SGU can achieve their goals by closing performance gaps related to
marketing and advertising technologies. Examining the motivational influences that help
marketing and admissions professionals take advantage of digital technology enhances their
success. In this regard, the following section discusses both self-efficacy theory and expectancy
value theory.
Self-efficacy theory. The first motivation influence is related to the performance goal of
improving digital marketing and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy theory is part of social cognitive
theory, and it suggests a person’s life is determined by the role s/he plays in its success (Pajares,
2006). According to this theory, motivation comes from internal feelings, which directly affect
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 43
personal motivation (Pajares, 2006). Additionally, Borgogni, Dello Russo, and Latham (2011)
provided input regarding how a supervisor plays a significant role in the collective efficacy of a
group in a workplace and how the aggregate effect of that group affects an individual’s self-
efficacy.
Admissions and marketing officers’ self-efficacy. Institutional leadership, Fong (2013)
reported, frequently misunderstands the role marketers can play in positively affecting
enrollment revenue. Administrators’ opinions of the practice default to graphic design and copy
editing, instead of playing a significant role in the institution’s strategic plan (Fong, 2013). For
the admissions and marketing staff to feel confident in implementing a strategic digital marketing
plan, they need to know the technologies available to them and how they will incorporate them
into their goals. Institutions must adapt and move quickly between students’ marketing
consumption preferences if they want to remain competitive in the market (Martin, 2009).
In addition to the viewpoint of institutional leaders, Durkin, Filbey, and McCartan-Quinn,
(2014) discovered the majority of marketing managers were aware of the need for digital
marketing, but their practices were aimed only at the youngest generation. The competitive and
consistently changing landscape of higher education marketing has made it difficult for senior
administrators to understand and appreciate what is needed to have a positive influence on
marketing to many generations of students (Fong, 2013). Chapleo (2015) noted that following
traditional models of marketing in higher education is difficult for staff because the processes
and social norms are different from corporate situations. Higher education is unique, and staff
members must be educated in current trends and be highly adaptable. Many times, after
mastering a specific platform or tool, a newer and better version is developed, and the staff
member has to learn a new product. This continually changing environment has left college
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 44
personnel without a plan for implementing and effectively using new strategies (Wlodkowski &
Kasworm, 2003). Self-efficacy plays a role in how confident employees feel in their experience
with media in their area of expertise.
Expectancy value theory. Value is the second motivational influence that affects SGU
admissions and marketing professionals’ stakeholder goal. Expectation values play a significant
role in learning, specifically in how people view themselves and their expectations about their
knowledge (Eccles, 2006). Eccles described the idea that expectancy revolves people’s belief
that they can do something intrinsically and that value follows in their desire to do it. The
concept of expectancy can best be understood by using the words “can” and “want” about action.
Expectancy value theory has four aspects: personal enjoyment while doing a task,
subjective feelings about whether the task is attainable, how the task relates to long-term goals,
and whether the task has an implicit or explicit cost (Eccles, 2006). The achievable nature of a
task is related to whether a person thinks he or she can attempt and complete it (Rueda, 2011).
Eccles (2006) stated that how people feel about a task will determine if they value doing the job.
Admissions and marketing officers’ expectancy value. Estabrook, Witt, and Rainie
(2007) discovered that 81% of colleges have marketing departments, some of which are
combined with enrollment marketing. However, they also found only 68% of colleges and
universities have a budget directly allocated to marketing. The SGU admissions and marketing
staff pride themselves in meeting enrollment goals and on being responsive to the needs of
incoming and outgoing students, along with industry partners and potential philanthropic donors.
The staff required to fulfill these goals are housed in both the marketing department and the
admissions department. Without financial support in operating budget and personnel, the staff
may have difficulty being innovative in their ideas. The lack of resources and staff and the fear
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 45
of the unknown from administrators who do not consume digital media make it difficult for
educational marketers to implement new technologies (Heiberger & Harper, 2008; Reuben,
2008; Rios-Aguilar & Deil-Amen, 2012).
Additionally, as institutions develop new programs, they need to account for the
marketing dollars necessary to attract adult learners. Institutions do not consider how much they
need to spend to attract adult students, thinking that doing so requires less investment than for
undergraduate students (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, 2011). Conversely, Ruffalo Noel-Levitz found the
average cost per adult enrollee is between $1,700 and $2,300. Additionally, the concept of
marketing and selling an institution created resistance among some staff members. The idea of
students as customers is rejected by many in the academic space who fear that such a view is
driven by short-term goals rather than the long-term educational benefit to society (Kalafatis &
Ledden, 2013). The value of education makes educators nervous because it is a non-tangible
consumable, and it focuses on what can be learned throughout the process instead of merely
looking at the final product (Woodall, Hiller, & Resnick, 2014).
Chapleo (2015) highlights the frustration for staff regarding the speed with which HEIs
change and the idea that their beliefs against the concept of marketing the college and university
are cynical and rigid. Knowing the way students consume information and how they do it will
help admissions and marketing officers identify whether their efforts will have a positive
influence on the strategic goals of their department and the institution.
Written surveys were used to determine the value motivation influence. Table 3 below
identifies two motivational influences that focus on utility value and self-efficacy. These
influences help to more fully understand how motivation affects digital marketing in the
admissions and marketing departments at SGU.
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Table 3
Motivational Influences and Assessments for Motivation Gap Analysis
Motivation Worksheet
Dissertation Model: __Evaluation __Improvement _x Innovation __Promising Practice
Organizational Mission
Science Graduate University (SGU) is a graduate school focusing on applied life sciences
and healthcare education. A member of a prestigious and selective consortium of colleges, its
mission is to enrich society with breakthrough approaches to education and translational research
in the sciences.
Organizational Global Goal
By 2020, the admissions and marketing departments of SGU will develop and implement
a strategic digital media plan.
Stakeholder Goal
By 2020, the admissions and marketing departments of SGU will increase the number of
inquiries to the top of the enrollment funnel to key programs by 4%.
Assumed Motivation Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Expectancy Value – Admission and marketing
officers need to see the utility value in providing
information to students where they spend the
majority of their time (on digital devices and
consuming digital media).
Interview item: “Where do you spend much
of your time online, and what type of device
do you use?”
Self-Efficacy – Admissions and marketing
officers need to have the confidence they are
capable of learning new and emerging
technologies, which is where students are
spending a significant amount of time.
Interview item: “How do you think you
could prepare yourself for learning new
technologies?”
“Do you feel confident that you can learn new
technologies and how to use them
effectively?”

Organization
Organizational processes, resources, and materials. While knowledge and
motivational influences play a significant role in recruiting students to graduate institutions, it is
essential to take into consideration organizational influences as well. For example, Rueda (2011)
explained that resources and practices within an organization have a direct impact on
stakeholders’ knowledge and motivation. He further explained processes and procedures affect
stakeholders’ ability to accomplish organizational goals. The key step leaders can take in their
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 47
organizations is to identify potential barriers to operations or resources which prevent goals from
being accomplished (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Organizational cultural models and settings. Culture is a shared product of
accumulated learning that works with external adaptations and internal integration (Schein,
2010). It reflects what is learned, valued, and practiced in an organization. Cultural models and
cultural settings can both be used to identify the aspects of an organization that needs attention to
accomplish organizational goals. In contrast with the observable policies, practices, and rewards
of an organization, an organization’s culture of beliefs and values is not as readily visible
(Schneider, Brief, & Guzzo, 1996).
Cultural models of stakeholder-specific factors: Investment of budget dollars into
marketing and branding activities. Colleges and universities within the United States need to
brace for enrollment and financial shortfalls by maximizing student matriculation and retention,
especially with out-of-state or out-of-country students, by improving brand value and by
cultivating new relationships for fiscal revenue (Prahlad, 2018). The pressure is increasing
within admissions and marketing offices to demonstrate the value of secondary education and to
convince more people to apply to undergraduate and graduate programs. Moreover, aggressive
campaigns to attract students and supporters of institutions are more prevalent. Online
advertising is a battleground for competition at both public and private colleges (Vasquez, 2017).
The concept of advertising the university and which department is responsible for it depends on
the institution. At some universities, the admissions staff is responsible for it, and, at others,
there is a marketing department responsible for those activities. It is not uncommon for
admissions and marketing officers to work together in one department or different departments
within an institution. Admissions officers usually report to a dean or vice president of
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 48
enrollment, and marketing officers are under an office of advancement and fundraising. These
two departments focus on marketing and advertising for two separate purposes: admissions to
attract potential students and fundraising to attract potential donors. These professionals are
potentially prevented from using non-traditional methods due to their acceptance of general
marketing needs (such as the need to market the entire institution), investment into new
approaches, and using new ways of thinking to advertise digitally.
Institutional marketing. Traditionally, marketing is widely accepted as necessary for
brand recognition in corporate or retail brands. However, there is pushback from academic
circles that marketing an institution is not needed because students will want to attend an
institution based on its academic reputation alone (Poock & Lefond, 2003). Commercialization
of admissions forced colleges and universities to develop marketing departments and to engage
outside marketing firms in their strategies (Anctil, 2008a). In this regard, there is strong
opposition when institutional operating funds are spent on marketing and advertising instead of
areas that support faculty and students (Qi & Mackie, 2014). Ongoing disagreement on budget
allocation is especially prevalent in institutions where there is a shared governance model and
where faculty have a significant influence over budget approval and expenditures (Hayes et al.,
2009).
The three primary goals of institutional marketing are addressing students’ needs,
communicating what an institution has to offer students and fulfilling promises to students.
These marketing goals can help craft the narrative about the history of a school and its evolution
over time to attract the support of the institution (Bélanger, Bali, & Longden, 2014). While
social media marketing is essential, without funding allocated to exploring its effectiveness,
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 49
institutions will continue to rely on traditional avenues to attract students, faculty, staff, and
donors.
Cultural Settings: Understanding of marketing costs and confidence in staff. In
HEIs, marketing and advertising is a passive option mostly used by the enrollment and
admissions departments (Bennett & Ali-Choudhury, 2009). Their primary goal is to attract the
highest quality students to apply to their institution. Holmes (2016) recognized a fundamental
difference between the marketing and advertising needs of undergraduate and graduate
institutions. Those within education circles link marketing to commercialism, and the idea of
selling a degree is against their core values (Rizvi, 2011). Many undergraduate institutions have
a more significant percentage of applicants than they can accept as students and are, therefore,
selective of their incoming class (Bennett & Ali-Choudhury, 2009).
In addition to enrollment marketing and advertising, there is a significant need for general
marketing of an institution to further its message and mission (Han, 2014). Some in academic
spaces do not understand the concept of marketing and are afraid that a degree is turning into a
commodity rather than an intangible service (Anctil, 2008b). If institutions do not use the
technologies that students are applying to explore their future college wants and needs, they are
susceptible to being dropped from consideration by a prospective student (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz,
2010). Supporting the concept that marketing an educational institution is an integral part of its
operations endorses the efforts of the officers responsible for brand reputation.
Marketing investment. There are striking differences between the marketing strategies
of for-profit and non-profit HEIs. While non-profit colleges and universities grew by 1.5% over
the past three decades, for-profit career colleges are growing at 9% per year (Wilson, 2010). In
2010, the University of Phoenix, a for-profit school, became the second-largest educational
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 50
institution (Wilson, 2010). For-profit institutions are spending close to 40% of their revenues on
marketing, and non-profit institutions are spending close to 0.5% (Hearne, 2010).
Moreover, non-profit HEIs are spending 38% of their marketing budgets on traditional
print pieces and only 15% on online initiatives (Hearne, 2010). When looking at the regular
costs associated with marketing and advertising, companies reinvest close to 5% of their
revenues in marketing and advertising their brand (Saravanakumar & Suganthalakshmi, 2012).
In colleges and universities, the percentage allocated to those activities is negligible at best.
Admissions and marketing departments usually spend part of their budget on other initiatives
toward target marketing as a way of being innovative in attracting new constituencies
(Chamberlin & Lehmann, 2011). The concept of a budget designed explicitly for external
engagement is unique to the industry and is not yet widely accepted (Han & Li, 2009). Many
colleges hire traditional advertising agencies and use digital ads to target applicants, parents, and
lawmakers. For example, one firm mentioned their portfolio of a dozen higher education clients
who spent $40 million on digital marketing since 2014 (Vasquez, 2017). While investment in
marketing and advertising is important, the changing environment of consumption of content
requires innovation and out-of-the-box thinking.
Innovative marketing. Smith and Cavusgil (1984) acknowledge that, in the past,
institutions delivered print materials by hand to their constituents. Thus, those materials were
often outdated by the time they were received. The rise in use of technology has changed the
way materials are produced. Digital devices account for a large portion of where people give
their attention throughout the day (Chamberlin & Lehmann, 2011). Digital tools can be
handheld or desktop, and such users account for a vast majority of the types of students that
institutions are looking to attract (Holmes, 2016).
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With the launch of the internet, schools realized the importance of having their websites
updated with valuable information that captured the reader’s attention on a given page for more
extended periods (Stack, 2009). Due to this innovation, schools must draw people to their
websites by advertising on digital devices, where consumers’ attention resides. Due to search
engine optimization (SEO) and retargeting, digital ads can be targeted to an exact student
demographic. The current generation also values influencer marketing, where they listen to
influencers and share what they learn from them. Students rely on their digital community who
share their same interests to gain and evaluate opinions of products and services. With students
valuing the thoughts and perceptions of those in their online networks, schools need to engage
students’ peers, instead of their professors, in social marketing (Gibbs, 2017). Bradley (2009)
found faculty and administrators are reluctant to support new digital and social networks because
they do not know what threats such systems pose to the institutions. Bradley added that most
faculty are older and have a difficult time understanding digital media because they do not
consume it in their daily lives.
Most higher education admissions officers are not professional marketers, and they rarely
receive continuing education in marketing (Brennan, Felekis, & Goldring, 2003). As a result,
these staff members need mentorship and support to try ideas outside of their comfort zone.
Without the ability to innovate and try new approaches to marketing and advertising, a school
will not attract the attention of their target consumers nor educate them about its brand. These
factors facilitate meeting enrollment goals.
Table 4 below provides the organizational mission, organizational goal, and assumed
organizational influences. As Table 4 indicates, the organizational influence assessment results in
a research-based recommendation and solution.
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Table 4
Organizational Influences
Organizational Mission
Science Graduate University (SGU) is a graduate school focusing on applied life
sciences and healthcare education. A member of a prestigious and selective consortium of
colleges, its mission is to enrich society with breakthrough approaches to education and
translational research in the sciences.
Organizational Global Goal
By 2020, the admissions and marketing departments of SGU will develop and
implement a strategic digital media plan.
Stakeholder Goal
By 2020, the admissions and marketing departments of SGU will increase the number
of inquiries to the top of the enrollment funnel to key programs by 4%.
Assumed Organizational Influences

Organizational Influence Assessment
Cultural Model - The administration needs to
invest resources into general marketing and
branding to meet the increased demands of
revenue-generating locations within the
school.
Evaluation of traditional expectations of
marketing within the institution and how it
affects potential admissions.
Cultural Setting - Admissions and marketing
officers need to know the process of making a
case for budget support for new ideas, and the
organization needs to have confidence in them
to innovate and try new approaches.
Assessment of current funds being spent on
admissions marketing versus general brand
marketing and allocation each year by type
of marketing tactic.

Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context
A conceptual framework can be used to support and frame research. Maxwell (2012)
explained that a conceptual framework justifies and validates certain assumptions, beliefs, or
concepts to support research. Maxwell also stated using theory is an effective way to show the
relationship between two ideas. Conceptual frameworks differ from theoretical frameworks
because they focus on the methodology and metrics used to measure a concept (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016).
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 53
Additionally, concept maps, structures, and diagrams can be used as tools for presenting
ideas in the simplest way for the reader (Maxwell, 2012). This conceptual framework is inspired
by Clark and Estes’ (2008) investigation of performance by using gap analysis. Clark and Estes
noted that, by using the gap analysis, it is possible to provide recommendations for achieving
desired goals. There can be a direct link to the knowledge, skills, and motivation of an
individual and organizational influence, which makes goals challenging to attain. When a
conceptual framework is developed correctly, it can give readers insight into assumptions and
beliefs of what areas need to be explored (Maxwell, 2012).
Frameworks for marketers rely heavily on the skills and measurement metrics used to
justify potential financial investments. The researcher studied the problem from the perspective
of a marketer, which is the position the researcher currently holds in the institution, as opposed to
an administrator. As a marketer and higher education administrator, the researcher relied on a
framework that takes into consideration the knowledge needed to achieve goals. While
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences are presented independently above, they
also directly interact with each other. Figure 4 below demonstrates the way all three potentially
interact with each other and are affected in efforts to accomplish the organizational goals.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 54

Figure 4. Conceptual framework figure.

The large outside circle represents SGU. The cultural setting includes the faculty, staff,
and administrators of the institution. These stakeholders serve over 600 diverse students who
study a variety of subjects and who come to the campus from all over the world. Cultural
models include organizational resistance to investing in advertising in and to understanding the
need for digital advertising as a way to draw students and supporters to the institution. The
smaller inner circle represents the admissions and marketing professionals responsible for
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 55
recruiting prospective students and marketing the institution. The circle represents the
knowledge and motivational factors that influence their ability to meet their goal. The arrow
represents the connection between the organizational purpose of developing and implementing
an online digital marketing plan by 2020 to attract potential students and increase the number of
inquiries and matriculation to key programs by 4%.
Admissions and marketing departments within HEIs are responsible for revenue and for
managing the institution’s brand. Understanding gaps in knowledge and motivation may enable
success in these areas. Clark and Estes (2008) recommended performing a gap analysis to
understand whether people have the knowledge and skills to complete a task and meet their
goals. The combination of a gap analysis and a literature review guided research on this subject
as it related to colleges and universities.
The changes in marketing and competition in higher education market make it
increasingly important for admissions and marketing departments to use their decreasing budgets
most broadly and cost-effectively (Anctil, 2008a). Brand marketing may help craft the narrative
of the school regarding how it advanced and evolved over its history to attract supporters for
purposes other than admissions (Bélanger et al., 2014). Admissions and marketing officers’
motivation is directly affected by their knowledge gaps. If admissions and marketing officers
know how to use digital resources for marketing their institution (K-conceptual), they may not
see the value in advocating for their use in their practices. If these individuals do not understand
the financial benefit (M-attributions) of using digital media to spread the institution’s messages,
they may not be motivated to expand their knowledge (K-conceptual) of non-traditional media
marketing.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 56
The organizational culture of an institution directly affects the admissions and marketing
officers and their abilities to achieve institutional goals. After looking at the knowledge and
motivational gaps, which can prevent goals from being reached, it is essential to examine the
organizational influences which also may play a role in goal attainment. Higher education has
different organizational models and norms than corporate companies, and, therefore, tend to run
their organization differently. In higher education, faculty has a strong sense of ownership of the
institution, and administrators have a responsibility to share the governance of the college or
university with them. By considering both the knowledge gaps and the motivational factors in
parallel with the organizational issues, it becomes possible to examine barriers to goal
completion.
Without the ability to innovate (M-attribution) and try new approaches to marketing and
advertising, a school may not attract the attention of the consumers they seek to educate about
their brand. The organizational influences that affect innovation in marketing and advertising to
target groups who might be interested in an academic institution play a central role in their
current and future performance to meet their goals.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to examine the use of digital media in increasing graduate
school admissions. Organizational influences work in concert with knowledge and motivation as
well as with the processes and procedures that prevent stakeholders from accomplishing
organizational goals. Cultural models and settings additionally work with external and internal
norms in either positive or negative ways. The literature in this chapter demonstrates admissions
and marketing officers’ knowledge and motivation are affected by a variety of organizational
influences within SGU. Chapter Three presents this study’s methodological approach.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 57
Interviews with the institution’s admissions and marketing staff determined the extent to which
organizational influences affected their departments and their staff outlook on enrollment goals.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 58
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Higher education institutions (HEIs) must innovate in the areas of marketing as a result of
declining funding and rising costs (Anctil, 2008). If HEIs do not use the appropriate marketing
approach, their enrollment numbers and financial position may be adversely affected (Wright,
2014). Moreover, a lack of marketing talent and support in implementing unique marketing
strategies may negatively affect their reputation (Chapleo, 2015; Clagett, 2012; Tolbert, 2014).
The goal of this study was to increase the number of students entering into the top of the
enrollment funnel of graduate education by gaining their attention online and introducing them to
SGU. The goal was that, by 2020, the admissions and marketing departments would develop and
implement a digital marketing plan to attract potential students to SGU and to increase the
number of inquiries and students matriculating into vital programs by 4%. To successfully
request budget support to enhance digital marketing, the staff in both the admissions and
marketing departments must be knowledgeable about the various platforms students use,
including how they work, which ones students spend the most time on, and the type of results the
admissions and marketing officers would produce by using them.
While a comprehensive evaluation study would focus on all stakeholders, this study
concentrated solely on the admission and marketing officers responsible for recruiting students at
the top of the enrollment funnel into SGU graduate programs. The research questions below
guided the study regarding the specific knowledge and skills, motivations, and organizational
influences that employees within both departments have. Additionally, the method used to
evaluate the data follows the gap analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008) to determine the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences related to achieving the goal. The research findings
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 59
can be used by admissions and marketing officers to help develop innovative strategies to expand
the use of digital marketing in programs that need additional students.
1. What are the admissions and marketing officer’s knowledge and motivation related to
increasing the use of digital marketing in admissions to increase enrollment in vital
programs by 4%?
2. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and admissions and
marketing officer’s knowledge and motivation?
3. What are the recommended knowledge, motivations, and organizational solutions for
more effectively using digital marketing in higher education admissions?
Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholders for this study were SGU’s admissions and marketing officers. In
selecting these officers, the researcher took a subset of the population from both the admissions
office and the marketing office and interviewed the employees directly responsible for both
marketing and recruiting incoming students. Specifically, the interviewer spoke to admissions
staff members who have access to the customer relationship management (CRM) system used to
track incoming students from inquiry to enrollment. The system used by SGU assisted the
admissions officers in monitoring students’ interest in attending the programs through
admittance and enrollment. It was essential that these officers also had access to SGU’s digital
and social media platforms, which were used to market to the students. Selection of the
marketing officers included support staff responsible for assisting the admissions and marketing
officers in the production of content to recruit students. These employees had access to the CRM
and the digital media platforms used to make online purchases and digital advertisements.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 60
The two groups of stakeholders resided in two different divisions of the institution and
report to different senior administrators. The admission officers report to the dean of admissions
and financial aid, and the marketing officers report to the vice president of institutional
development and partnerships. The location of the offices for each group were in separate
buildings a quarter-mile away from each other. Each group worked in offices next to each other
within the respective department, and they had regular weekly and monthly meetings to align
their efforts. While the stakeholders did not report to the same supervisors, they worked
collaboratively when recruiting students. While their roles were respective to marketing and
admissions, both types of officers had multidisciplinary aspects to their positions involving
admissions and marketing. Admissions officers used marketing techniques to gain the attention
of prospective students. Marketing officers were responsible for developing the tactics to attract
students into the top of the enrollment funnel and then track if the method was successful in
getting the student to enroll and pay a deposit. Both divisions had staff who needed to be cross-
functional and have a general and working knowledge of both admissions and marketing.
Interview and Focus Group Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1. Admissions and marketing officers who are directly responsible for the
pipeline of students coming to SGU.
Criterion 2. Admissions and marketing officers who have direct access to the CRM
system and who can track where an applicant first hears about the institution.
Criterion 3. Admissions and marketing officers who have direct access to social media
and digital platforms that keep track of postings and ads and measure their effectiveness.

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 61
Interview Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The purpose of intentional participant selection was to generate data on the individuals
who know the aspects of the study (Merriam, 2009). Merriam (2009) noted that purposeful
sampling allows a researcher to select a group of participants who have information the
researcher wants to discover and learn. The purposeful sampling recruitment strategy involved a
small subset of a more substantial admission and marketing group of 20 individuals. The smaller
group consisted of 10 people who had direct responsibility for advertising to prospective
students. The sampling strategy directly assessed the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
issues that prevented these officers from using digital marketing to draw more students to the
school (Johnson & Christensen, 2015). A small group of 10 is an appropriate number as a subset
of the larger groups because that group is directly responsible for bringing students into the
enrollment funnel. Non-interviewed staff within the two divisions are responsible for other
aspects of the enrollment funnel that occur after student recruitment. The approach the
researcher used aided in determining the relationships between the factors that affect both groups
and their ability to use digital media for promotional activities (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The
criteria used ensured that stakeholders had sufficient knowledge of operations in both admissions
and marketing, including how their efforts impact enrollment numbers.
The researcher had a face-to-face conversation with the president of SGU about the goals
of the study and requested a letter acknowledging that employee participation was voluntary.
Before approaching the admissions officers, the researcher had a face-to-face conversation with
their supervisor, the dean of admissions and financial aid, to discuss the study and its purpose.
After receiving supervisor approval to work with the admissions officers, the researcher sent an
email with a letter from the president and their supervisor and requested their voluntary
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 62
participation. If an officer agreed, the researcher passed on the information to a third-party
interviewer, who asked for a face-to-face interview. The researcher followed up with an official
letter acknowledging the purpose of the study and the proposed confidentiality of the admissions
officers (Creswell, 2014) as well as a formal letter explaining the process. Recruitment of the
marketing officers involved a conversation with the researcher wherein they were told that their
participation was voluntary even though they reported directly to the researcher. The researcher
then followed up with an official letter that was similar to the one sent to the admissions officers.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Maxwell (2012) stated qualitative approaches promote understanding of complex
processes from the perspective of those who participate in the study. Additionally, this type of
data collection allows for decreased bias in learning from the experiences of the subjects without
limitations (Creswell, 2009; Maxwell, 2012). Qualitative research is conducted to explore a
group’s understanding and measure the variables of a social problem (Creswell, 2009). Creswell
(2009) noted this type of research can be done by interviewing, observing behaviors, or
reviewing documents. This study took a qualitative approach, and interviews were used to
collect data from the admissions and marketing professionals at SGU. According to Merriam
and Tisdell (2016), qualitative research reflects data and thought processes. This analysis was
appropriate for this study because the goal was to understand factors influencing how admissions
and marketing officers use digital media and how they make decisions regarding recruitment. A
qualitative design was effective for this study, as it sought to explore background knowledge and
internal processes (Maxwell, 2012). Unfortunately, there is little research on making decisions
about spending marketing dollars in higher education, so this design was appropriate for gaining
knowledge from the stakeholders (Yin, 2013).
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The stakeholder group is small, but qualitative methods allow for in-depth data collection
from smaller samples (Maxwell, 2012). The number of stakeholders interviewed in this study is
low due to the overall size of the institution. The admissions department has eight staff
members, and the marketing department has five. In this study, the researcher was interested in
the differences in perspective between admissions and marketing officers as well as their
different opinions on approaches to digital marketing. The researcher needed to investigate each
group’s understanding of the history and potential uses of digital media in higher education
admissions recruitment and how they perceived the influence of such media in purchase
decisions.
An essential part of the qualitative research experience is determining the subjective
answers of the participants, which could explain why an action takes place (Denzin & Lincoln,
2011). Qualitative approaches allow a researcher to analyze the data without the limitations that
a quantitative study might have (Maxwell, 2012). In qualitative research, the researcher serves
as a piece to the data, and interviews are the most effective way to gather information (Merriam,
2009). In this regard, the researcher wanted to understand the background information and
knowledge of each group to determine potential barriers to using the tool. The researcher
listened with the intent to learn about different opinions and experiences regarding admission and
marketing officers’ knowledge and comfortability in using digital media as a tool.
A research protocol was integral to the study because the researcher was unable to
perform the interviews due to her position in the organizational chart. Glesne (2011) suggested
the development of a research protocol to guide the research and to ensure the quality of the
study. Additionally, an interview protocol guide provided the third-party interviewer a roadmap
to follow during the interview and a method for taking field notes (Creswell, 2014).
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 64
Interviews
The interview questions are attached in Appendix A. The meetings took place over video
conferencing, which was most convenient for the participants, and at a time that fit into their
work schedules. The interviews were informal, lasted between 60 and 120 minutes, and were
audio-recorded on three devices with the prior written consent of each participant. The
interviewer used a semi-structured interview protocol to guide data collection. Semi-structured
interviews allow for an informal and participatory discussion, giving the flexibility for follow-up
questions and conversations (Merriam, 2009). Semi-structured interviews contribute to a deeper
understanding of participants’ answers and allow for cross dialogue to confirm points (Merriam,
2009).
Additionally, the interviewer used a structured set of questions. Merriam and Tisdell
(2015) indicated this type of protocol ensures that each human subject receives the same
questions in the same order to maintain consistency. This approach allows the interviewer to
structure the interview in a way that allows for additional items (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The
questions were developed to be open-ended to elicit lengthy detailed responses from the subjects
and to investigate their thought processes and understanding of the topic.
Before the interview, the interviewer reviewed documents and artifacts along with
publicly available information about SGU on its website. The review of records and artifacts
ensured a basic understanding of any internally used acronyms and phrases. At the beginning of
the interview, the interviewer introduced herself to the participant and followed a script provided
by the researcher. During the meetings, the interviewer kept detailed notes of any questions or
challenges that developed throughout data collection, making it possible for the researcher to
reflect on them in the analysis section of the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The following
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 65
questions relate to the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors which influence the
goals of the organization.
Interview Questions for Stakeholders
Interviewee Background
1. Can you tell me a little about your background and what you do here?
a. Follow-up: How long have you been in this current position?
b. Follow-up: What is your experience in admissions or marketing?
c. Follow-up: What are the aspects that you like most and least about your
functional responsibilities in this position?
Factual Knowledge Questions
1. Can you tell me about your department and its functions as it relates to admissions and
marketing?
a. Follow-up: What are the differences in challenges between graduate and
undergraduate admissions and the tactics used in them?
2. How do the marketing and admissions departments work together or separately in
recruiting potential students to the institution?
a. Follow-up: Are there goals for the admissions officers of the school, and, if there
are, is it shared with the marketing officers?
Conceptual Knowledge Questions
1. Is digital media currently used in the institution’s admissions process?
a. Follow-up: If so, what is explicitly used and how?
2. Is there use of digital marketing within the institution? (Digital marketing for this purpose
will be defined as search engine optimization, retargeting, and paid search activity.)
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3. Can you tell me what you know about potential students of this institution’s use of social
media?
a. Follow-up: If they are users, which ones are the most prevalent?
b. Follow-up: Does this information inform your admissions strategy? And if so,
how?
Procedural Knowledge Questions
1. What is your knowledge of marketing as it relates to the admissions process?
a. Follow-up: How much marketing is involved in the admissions recruitment
process?
b. Follow-up: How is the admissions recruitment process part of the marketing
efforts of the institution?
2. Talk to me about the revenue streams from admissions benefit the institution?
a. Follow-up: Do you know what percentage makes up the tuition revenue part of
the budget?
b. Follow-up: Can you give us an idea of how the faculty and staff receive
communication on the revenue streams of the school?
3. Are the marketing and admissions goals, missions, and strategies for the organization to
communicate with all members of the institutional community?
a. Follow-up: If so, how is it presented and how often does this occur?
Expectancy Value - Motivation Questions
1. What kind of effect do you believe that admissions recruiting has on the institution and
its students?
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2. What type of feedback do you receive from incoming students on how they first learned
about the institution?
a. Follow-up: Is there any additional information they give you on how they decided
to enroll in the institution as an enrolled student?
Self-Efficacy - Motivation Questions
1. To what extent are you involved with the strategic planning and budget development of
your office?
2. Walk me through how you would approach your supervisor with the idea that involves a
subject matter that they do not have prior knowledge?
3. If you were to implement a new project in your department to attract more students, what
is the process?
Attribution - Motivation Questions
1. Can you describe a time where you have interacted with the executive cabinet on an
admissions and marketing strategy and its measurement?
a. Follow-up: How did that go? Can you tell me about the process and its outcomes?
Cultural Model - Organizational Questions
4. Can you talk to me about the goals and objectives within your department?
a. Follow-up: What are your roles and responsibilities concerning admissions and
marketing?
b. Follow-up: How are they communicated or presented to the entire institutional
community?
Cultural Setting - Organizational Questions
1. Can you talk to me about the organizational climate of the institution?
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a. Follow-up: How would you describe, communication, willingness to innovate,
and management and leadership?
2. How does your institution define success?
a. Follow-up: How are successes measured or celebrated?
3. How does your institution define failures?
a. Follow-up: How are failures measured?
4. How does your institution view successes or failures within your department and others?
Concluding Questions
1. Is there anything that we have not covered in the questions that would help inform the
researcher on any other aspects of using digital marketing in the admissions process?
2. Are there any final thoughts that you would like to add?
Documents and Artifacts
The second source of data were documents and artifacts related to the school’s marketing
and admissions operations. These documents provided background information to help identify
key terms and phrases when interviewing the subjects. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) noted
materials help a researcher understand the background and context of the subjects. Within SGU,
there is a unique vocabulary that consists of acronyms for programs and marketing approach.
Creswell (2014) indicated documents are an efficient way for researchers to become familiar
with the language of the study area and location.
Access to each document was provided by the researcher at the discretion of a supervisor.
All materials removed identifying information to protect the anonymity of the institution. Public
admissions class profiles were accessed via SGU’s website, and the admissions team provided a
detailed five-year matriculation analysis. A strategic marketing plan was provided by the
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marketing staff, along with an example of the fiscal budgets from the past three years, including
how much was spent on advertising and digital outreach activities.
Data Analysis
Data analysis involves collecting data, dissecting it, synthesizing it, and drawing
conclusions (Creswell, 2014). After all interviews were concluded, the data were coded, which
generated topic frequencies. For interviews, data analysis began during data collection. The
researcher wrote analytic memos after each meeting and each observation received from the
interviewer to document thoughts, concerns, and initial conclusions about the data, the
conceptual framework, and research questions. Marshall and Rossman (2006) described data
analysis as interpreting data after collecting it and then organizing it. They identified the
following procedures as occurring in this process: organizing, immersing, generating themes,
coding, offering interpretations, searching for explanations, and writing the report. Interviews
were transcribed using Zoom’s automated transcribing service and coded. In the first phase of
analysis, the researcher used open coding, looking for empirical codes, and applying a priori
codes from the conceptual framework. Upon completion of the transcription, the researcher
made notes in the margins of the document provided by the interviewer to develop a coding
matrix. The second phase of analysis was completed using empirical, and a priori codes
aggregated into analytic/axial systems. In the third phase of data analysis, the researcher
identified pattern codes and themes that emerge regarding the conceptual framework and study
questions. To establish the credibility of the study, individuals who were knowledgeable about
digital media marketing and who were not part of the survey reviewed the interview coding. The
researcher analyzed documents and artifacts for evidence consistent with the concepts in the
conceptual framework.
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Credibility and Trustworthiness
This study used a variety of approaches to promote credibility and trustworthiness
because these are two areas of compliance in qualitative data (Flick, 2006). Baxter and Jack
(2008) found maintaining honesty in a study provides perceived reliability. Credible studies
involve multiple approaches to keep credibility and integrity (Glesne, 2011). This study included
the following credibility checks: reflexivity, member checking, and triangulation of data.
The first method to enhance credibility is the researcher’s reflexivity. Creswell (2014)
stated reflexivity involves a researcher taking into account personal beliefs and background in
his or her approach to interpreting data. Reflexive journaling can take place throughout data
collection, with the researcher documenting feelings, continual biases, and thoughts about data
collection (Glesne, 2011).
Creswell (2014) indicated that member checking is another effective way to validate the
trustworthiness of a study. Gay, Mills, and Airasian (2006) suggested researchers pretest their
questions to test for bias. To ensure that questions are equal, fair, and without partiality, a group
of staff members not related to the study evaluated the items and provided feedback on possible
preferences. The interviewer asked questions of the subjects to ensure a proper understanding of
their answers. Additionally, credibility was ensured by employing data checks with the
participants to evaluate partial findings for accuracy (Creswell, 2014; Maxwell, 2013; Merriam
& Tisdell, 2016). The second check involved the interviewer sending transcripts of the interview
to the subject to verify that the transcription was valid and that initial qualitative interpretations
were accurate about participants’ intended comments. The researcher followed Flick’s (2006)
suggestion that peer feedback and check-ins be used with colleagues outside of the study to gain
insight into possible areas of confusion or bias.
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Finally, this study employed triangulation of data to maintain credibility and
trustworthiness. The concept of triangulation involves a researcher using multiple points and
types of data to enhance the synthesis of the data (Creswell, 2004). The researcher used
interviews, documents, and artifacts to evaluate the data, which provided validity to the study
design (Yin, 2013). In summary, the credibility and trustworthiness of this study incorporated
reflexivity, member checking, and triangulation of data (Creswell, 2004).
Ethics
Qualitative research with human participants involves responsibilities to protect their
participation and confidentiality. The researcher determined the relationships between the
factors that affect the admissions and marketing officers and their ability to use digital media for
advertising (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Following the institutional review board process, to gain
informed consent, the researcher provided a detailed written document to every staff member in
the admissions and marketing departments explaining the study and its purpose. The document
presented the researcher’s contact information so that employees could contact her to ask
questions about the research and how the analysis would be used (Patton, 2015). This document
provided potential participants information regarding time commitment, the purpose of the study,
the use of the data, and a detailed explanation of identity confidentiality.
Additionally, the document indicated how they could confidentially cancel their
participation at any time during the survey (Glesne, 2011). An essential aspect of the consent
form showed that their responses would be recorded to aid in recall for data analysis but that
those recordings would be secured and stored by the independent third-party. The participants
received a letter from the president of the institution, assuring them that the project study was
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being conducted independently from the school and that their responses would not be shared
with any administrators.
The role of the researcher is an essential aspect of qualitative studies, and it is essential to
acknowledge how this role can affect the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Merriam and Tisdell
(2015) noted it is essential to be transparent regarding how personal views and thoughts might
influence the integrity of the research. The researcher is the vice president of institutional
development and partnerships and is responsible for the advancement and marketing departments
at SGU. As the chief marketing officer for the school, the researcher had an interest in the results
of the project in terms of whether they would increase the number of students coming into the
top of the recruitment funnel. Some of the participants in the study were in a subordinate role to
the researcher, but all participation was voluntary and involved someone outside of the
organization to prevent any perceived coercion from participating.
The involvement of staff members was in no way related to their performance evaluations
or job advancement. The researcher developed a notice that accompanied a written consent
document outlining her designation as a researcher and not as an employee of the institution.
The use of a third-party interviewer ensured there was no undue influence and that participation
was voluntary. The interviewer works for another institution, but the interviewer was not an
employee or colleague of any interviewees. The interviewer was also a volunteer and provided
written documentation to each participant to ensure the confidentiality of their responses and
data. Selection of the interviewer was made with care to ensure the selection of someone who
could build a positive working relationship with the participants and who could develop a high
level of trust with the researcher.
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The researcher addressed assumptions and biases in the data analysis as an employee of
the organization where the study took place (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). The currently held
assumptions for why the marketing and admissions officers are not using digital marketing due
to a lack of funding were mitigated by having the interviewer ask questions that did not lead the
interviewee to know the biases of the researcher. Additionally, knowledge of participants’ ability
to employ digital marketing techniques was discovered appropriately without assuming a lack of
knowledge on the part of staff members regarding how to complete tasks. It was vital that the
researcher evaluated the data without using previous knowledge of the subject matter and
approaching it from an outsider’s perspective.
All research protocols were reviewed and approved by the University of Southern
California’s Institutional Review Board before data collection, thus ensuring that the researcher
followed all institutional policies and applicable laws when collecting data on human subjects.
While many precautions were taken to protect the anonymity of the subjects, the participants
could have provided controversial information about the organization or senior administration. It
is further possible that such answers could result in adverse reactions from top administrators,
primarily due to the small size of the population. To continually protect the subjects, the
interviewer verbally instructed the subject to notify her of potentially sensitive information, so
the interviewer could take special precautions in ensuring anonymity when transferring data to
the researcher. While complete anonymity is not practical due to the smaller size of the
population and the positions held within the institution, the researcher made all possible attempts
to generalize data. The data were to be destroyed one year after the conclusion of the study. All
information, including publication or presentations of the findings, maintained the anonymity of
the subjects and the institution by using pseudonyms.
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The participants did not receive compensation or incentives for their time, but did receive
a small gift after completion of the study. A researcher must protect study participants (Rubin &
Rubin, 2012), so, by not providing incentives for participation, there was no implied coercion to
participate. The researcher additionally offered a small token of appreciation to the interviewer
for volunteering to conduct the interviews.
Limitations and Delimitations
Creswell (2003) defines study constraints as the potential weaknesses in a study. The
limitations of this study pertain to the number of people who met the criteria for interviews. The
size of the group, while appropriate for qualitative research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015), cannot
provide a large enough sample to represent a statistically valid cross-section of opinions. The
researcher’s goal in this study was to determine the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences as they relate to admissions and marketing professionals using digital marketing in the
admission office’s recruitment efforts. While this study provides insight for SGU, the results of
the data analysis cannot be considered representative of larger institutions. Additionally,
participants may have been reluctant to respond to questions regarding their training or
experience in a particular subject. The interviewer took care to build rapport with the
participants and to ask open-ended questions in a way that was non-judgmental and looking for
general information.
The study was also limited by the marketing and admissions background of each officer
and by the number of years each had served in such positions. Many of the participants came
into their position through other career paths and thus lacked admissions or marketing
background. Additional limitations involved the subjects’ knowledge of the total budget for their
department or the process for approving financial spending for projects.
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According to Creswell (2003), delimitations tend to affect the scope of a study. In this
regard, this study is limited to admissions and marketing officers with traditional experience and
responsibility in each department. These officers were an admissions recruiter, an admissions
director, an admissions coordinator, an admissions manager, an enrollment services coordinator,
a director of marketing, a marketing project coordinator, a web developer, and others in
equivalent positions.
The ultimate source of potential bias involves the researcher’s background in higher
education and marketing. The researcher has over 10 years’ experience as a senior administrator
at educational institutions. The researcher is also responsible for the management of the budget
of one of the departments included in the study. To mitigate this bias, the researcher used
bracketing to minimize personal thoughts and opinions when analyzing the data (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2015). Merriam and Tisdell (2015) explained bracketing as the attempt by the researcher
to shed their preconceived ideas, beliefs, and opinions before going into the field to conduct their
research. While this will be difficult for the researcher, it is essential to attempt to eliminate any
biases.
Another delimitation is that this study involved participants from a university focused
solely on graduate education. As a result, the admissions and marketing officers at SGU only
had organizational knowledge of graduate admissions, and they could relate that knowledge to
undergraduate admissions and recruitment practices at the same school. A lack of a broader
experience in admissions is a bias because graduate and undergraduate institutions have different
cultures and population sizes (Williams, 2008).
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CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
As the enrollment numbers continue to decline at SGU, recruiting techniques must be
evaluated and new approaches considered. Figure 5 below shows the progression of enrollment
numbers for one of the key master’s programs at SGU. While there was a significant increase in
first-year applicants to the program in 2014 and 2015, the numbers decreased slightly in 2016
and dropped considerably, 37%, in 2018.

Figure 5. Enrollment over eight years.
The purpose of this study was to explore the use of digital marketing in higher education,
graduate school, and admissions practices. In Chapter Three, the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational (KMO) assumed influences developed from the literature in Chapter Two
provided a model to collect the data presented in this chapter. The data were used to determine
whether the assumed influences from Chapter Three were validated, semi-validated, or not
validated. Specifically, it was intended to highlight Clark and Estes’ (2008) KMO framework to
explore the knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences on the use of digital media at
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a small graduate university tasked with increasing the number of students entering the top of the
enrollment funnel.
Data were collected and then analyzed in three parts: knowledge, motivational, and
organizational influences on the problem of practice. Cruickshank (2012) supported the concept
of using qualitative interviews by stating that the tactic provides researchers the most useful data
when looking at their intentions or feelings. The first step of data collection involved developing
detailed research guidelines before beginning the interviews (Horrigan, 2007). This study
specifically looked at a variety of influences from admissions and marketing officers at the
institution and asked those questions regarding factual, conceptual, and procedural theory
knowledge. Motivation questions centered on expectancy value, self-efficacy, and attribution
models. Finally, organizational questions involved cultural models and cultural settings.
Qualitative data were collected to validate the assumed influences on the problem of
practice to evaluate the KMO framework influences. Data were collected by using structured
interviews, which allowed the participants to expand on their answers and provide details which
helped form the narratives of the explanation of gaps in the model.
Data were collected during interviews conducted by video conference while each
stakeholder was in their SGU workspace during office hours. The transcripts were de-identified
by the interviewer before being turned over to the researcher and then coded and analyzed for the
purposes within this chapter.
This chapter first re-introduces the stakeholders who took part in the interviews.
Findings are presented according to the assumed KMO influence type discovered. Accordingly,
each influence is then categorized by finding and whether the data validated the assumed gap.
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Participating Stakeholders
The researcher selected participant criteria to ensure interviewees were directly
responsible for the area of knowledge the questions asked about to validate the assumed gap
influences and causes. Interviews were conducted with the admissions and marketing officers at
SGU who fit the criteria as listed in Chapter Three. Due to the overall size of the school, the
participating stakeholder number was small. While 10 people fit the criteria to qualify to
interviews, only seven of the qualified staff members agreed to be interviewed. Three of those
interviewed worked in the marketing department, and four worked in the admissions department.
Due to the small sample size, the majority of the questions were open-ended, encouraging the
interviewee to add a significant amount of additional details and opinions to their responses
(Creswell, 2003; Drew, Hardman, & Hosp, 2007). An open-ended interview approach allowed
for the small sample size to expand each question into specific follow-up topics, which increased
the depth of their responses (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2002). There were 22 questions and
multiple follow-up questions for each. The data were collected by a third-party interviewer over
four weeks. Each interview took anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to complete. Interviews took
place in person using a platform called Zoom, a cloud-based platform for video and audio
conferencing, to make it more convenient for the interviewer and the stakeholder. This free
platform has an automatic transcription service built into the video recording, allowing the
researcher to receive a transcription of the interviews which were de-identified promptly.
The stakeholder groups, while working independently, are a truly collaborative group
who shares responsibility for bringing students in through the top of the enrollment funnel.
The first group of stakeholders was the admissions officers of the institution who were
responsible for recruitment and enrollment. These officers had a wide variety of backgrounds
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and tenure in admissions and at SGU. While their job descriptions did not have a clear
expectation of marketing knowledge, there was an understanding that they had a baseline
knowledge of all levels of marketing needed to attract students to the school. Additionally, it was
expected that they were resourceful, innovative, and able to discover and learn new tactics as the
market changed.
The second group of stakeholders was the marketing officers who work in a support role
to the admissions officers. The marketing department at SGU is responsible for all external
messaging, and these individuals executed the initiatives jointly developed by the admissions and
marketing departments. The expectations of this group of employees were similar to the
admissions officers. They were not expected to have in-depth knowledge of admissions, but
instead, they were expected to have a baseline knowledge that they used to attract students.
Due to both groups’ having different competency and skillsets, it was essential to note
that the expectations for each group and their knowledge of the subject matter being investigated
were not requirements for their functional job titles. The only hope for both groups of officers
was that they could measure effectiveness and processes to better inform their approaches to
reaching their goals. Their responses and experience levels were different from each other in
each area, and that was to be expected. The researcher was less interested in their knowledge of
using digital media as required for their job and more in how the collective KMO influences may
produce gaps that prevent this knowledge from being used as a new approach. For the seven
interviewed stakeholders, demographic information is provided below in Table 5.

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Table 5
Stakeholder Demographics
Education
Year
in Role
Liked
Responsibilities
Disliked
Responsibilities
Previous Experience
in
Higher Ed
Admissions &
Marketing
Person 1 Master’s 1 year
Student
Interaction
Looking at
applications
5+ years
Person 2 Bachelor’s 3 years
Student
Interaction
Processing
applications
5+ years
Person 3 Master’s 2 years
Generating
Innovative Ideas
No comment 10+ years
Person 4 Master’s 4 years Planning Events No comment 10+ years
Person 5 Master’s 6 years
Student
Interaction
No comment 5+ years
Person 6 Master’s 8 years
Student
Interaction
Calculating GPAs 0 years
Person 7 Bachelor’s 2 years Using technology
Security
administration
0 years

The gender makeup of the stakeholders had to be de-identified from the other
demographic information to protect confidentiality. According to the interviewer, male-to-
female ratios and can be seen in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6. Gender of stakeholders interviewed.
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Data Validation
Influences discussed show validation, semi-validation, or non-validation based on the
results from interviews with the stakeholders. The assumed influences were considered validated
if the answers from the respondents were similar for 75% of the interviewees. The assumed
influences were deemed to be semi-validated when the answers indicated a 50/50 split on
positive or negative responses. Saturation served as a guide for the length of each interview, as
the interviewer used supporting follow-up questions to ensure answers would provide reliable
data regarding the assumed influences. The data were continually validated throughout the
interviews and coding. Data triangulation occurred throughout the validation of data, making
each stakeholder’s answers unique and individual.
Additionally, the recruitment of a third-party interviewer supported the lack of knowledge
bias in the interview data collection. All interview transcripts were read and manually coded
with contextual content to a grouping of nodes. After manual coding, the transcripts were run
through NVivo 12 qualitative software to validate the hand-coding themes. Twenty-two
interview questions plus multiple follow-up questions were provided in 10 core categories. Ten
nodes were created, covering interviewee backgrounds, factual knowledge, conceptual
knowledge, procedural knowledge, expectancy value, self-efficacy, attribution, cultural model,
and cultural setting. Refinement of coding resulted in 11 primary nodes with 201 subcategories.
The researcher coded for context, so there was a significant amount of data that compensated for
the small number of stakeholders interviewed. The background for each answer provided
meaning for the qualitative analysis. In this study, categories had multiple purposes, and content
was coded to multiple nodes when relevant. It is especially important in qualitative studies to
read and evaluate each one independently versus relying on frequency counts.
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Coding for this study involved inductive and deductive reasoning within three cyclical
phases of coding. The use of open coding, axial coding, and in vivo coding were cyclical and
repeatedly used throughout the data analysis. The first phase selected specific words and phrases
from the content for titling purposes. The second phase involved merging, clustering, retitling,
and eliminating categories. The third phase involved interpreting and synthesizing meaning,
which led to the development of new themes. This third phase included a thematic analysis to
identify and correlate reporting patterns within the responses (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
Throughout the results and findings for each assumed influence, the stakeholders were identified
by a number associated with their generalized demographic information above. An example is
that person one’s interview response was classified as P1.
Results and Findings for Knowledge Causes
Factual Knowledge
Influence 1: Admissions and marketing officers need to know which digital media
prospective students spend their time consuming. Interviews revealed every admissions and
marketing officer knew that the students used social and digital media to consume content related
to the SGU, but they were unable to provide descriptive data to show an understanding of which
ones were used and how their recruitment strategies were influenced by it.
There is a verified a gap in knowledge regarding collection of data-driven information
about the types of digital media their target market demographic consumes and how much.
Connecting with the literature, it is now imperative for universities to innovate and stay current
with the different types of digital media, especially when trying to recruit students because the
technology landscape changes daily (Martin, 2009). Universities now understand that it is just as
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important to collect demographic information about incoming students as it is to collect data on
their digital media consumption habits (Desai & Lele, 2017; Turner, 2015).
When asked what they knew about social media use of their current and potential
students, many of the stakeholder's answers showed they knew those groups used it, but could
not give specifics about the types they used most frequently. For example, P7 replied, “I know
that they use social media, but I don’t know what types they use. Someone else might know, but
I just put things on our different platforms and hope current and incoming students like them.”
Additionally, P1 mentioned,
I believe usage is high for incoming and current students at SGU. They are all very
active on social media. I know some of the students who attend our admissions events
asked us, like, “Hey, how we get on the campus Instagram account?” They seem to like
it! You can even see them liking or commenting on different posts or photos that are
posted on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. They like to tag each other, and they
always respond actively to it. So, I do believe they use it and are in the age range of those
who would use social media, but we don’t have numbers or data or anything to tell us
which ones.
P6 went further by stating,
We don’t capture too much of that information. Maybe the marketing folks do during
orientation? But, for admissions, you know, we don’t collect that type of information
other than I’m pretty sure they all use Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, like the most
popular social media platforms. I do know that, for example, international students in
China would use WeChat. We try to utilize Skype so that we can, you know, seem them
as we talk to them. But, a year, we don’t collect that information from the students.
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On the other hand, P3 gave a bit of promising information showing that one person had
attempted to get data from their current student body but relied heavily on higher education
reporting for national prospective student usage:
You know, a lot of the data I have gotten is only from our current students, not
necessarily prospective students. For prospective students, we use research reports in
higher education, but it skews toward undergraduate students, not graduate-level students
only, which is our main demographic. Even the data we have from our current students is
not quantitative. It is mainly talking at orientation in August to our current or incoming
students who have already picked SGU. It seems in these discussions that they mostly
use Instagram. We have focused lately on putting a bigger emphasis in terms of pushing
out content to all channels to try and penetrate the market, but we don't measure it to see
if there is a success.
The information discovered in the interviews ties to the first research question and
highlights the knowledge needed by the admissions and marketing officers to increase the
number of students recruited to SGU. Without this information and knowledge, the use of any
digital platform may be ineffective due to usage by the target market of students that SGU is
looking to attract. Admissions practices need improve regularly and evolve to meet the
continually changing demands of incoming students (Lindbeck & Fodrey, 2010). Respondents
shared their data collection and evaluation procedures assist in guiding those strategies. Perry
(2015) echoed that, if admissions and enrollment professionals do not immerse themselves in the
data on potential students’ behaviors, they will not recruit these students. Knowing where
prospective students spend their time online will help in allocating time, money, and effort to
gain the most effective exposure to meet their goals.
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Conceptual Knowledge
Influence 1: Admissions and marketing officers need to understand how digital
media works and the difference between each platform. All subjects showed an
understanding of social media, both for personal use and fundamental student use. However, the
majority of the group, except for two, gave very vague answers when asked for more information
on precisely how the school uses various media platforms. Many of them indicated they were
not involved with the use or planning of digital media. They referred to the two stakeholders
who showed in-depth knowledge of each platform and the metrics used to measure the
performance of each.
The use of varying types of social media and digital advertising takes training and
practice. The advances in technology have never been more advantageous to positions which
need to include sales tactics, as long as one is trained in how to leverage their uses (Martin, 2009;
Sessa, 2014). Through digital media, students are overwhelmed with the amount of information
in front of them, and admissions officers need to capture their attention using innovation and
authenticity to prevent them from missing the message (Gill, Sidoryn, & Straschko, 2014).
Practice using technology involves being a consumer and publisher regularly, which helps them
stay relevant with changes to the technology and provides a user-experienced framework to
develop a strategy and execute useful tactics. P2 best described this:
I think we have, as an institution, do some search engine stuff, and some kind of paid
advertising. I don’t know where, and I don’t know how, but I think we have done it. I
think they were done to direct applicants to our specific page on the website. And we do
collect the data of who is coming to our website to find information about us. So, they
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are redirected to a page whereas you learn more about SGU you can apply. I don’t know
how it works, and how often we do it because we don’t talk about it that much.
P4 gave a response representative of the feedback from P2:
We do. We have some. We have Google ads and Bing ads. And then I think there is a
couple of another kind of online digital lead generation tools that might be managed from
our office, and some might be managed from marketing. I don’t know if we do any SEO,
or how all of them work, or even if they work. It’s not a major part of our plan.
P3, who seemed to know more about the digital media side of the institution stated,
SEO is handled through our web developer, and there isn’t a proactive plan. We have
made improvements, but we need to keep an eye on better ways to use it. The paid
search we tried was neglected, I guess you could say. Retargeting was done once with
Google, Facebook, and Instagram, but there hasn’t been much done since 2016 besides
some smaller test campaigns.
The data indicate a gap in stakeholder knowledge regarding the types of platforms and
how to use them. Specifically, there a lack of knowledge on how to create content tailored to
media, and, more importantly, on which media are consumed by incoming students at the top of
the enrollment funnel. Embracing the regular usage of digital technology and knowing how to
leverage its rapid growth are essential parts of the knowledge that schools need to attract
incoming students (Alkhas, 2011). As the interviewees indicated, while there is knowledge that
students consume media, the details of that knowledge is not clear to the staff within both
departments, although it would help them successfully implement a strategy to gain their
attention.

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Procedural Knowledge
Influence 1: Admissions and marketing officers need to know and follow the steps to
make a case for investment by the school in using digital media as part of their budget. It is
essential to note the overwhelmingly positive responses given when describing the type of
environment that SGU has for faculty and staff to engage in innovative ideas. There was an
agreement by all those interviewed that they felt comfortable approaching their supervisor with a
decision. Many had different approaches to how they would present the information, but they all
felt comfortable bringing forward new ideas for consideration to their supervisors. If it required
budget requests, some of the respondents indicated that they were not involved in budget
requests, and the majority said it was up to their supervisor to request budget investment. Many
were not aware, however, of what their supervisor would need as background information to
advocate for an investment.
While comfortability in approaching the supervisor is a first step, there is a general lack
of knowledge of the type of information the supervisor needs to evaluate the concept. Many
within higher education know the potential of using digital channels in marketing strategies, so
there is minimal research on leveraging the benefits to make a connection with an institution’s
investment (Constantinides & Zinck Stagno, 2012). There can be a compelling financial case
made that using digital media may save money on recruiting costs, and those funds can be
redirected to student and faculty support (O’Hallarn, Morehead, & Pribesh, 2016).
P7 claimed, “Since it’s so informal, what I usually do is bring an example from another
institution to my supervisor and tell them how I think it will benefit us. I then determine how
much money it would cost and so on.” P1 added,
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I think my supervisor is extremely accepting and open to all ideas. So, by no means do I
ever feel uncomfortable talking about new ideas. There is no guidance on how to present
new ideas or what is needed to approve an idea from the top. So, many times, I approach
him by stopping by his office and be like, “hey, boss. Like, we need to think about this
concept or idea.” And the boss is always nothing but open, like yeah, make me a layout,
and we can talk about it more.
In the same spirit, when asked their approach on a new idea, P3 explained, “Yea, I guess,
I propose it either through email or in a PowerPoint. Or even like one sheet to break down, you
know, start at a basic level and provide examples of other universities who do it.” Finally, P5
stated, “I would bring data and kind of any journal articles or evidence that I know about that
certain topic. Bringing in evidence, data, and outcomes that might inform them are important.”
The general comments by the stakeholders indicated a gap in procedural knowledge
regarding the type of information and how to present it to supervisors to help them prepare to
advocate for support for new project investment. Applying standard business practices in higher
education is a non-traditional pathway, so evaluating investment must be tailored to the academic
setting, which will support innovative approaches (Wardley, Bélanger, & Leonard, 2013).
Without this procedural knowledge, there is a possibility that the supervisor would not evaluate
all new projects appropriately, or they could not be given enough information to help them see
the importance of the direction of the project.
Results and Findings for Motivation Causes
Expectancy Value
Influence 1: Admissions and marketing officers need to see the utility value in
recruiting students where they spend the majority of their time (on digital devices and
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consuming digital media). It is apparent that the majority of those interviewed believed selling
SGU happens face to face. It was also discovered that there was no active program for using
anything other than face-to-face selling for recruitment of students, so their belief in the status
quo of what has worked in the past seems to influence their responses.
Admissions officers interviewed believed strongly that, in this graduate education market,
they are the only thing that can truly convince a student to enroll. They indicated their face-to-
face interactions with them are the drivers of enrollment. Additionally, their answers showed
some hesitance to replace their efforts to attract students to the top of the enrollment funnel
versus allocating some of the personnel budget to digital campaigns to produce the same
outcomes. Despite their thoughts, the demographics of students today have changed, and
technology has changed the way that they research and evaluate a potential school (Merante,
Huddleton, & Drexel, 2006; Polson, 2003;). Students indicate they prefer less interaction with
people when searching for information about their future school and want the information to be
online at their fingertips to get answers to their questions faster (Crawford, 2013). while students
still mention that face-to-face contact is involved in their school selection, Crawford (2013)
stated selection many of them first gather information about the university online.
When talking about types of social media and their value to recruitment, P1 minimized
the importance by stating, “I think things like social media are nice to have, but they don’t add
value in getting students actually to enroll at the school. Our students come to SGU because of
meeting admissions counselors.” P2 added, “You know, a lot of their decision comes from word
of mouth. Not necessarily on the internet, but through people, they know who went here. What
they find on the internet doesn’t decide for them.” P6 stated, “Almost all of the responses we get
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on how a student heard of us would either be through a recruitment event they met an admissions
representative, a class presentation, or through alumni who went to the school.”
The answers indicated a motivational gap for the group because they do not acknowledge
that there might be additional ways to attract the attention of potential students other than
sending admissions officers throughout the country and the world to meet students in person.
Answers indicated the enjoyment of travel as a part of their jobs, as well as a bit of apprehension
when thinking about digital advertising replacing travel budgets. Without acknowledging that
digital contact may be responsible for gaining the attention of prospective students, the staff will
have trouble maintaining the motivation to use a new technique. If staff members put their own
beliefs in front of the actual needs and wants of the potential student population, there is
potential for the student to remove that university from their consideration (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz,
2010).
Self-Efficacy
Influence 1: Admissions and marketing officers need to have the confidence they are
capable of learning new and emerging technologies to use in recruitment practices.
Interviewees seemed to think admissions counselors do not have time to learn or discover
emerging technologies. It also appears as though those in the admissions department assume that
the marketing department handles the discovery and implementation of all new emerging
technologies. There were, however, a few people who wanted to use technology to get
information out to students, but their interest was only in social media and no other forms of
digital media such as Google ad words or retargeting.
Admissions and marketing officers receive thousands of applications every year and also
have to travel for recruitment of potential students. They do not have much bandwidth regarding
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time and effort they can invest in new ideas. There is a lack of self-confidence in their ability to
dedicate the amount of time needed to learn a new task or skill. The spirit of staff at universities
to effectively use new digital technology is important because, due to the increase in digital
marketing popularity, private non-profit schools report that over 30% of their inquiries are due to
digital media advertising (Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, 2015). By increasing their comfort with these
platforms, they will gain momentum in communicating the brand efficiently and effectively to
incoming students (Hanover Research, 2014).
When asked about the goals and objectives within their departments, many of the
stakeholders indicated the explicit use of digital media was not within their current
responsibilities. P6 claimed, “Our goals are tied to finding students to enroll at this school.
Using advertising tactics are a small piece of what we do every day, so we don’t have the time or
capacity to learn new things.” Similarly, P3 commented, “Our goals are stretch goals to bring
students in the door. Anything that can help us do that we will try, but, if it is something that
takes a lot of time to learn or a lot of time to maintain, we don’t have time to do it.” In the same
spirit, P5 added, “The amount of applications and events we have to maintain is pretty large to
make our goals. We are always shown what you can do with new ideas, but if we have to learn
new processes, it slows us down from making our goals.”
The difference between the two stakeholder groups was seen the most in this influence
because it showed there was a general understanding that the marketing officers would be the
ones with the majority of the time to dedicate to any new ideas and efforts, but the admissions
officers did not have time or desire to learn new technology implementation. Without the
motivation that time spent learning digital media would help them meet their goals, admissions
and marketing officers will not maximize their potential effectively. The race to gain the
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attention of potential students before other institutions is highly competitive, and the importance
of confidence to learn new techniques will propel staff toward their goals quicker (Krezel &
Krezel, 2017). An effective way to make time in their already over-programmed schedule would
be to reallocate the current time they are spending on another approach to readjust their strategy.
Results and Findings for Organization Causes
Cultural Models
Influence 1: The school administrators need to invest in resources for general
marketing and branding to meet the increased demands of revenue-generating divisions of
the school. Interviews showed cabinet-level supervisors are solely responsible for making
budget requests, which would increase the demands for revenue-generating activities within each
department. Therefore, staff members discover an idea, present it to their supervisor and then
have to wait to hear if they receive funding. Also, there is a general lack of understanding by
senior administrators regarding how much is needed to support the marketing activities of the
recruitment efforts of the school.
At SGU, findings show, those who are on the front-lines cannot advocate for new budget
investments individually. The primary reason new ideas are derailed in academic settings is
either lack of capital resources or staff to fully implement them (Heiberger & Harper, 2008;
Rios-Aguilar & Deil-Amen, 2012). All new capital expenditure budgets requests must go
through a cabinet-level supervisor. In turn, these budget requests might be put toward the bottom
of the priority list if the case for support is not made. University administrators do not have a
strong understanding of the market demands of their incoming students, and, therefore, do not
have a strong commitment to investing in marketing for recruitment purposes like traditional
businesses (Kitchen, 2005). Leaders in educational institutions tend to fail to appreciate the
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complexity and needs of marketing and brand management, and, therefore, tend to underfund it
(Fong, 2013). Without an acknowledgment that graduate education requires more marketing
than undergraduate education, administrators will have a hard time justifying reallocation of
budget dollars to a new concept.
When asked whether they were comfortable presenting new ideas to their supervisor,
every stakeholder acknowledged they felt comfortable doing so. For example, P6’s response
was representative of the group’s feelings:
I am comfortable approaching my supervisor with a new idea or plan. Our supervisors
are very open to hearing new ideas. Setting up a meeting, talking about the new idea,
presenting it, and getting other team members involved and executing the plan.
Consequently, when asked how they present the information to get a project funded, there were
numerous ways that each stakeholder described their process. P3 indicated,
I present my supervisor an idea for a new approach either through email or in a
PowerPoint. Or even like one sheet, just, breakdown, you know, start at the basic level
and provide examples maybe of how other schools do it. And showing examples, I think,
is the clearest way of getting the point across, about a new idea. The problem is that
administrators in higher education don’t have an idea that generally marketing dollars
account for 1% of the expense budget. We don’t get that here at SGU.
Also, P5 said,
I frequently meet with our supervisor and discuss our strategies and ways that we can
increase our outreach or improve our admissions process. I think we are a smaller
institution. That being said, we can change things quickly if we have different ideas,
different strategies because we can implement them quickly. I feel like our ideas are very
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much heard since we are a smaller institution. But, in terms of budgeting, I am less of an
influence, as I cannot make a case for more support for ideas. I bring them to the table
for discussion, but don’t influence asking for money.
When asked if each stakeholder has exposure to the senior leadership team at SGU
outside of their current supervisor, the majority of the group answered they did not. P4 and P5
mentioned working with two of the institution’s senior administrators to talk about spending
money on digital marketing for a recent campaign. P4 specifically stated,
We discussed how much we would want to spend on which programs. We did that
together as a team. When we got through that initial effort, I put together a final report,
and that was shared with the president’s cabinet. It is hard to explain to the senior
members of the administrative team the need for additional dollars for marketing and
branding because it has never really been a big investment for the school. We don’t even
have a line-item delineated for marketing.
Despite higher education becoming more business-orientated, the cultural model of SGU
and academia, in general, suggests marketing education is not a truly necessary expense
(Chapleo, 2015). Faculty, in particular, believe education is not a commodity, so it does not need
to be sold. Costs outside of academic support tend to receive the hardest qualification for
investment. Those against marketing higher education genuinely believe treating students like
customers degrades the educational process and de-values learning (Kalafatis & Ledden, 2013).
Administrators must see the ROI of allocating budget dollars to approaches like digital
marketing to approve the expense. These data show valuable insight into research question
number two on the interaction between organizational culture and context and the motivations
from this group.
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Cultural Settings
Influence 1: Admissions and marketing officers need to make a case for budget
support for new ideas proactively, and the organization needs to have confidence in them to
innovate and try new approaches to generate tuition revenue. Interview findings were that
staff does not currently make the case to administrators outside of their department for budget
support on an innovative idea.
Many of the officers do not have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with senior
administrators outside of their direct supervisor. Universities are fully functional brands
including a large number of stakeholders that admissions and marketing officers need to engage,
communicate with, and lobby for support (Roper & Davies, 2007). Without interacting with
administrators outside of their departments, there is a lack of understanding by junior level
officers to discuss ideas and pitch concepts for new approaches to generating revenue. Buy-in
from university community members, such as faculty and staff, is essential aspects to creating
positive momentum for new projects (Whisman, 2008). Whisman (2008) noted staff in these
areas have traditionally been focusing their attention on external audiences only and forget they
need to work just as hard to promote what they do internally as well (Whisman, 2008).
Additionally, junior officers must report their goals and progress toward those goals regularly to
faculty and staff to gain support when needing to increase investment.
When talking about the concept that the goals to recruit new students generate revenue
for the school, many of the respondents did not know if those budgetary items were shared with
the faculty and staff. P1 admitted, “I don’t know if the whole organization knows how many
students are needed each year. We know, and we have weekly updates about how we are doing
in our department, but that is not shared.” Conversely, P2 mentioned, “I feel like maybe recently
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there have been attempts to do so, but as a total overall, I don’t think it has been intentional. It is
not something that has always been done.”
However, regarding the type of institution SGU is, participants stated that, if support was
requested, the institution might support the idea. P1 stated, “We have a comfortable work
environment. Everyone is really open to ideas and pretty laid back. Relationships are strong, and
we have excellent coworkers.” P3 said,
As an organization, I think we feel very like entrepreneurial and energized by that
flexibility, but you know, I think there are also people within the faculty staff community
and even student that may want a little more structure or they feel like things change too
rapidly without their opinions or input.
P5 added, “We are very team-based. I think the environment is pretty open and I think
that there is a comfort an expression of ideas here, and very much freedom to implement new
things, new initiatives. Well kind of. If there is buy-in from the community.”
The cultural setting of SGU is highly supportive. Each stakeholder spoke about the
innovative and entrepreneurial environment where ideas are encouraged. However, their
comments indicated that it might only be in support of faculty and their research or pedagogy,
not necessarily staff who generate revenue in areas like marketing, advancement, and
communications.
Summary of Validated Influences
Knowledge
Three influences were used to evaluate the understanding of the admissions and
marketing officers for this study. The first pertained to the stakeholders’ factual knowledge in
discovering how much they knew about the types of digital media that incoming and current
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students use at SGU and the amount of time spent on each. The factual knowledge gave the
researcher an idea of whether they had baseline knowledge of the types of media consumed,
which would help them successfully implement new technology in their recruitment practices.
The findings indicated the stakeholders had a very high-level acknowledgment that students
consumed digital media, but they did not have in-depth knowledge of the specifics to help them
effectively use these media to gain students’ attention.
The second influence pertained to conceptual knowledge, covering their familiarity with
the different types of digital media that could be used for admissions recruiting and their comfort
level using it. By asking for this information, the researcher took the concept a step further and
determined the baseline knowledge of using the technologies that could be implemented. The
findings indicated the staff might use one or two different types of social media, but their
knowledge of using these platforms for anything other than personal use was minimal at best.
The marketing officers had a slightly higher level of experience using them for marketing
purposes, but, when it comes to the recruitment of students, there is a general lack of functional
knowledge.
The third type of influence evaluated related to procedural knowledge on gaining the
school’s investment in a new initiative. By asking for information about this topic, the
researcher leveraged what they learned from the factual and conceptual knowledge as to whether
innovation in the problem of practice was or could take place. The procedural knowledge
influence provided insight into how new ideas needed to be presented to gain support.
There is a knowledge gap in all three areas among both the admissions and the marketing
officers. The knowledge presented is not a requirement for either stakeholder group’s jobs, but it
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is an opportunity to initiate new concepts to try and increase the number of students entering
through the top of the enrollment funnel.
Motivation
Two motivational influences were examined in this study. The first involved the self-
efficacy of the admissions and marketing officers assigning value to the concept that it is worth
the investment of time and resources to market to students using online digital media as a
vehicle. When pairing the information of the knowledge influences, this motivational influence
showed the researcher the potential for success if the knowledge gaps were closed. The most
significant gap in this area exists in what seems to be a lack of time for the staff to learn new
tactics and processes in their already over-programmed work weeks. While there might be an
agreement to try new ideas, there is a sense of concern of where they would fit in anything
additional to their workday. At this point, staff in both divisions indicate they are not against
starting new projects, but they do not know how they could fit it into their current workloads.
Organization
Finally, the last two influences evaluated were organizational influences to help the
researcher determine the type of environment which assumed influences and gaps would be
addressed. The first was the cultural model where SGU’s senior administrators make decisions
on supporting new initiatives which require capital support. It was discovered that all capital
expenditures must be presented to the board of trustees by a senior-level administrator who sits
on the president’s cabinet. It is important that those outside of the department where the
investment is needed understand the needs as they relate to marketing for higher education and
graduate education in particular. The gap identified shows there needs to be education on the
amount of capital it takes to effectively enroll a student in a graduate school in all areas of the
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school so that they can understand and appreciate the needs of the admissions and marketing
departments.
The second influence involves the cultural setting that the admissions and marketing
officers have to present new ideas and have confidence to innovate and attempt creative
approaches to meeting their goals. The staff in each area believe that their cabinet-level
supervisors are the only ones who can advocate for financial support of new concepts within the
organization. Additionally, without a full understanding of the senior administrators on why
marketing and advertising are vital to attracting students to their institution, they may not
prioritize funding to these areas. A gap was identified in visibility of the staff in these two
departments to senior administrators on the president’s cabinet outside of their immediate
supervisors. They indicated they have only presented new ideas and approaches internally in
their department and do not regularly interact with other cabinet members to discuss their ideas.
Analysis of the in-depth data received from the seven stakeholders at SGU validated,
partially validated, and did not validate assumed influences which the researcher described in
Chapter Two. Table 6 presents the validation of each assumed influence in each area of the
KMO analysis.

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Table 6
Summary of Influences by Type of Validation
Assumed Influence Validated Partially
Validated
Not
Validated
Admissions and marketing officers need to know which
digital media prospective students spend their time
consuming. (Knowledge - Factual )
X
Admissions and marketing officers need to understand
how digital media works and the difference between each
platform. (Knowledge - Conceptual )
X
Admissions and marketing officers need to know and
follow the steps to make a case for investment by the
school in using digital media as a part of their budget.
(Knowledge - Procedural )
X
Admissions and marketing officers need to see the utility
value in providing information to students where they
spend the majority of their time (on digital devices and
consuming digital media). (Motivation - Expectancy
Value)
X
Admissions and marketing officers need to have the
confidence they are capable of leveraging new and
emerging technologies, which is where students are
spending a significant amount of time. (Motivation -
Self-Efficacy)
X
The school administrators need to invest in resources for
general marketing and branding to meet the increased
demands of revenue-generating divisions of the school.
(Organizational - Cultural Models )
X
Admissions and marketing officers need to know the
process of making a case for budget support for new
ideas, and the organization needs to have confidence in
them to innovate and try new approaches.
(Organizational - Cultural Settings)
X

The answers from the stakeholder interviews described gaps in KMO dimensions of the
organization. The strengths of the organization were apparent many times throughout the
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interviews and pointed less toward an organizational gap and more toward knowledge and
motivational gaps. Interviewees’ answers, while indicating attention is needed in the knowledge
and motivational construct, showed promise regarding the organizational support that could be
obtained if the right training and processes were in place. Directly and indirectly, the study
provided valuable data for the researcher to incorporate into the new chapter, including solutions,
implementation, and evaluation. Chapter Five presents empirical evidence to offer
recommendations for solutions regarding the influences.
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CHAPTER FIVE: SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION
Introduction and Overview
This qualitative study aimed to identify the gaps in admissions and marketing officers’
KMO influences in using digital media in their admissions practices at SGU. Chapter One
offered an introduction to the stakeholders responsible for all marketing and admissions activities
at the institutions and the details of the problem of practice to be evaluated. Chapter Two
provided related literature which helped identify the assumed influences on the problem of
practice and how they related to the stakeholder group. Chapter Three identified and explained
the research methods and data collection in detail, involving the stakeholder group. Chapter
Four presented the data collected from seven admissions and marketing officers during semi-
structured interviews.
Throughout the chapters, there were seven KMO influences identified through a literature
review and explored through tailored questions in the interviews. Each influence was then
validated or semi-validated in the data analysis. The areas highlighted focused on conceptual,
factual, and procedural knowledge to identify baseline indicators for each group. Motivational
elements were grounded in self-efficacy, and expectancy value theories and organizational
culture models and settings were evaluated to determine university support and resources
available for the problem of practice. The gaps discovered in the KMO influences covered both
subgroups of the stakeholders and were spread evenly among each area. Knowledge
recommendations focus on giving the stakeholders data, training, and job aids to maximize
efficiency in their approaches. Motivation recommendations are centered on providing the
stakeholders the tools and support they need to influence their opinions on their ability to use and
the value of using digital media in their practices. Organizational recommendations are centered
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on the support of the university community investing in the practice of digital media, and gaining
that support from administration.
Chapter Five reveals further analysis and reflection on the results from the previous
sections and gives recommendations on improving the gaps in the KMO influences that affect
increasing enrollment at SGU through the top of the enrollment funnel by 4%. The goal of this
study was to maintain fairly broad generalizations for the recommendations to be used outside of
SGU and, hopefully, evaluated at other graduate colleges and universities across the country. By
using the New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), recommendations
follow an adaptable framework to build into any marketing and admissions operations
throughout the country. By designing the recommendations into functional areas, this study
allows for institutions to evaluate which area would fit best into their organizational culture and
structure to gain the best results.
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Knowledge Recommendations
Table 7 below provides the organizational mission, organizational goal, and information
specific to knowledge influences, knowledge types, and knowledge influence assessments. As
Table 7 indicates, one conceptual and one metacognitive influence were used to gain insight into
the knowledge of the employees in the admissions and marketing department at SGU.

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Table 7
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Validated
as a Gap?

Priority

Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Admissions and marketing
officers need to know which
digital media prospective
students spend their time
consuming. (F)

Semi-V Y Model effective
strategy use,
including “how”
and “when” to
use particular
strategies.
(McCrudden &
Schraw, 2007).

Provide admissions and
marketing officers
survey data collected at
orientation that tells
them which digital
media prospective
students spend their
time consuming.
Admissions and marketing
officers need to understand
how digital
media works and the
difference between each
platform. (C)
Semi-V Y Have learners
identify prior
knowledge (what
they know and
what they do not
know about a
topic) before a
learning task
(Mayer, 2011a).
Provide Admissions
and marketing officers
training on types of
digital media that can
be used in higher
education admissions.

Admissions and marketing
officers need to follow the
steps to make a case for
investment by the school in
using digital media as a part
of their budget. (P)
V Y Help individuals
identify and
understand
important points
(McCrudden &
Schraw, 2007).
Provide worked
examples
(Kirschner,
Sweller, & Clark,
2006; Mayer,
2011b; Van
Gerven, Paas,
Van Merriënboer,
& Schmidt,
2002).
Provide Admissions
and marketing officers
a job aid on steps of
how to make a case for
investment by the
school in using
digital media as a part
of their budget.

Admissions and marketing officers need to know which digital media prospective
students spend their time consuming. The results indicated that 80% of interviewees need
declarative knowledge on which areas time should be spent on based on the type of media
students consume regularly. An information processing theory assists in closing this declarative
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knowledge gap for this group of individuals. McCrudden and Schraw (2007) indicated that
taking how and when and applying them to the gap can be an effective strategy. Data involving
how media are consumed, to include how often and delivery method, will be helpful to the
admissions and marketing officers. The recommendation is to develop a job aid for admissions
and marketing officers that provides information on which digital media prospective students
consume.
Students state the most important part of their school research takes place online (Coulter
& Collins, 2011). Tomlinson and Rapoff (2014) indicated that the way students access
information varies by device and can either be desktop or handheld. Schools can help create
effective messaging on each platform if they understand the different instruments and how the
messages display (Ledford, 2012). This evidence confirms that providing information on the
difference between platforms and how they work will help officers gain the knowledge they need
to be effective in their approaches.
Admissions and marketing officers need to understand how digital media work and
the difference between each platform. Results indicated that 95% of interviewees do not have
the knowledge needed to use different types of media platforms to promote a brand. A strategy
in information processing system theory will encourage conceptual knowledge to help close this
gap. Identifying prior knowledge is an essential aspect of setting a baseline of understanding
when assessing the total knowledge needed (Mayer, 2011). There is an importance to knowing
the types of media. The recommendation is to provide admissions and marketing officers
information on how to use the varying types of digital media that can be used in higher education
to gain the attention of incoming students.
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Evaluating and reinventing approaches to marketing, depending on the student
population, is an effective way for schools to remain competitive (Ivy, 2008; Szekeres, 2010).
By taking the information about success in other industries, higher education can mimic the use
of digital media for gaining the attention of their target market (Boyd, 2008). This evidence
confirms that, due to a lack of knowledge on the type of varying media platforms and, more
importantly, how to use those, professionals in the marketing and admissions offices cannot take
advantage of their benefits.
Admissions and marketing officers need to know how to make a case to the school
for investment in digital media as a part of their budget. Results indicate that 97% of the
interviewees are unaware of how the budget is allocated for admissions marketing initiatives. A
recommendation using sociocultural theory will close this procedural knowledge gap.
Helping individuals identify and understand important points is a crucial aspect for them
to support their assertions (McCrudden & Schraw, 2007). Providing worked examples is an
effective way to communicate how to do tasks (Kirschner et al., 2006; Mayer, 2011; Van Gerven
et al., 2002). Understanding how to make a good case for investment of budget dollars to a new
idea that is not common in the academic industry is essential. The recommendation is to provide
a job aid on the steps of how the school traditionally accepts propositions to make a case for
investment in digital media as a part of the admissions and marketing promotions budget.
Saravanakumar and SuganthaLakshmi (2012) mentioned that developing strategic
marketing plans to promote a brand in higher education is a new concept. Krathwohl (2009)
suggested that knowing the media to use, assessing the media to help meet goals, and building a
case for budget support are essential in marketing colleges and universities. Without taking
advantage of the internet and its reach across the globe, schools are missing a key monetization
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opportunity (Mahaney, 2012). This evidence confirms that, without information on how
academic administrators make decisions, it is difficult to communicate with them the value of
new ideas that are not widely proven within the industry.
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. Table 8 below identifies two motivational influences that focus on utility
value and self-efficacy. These influences help to more fully understand how motivation affects
digital marketing in the admissions and marketing departments at SGU.
Table 8
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Motivation
Influence

Validated
as a Gap

Priority

Principle and Citation Context-Specific
Recommendation
Expectancy Value -
Admission and
marketing officers
need to see the
utility value in
providing
information to
students where they
spend the majority
of their time (on
digital devices and
consuming digital
media).
Semi-V Y Includes rationales about
the importance and
utility value of the task
(Pintrich, 2003). Model
values, enthusiasm, and
interest in the job
(Eccles, 2006).
Use task, reward, and
evaluation structures that
promote mastery,
learning, effort, progress,
and self-improvement
standards to pair the long-
term goals of the
institution with the
benefit of this task.
Self-Efficacy -
Admissions and
marketing officers
need to have the
confidence they are
capable of learning
new and emerging
technologies, which
is where students are
spending a
significant amount
of time.
V Y Make it clear that
individuals are capable
of learning what is being
taught or are capable of
performing a task
(Pajares, 2006). Provide
instructional support
(scaffolding) early on,
build in multiple
opportunities for
practice, and gradually
remove supports
(Pajares, 2006).
Provide training that
increases admissions and
marketing officer’s skills
at using digital media and
how they can collect data
from modeling the use of
technology. Then develop
a community of practice
the method and collect
data and provide targeted
feedback on how the
technology helped toward
the goal.

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Use task, reward, and evaluation structures that promote mastery, learning, effort,
progress, and self-improvement standards. Results show 90% of the interviewees prioritize
recruiting students face-to-face versus online. The motivation gap can be addressed through
expectancy value theory. Pintrich (2003) noted the importance and utility value of the task are
an essential part of the rationale for prioritization. Additionally, there needs to be a value for the
practice, along with general enthusiasm and interest (Eccles, 2006). If stakeholders believed that
beginning a new exercise helps with progress toward a larger goal, they would be more likely to
engage in the task. Therefore, the recommendation is to use task, reward, and evaluation
structures that promote mastery, learning, effort, progress, and self-improvement to pair with the
institution’s long-term goals.
Eccles (2006) noted people’s expectancy values play a significant role in their learning
and their perceived capabilities. The knowledge of those in positions of power and the lack of
resources play a vital role in the confidence of people implementing new technologies, (Davis,
Deil-Amen, Rios-Aguilar, & Gonzalez Canche, 2012; Heiberger & Harper, 2008; Reuben, 2008).
Additionally, Chapleo (2015) noted frustration with consistent change in marketing at a
university affects employees’ abilities to stay current with trends. Therefore, the
recommendation is to use task, reward, and evaluation structures that promote mastery, learning,
and effort, progress, and self-improvement standards to pair the long-term goals of the institution
with the benefit of this task.
Provide training that increases admissions and marketing officers’ skills at using
digital media. Results show 95% of respondents lack confidence in their ability to learn new
and emerging technologies, which is where students are spending a significant amount of time.
Self-efficacy theory guides the approach to narrow this motivational gap. Pajares (2006)
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suggests making it clear individuals are capable of learning what is being taught or are capable of
performing a task. Providing support early in the task and offering opportunities for supported
practice will help the stakeholders when support is removed after learning the task, so if the
proper learning environment exists, the stakeholders will be willing to learn about other ways to
attain their goals (Pajares, 2006). Therefore, the recommendation is to provide training that
increases admissions and marketing officers’ skills in using digital media and collecting data by
modeling the use of technology. They then need to practice the use and collection of data and
provide targeted feedback on how the technology contributed to success toward their goals.
Self-efficacy is founded on the theory that a person’s life is determined by the role they
play in their success (Pajares, 2006). Pajares (2006) additionally stated that, due to this theory,
motivation is tied to one’s personal feelings. Institutional leadership frequently
misunderstanding the role of marketers leads to a sense that they may not be successful in new,
untested ventures. Wlodkowski and Kasworm (2003) also indicated the rapidly changing
environment of colleges makes it difficult for stakeholders to feel they can master their
industry’s knowledge base. Therefore, the recommendation is to provide training that increases
admissions and marketing officers’ skills at using digital media and how they can collect data
from modeling the use of technology. Then, they can practice the application and collect data
and provide targeted feedback on how the technology helped toward the goal.
Organization Recommendations
Introduction. Cultural models highlight the shared beliefs of those within the
organization, and the cultural settings show the shared behaviors of the institution. Table 9
below identifies two organizational influences that focus on SGU’s cultural model and cultural
environment. These organizational influences have a direct correlation to the gaps in the
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assumed influences as described during interviews with the stakeholders and through the
literature review. Motivation has a strong relationship with performance by correlating choice,
persistence, and mental effort (Clark & Estes, 2008). The concept of choice is central to this
evaluation due to the thought process of the admissions and marketing officers and their
perceived value of the time investment required for learning new skills as it relates to digital
media marketing. Persistence after mastering a skill ensures continued success, as it drives the
stakeholders to continue to apply what they have learned into their daily tasks. The principles
and recommendations below have been paired with the assumed organizational influences below,
which provide the highest possible probability of success toward the stakeholder goals.
Table 9
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Organization
Influence

Validated
as a Gap
Yes, High
Probabilit
y, No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
CM - The
administration
needs to invest
resources into
general marketing
and branding to
meet the increased
demands of
revenue-generating
locations within the
school.
V Y Participants engaging
in reflective work
need to have
complete and
accurate information
about the topic for
discussion, be free
from bias, and meet
in an environment of
acceptance, empathy,
and trust (Mezirow,
1997, 2000).
Administrators need to
know what staff
member’s needs are
and regularly monitor
the use of resources to
ensure that all
members of the
workforce have access
to the tools they need
to do their jobs
effectively.

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Table 9, continued
Assumed
Organization
Influence

Validated
as a Gap
Yes, High
Probabilit
y, No
(V , HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
CS - Admissions
and marketing
officers need to
know the process of
making a case for
budget support for
new ideas, and the
organization needs
to have confidence
in them to innovate
and try new
approaches.
V Y Organizational
effectiveness
increases when
leaders are
trustworthy, and in
turn, trust their team.
The most visible
demonstrations of
trust by a leader is
accountable
autonomy (Rath &
Conchie, 2009).
When setting goals
administrators should
allow the admissions
and marketing officers
to determine how to
reach them, ask what
resources are needed
to reach them, and
then demonstrate their
confidence in the
team’s ability to
succeed by funding
their initiatives.

Administrators must monitor the use of resources. Approximately 50% of
respondents stated the administration needs to invest resources into general marketing and
branding to meet the increased demands of revenue-generating locations within the school.
Without this investment, many operations will not keep up with increasing revenue demands. A
recommendation from leadership theory can work to close this gap. Mezirow (1997, 2000)
indicated subjects need to look at data without bias and have empathy for those providing that
information to evaluate information effectively. Administrators need to look at valuable
information about the need for additional resources in a way that gives them information to make
decisions independent of their preconceived ideas of the subject. The recommendation is for
administrators to monitor the use of resources, including staff members’ needs, and regularly
monitor the use of resources to ensure that all members of the workforce have access to the tools
they need to do their jobs effectively.
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Rueda (2011) explained resources and practices within an organization have a direct
impact on the knowledge and motivation of stakeholders. When looking at the traditional costs
associated with marketing and advertising, administrators need to regularly monitor the use of
resources to ensure staff has resource support (Saravanakumar & Suganthalakshmi, 2012). For
example, one firm mentioned their portfolio of a dozen higher education clients who have spent
$40 million on the practice of digital marketing since 2014 showing that administrators are
approving that expense (Vasquez, 2017). The literature demonstrates a need to invest in
marketing beyond the traditional models in higher education, and the competition is increasing
their investments daily.
Administrators need to allow admissions and marketing officers to determine how
to reach their goals. Close to 93% of interviewees stated that admissions and marketing officers
need to know how to make a case for budget support for new ideas and the organization needs to
have confidence in them to innovate and try new approaches. Without understanding budget
requests, the staff cannot effectively make a case for their needs. A leadership theory can help
close the gap between process and leadership. Organizational effectiveness depends on a
leader’s trustworthiness and their ability to return that trust to their staff (Rath & Conchie, 2009).
If leadership has confidence in their team, then they will evaluate their requests and show them
the most effective ways to fund their needs. The recommendation when setting goals is that
administrators should allow the admissions and marketing officers to determine how to reach
them, ask what resources are needed to reach them, and then demonstrate their confidence in the
team’s ability to succeed by funding their initiatives.
Clark and Estes (2008) stated the key step leaders can take in their organizations is to
identify any potential barriers to operations or resources, which prevent goals from being
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accomplished. There is pushback on the need for marketing for a university that students only
attend the institution based on its academic reputation alone (Poock & Lefond, 2003). Support
from administrators is imperative in developing new programs and even more so is their release
of control to the subject matter experts to initiate new projects (Edmiston-Strasser, 2009; Ghosh,
Chawla, & Mallott, 2012; Hayes et al., 2009). Therefore, it is recommended, when setting goals,
administrators should allow the admissions and marketing officers to determine how to reach
them, ask what resources are needed to reach them, and then demonstrate their confidence in the
team’s ability to succeed by funding their initiatives.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The implementation and evaluation model informing this study is the New World
Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). There are four levels in the model. The
concept of reverse-engineering the goals of the organization begins with indicators that lead to
the recommended solutions. There is a preference for this way of organizing the recommended
solutions because the idea identifies with the purposes of the organization. Additionally, this
model has three critical actions: assessing work behaviors by developing solution outcomes,
identifying learning indicators, and evaluating satisfaction with implementation strategies. These
steps are important because they help tie information between the broader goals and smaller
solutions (Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
Science Graduate University’s organizational goal is to enrich society with breakthrough
approaches to education and translational research in the life sciences. The school currently has
an enrollment of approximately 700 students in nine academic disciplines in the life sciences and
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healthcare subjects. To continue operating this tuition-dependent institution, there needs to be an
increase in enrollment. Without an increase in the number of students, the highly specialized
degree offerings will suffer, and the impact that SGU will have on society will diminish.
Therefore, the admissions and marketing officers are primary stakeholders in increasing the
number of students who know about and are interested in attending SGU. Their goal is to
increase the number of applicants by 4% by 2020. This study examined the knowledge and
skills, motivation, and organizational gaps preventing higher education graduate admissions and
marketing officers from using digital media to recruit students into the top of the enrollment
funnel. Solutions of job aids and educational training should produce the desired outcomes from
the stakeholder group.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Table 10 shows proposed Kirkpatrick Level 4 results and leading indicators related
explicitly to outcomes, metrics, and methods for both external and internal outcomes for the
SGU admissions and marketing officers. When the internal outcomes are achieved, the external
outcomes should also be achieved.
Table 10
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. Increased number of
students clicking on pay
per click ads.
The number of clicks per type of
digital ad.
Solicit data from Google,
Facebook, and Instagram ad
platforms.
2. Increased number of
students interacting with
the school through social
media.
2a. The total engagement score
by each type of social
media.
Solicit engagement score data
from each type of social media.
2b. Increase the number of
followers on each social media
platform.
Run reporting from social media
platform dashboard.
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Table 10, continued
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
2c. Increase the pieces of
content shared on each social
media platform.
Run reporting from social media
platform dashboard.
3. Increased number of
qualified applicants
clicking on digital media
advertising pieces.
The number of completed
inquiry forms by qualified
applicants to each program.
Solicit data from the customer
relationship management
platform.
Internal Outcomes
1. Increased support
received by non-
admissions and marketing
faculty and staff for digital
media approaches.
The number of faculty and staff
who are aware of admissions
goals and revenue for the school.
Survey data from faculty and
staff.
2. Increased number of
interactions that
admissions and marketing
staff have interactions
with senior administrators
other than their
supervisors.
The number and type of
interactions with senior
administrators have with
admissions and marketing
officers.
Survey data from admissions
and marketing officers and
senior administrators.
3. Increase visibility to
incoming and current
students on all media.
Type of student (incoming,
enrolled, current) who view
digital media, the quantity of the
kind of student per platform, and
how much time is spent on each
platform by type of student.
Solicit data from current
students and inquire of national
statistics of potential incoming
students’ media usage and
frequency.

Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. The stakeholders of focus are the admissions and marketing officers
for the school. The first critical behavior they must possess is a mechanism to collect the data to
know which digital media is the most useful. The second critical behavior is they must know
how to use each type of digital media and how metrics are collected. The third critical behavior
is making the university community aware of the goals for admissions recruitment and how
much that revenue generates compared to other revenue-generating aspects of the school. Table
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11 below shows the critical behaviors selected with metrics, methods, and essential timing of
behavior observation.
Table 11
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s)
Method(s)
Timing
1. Admissions and
marketing officers
collect information
on which digital
media is the most
useful of the ones
used by incoming and
current students.
Percentage of
increase in the
number of students
who provide their
usage engagement
statistics per type of
media.
The report provided
by the office of
institutional research
indicating totals in
each area.
During the first
month of the
recruitment process.
Quarterly after that.
2. Admissions and
marketing officers
know how to use
each type of digital
media.
Number of types of
data used by each
admission and
marketing officer in
recruiting practices.
The audit report of
the number of pieces
of content produced
by each officer on
each platform.
During the first
month of the
recruitment process.
Monthly reviews of
new technology, after
that.
3. Admissions and
marketing officers
make the university
community aware of
the admissions goals
and revenue
generated.
Several admissions
and revenue related
touchpoints generated
by each admission
and marketing officer
and audience size.
The report provided
by each officer to
indicate the
touchpoints and their
audience size.

Once per semester.

Required drivers. The admissions and marketing officers for the school need a
significant amount of encouragement and support from their colleagues and supervisors to
maintain momentum and generate excitement in new ideas. Data collection and investment in
job training and job aids will show a commitment to the new initiatives. Evaluating their work,
and encouraging them to join colleagues in a community of learners will assist in monitoring
progress and support critical behaviors. Table 12 below identifies required drivers for the group
and provides a tie back to the critical actions it supports in the table above.

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Table 12
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Survey of data collected at
orientation that tells which
digital media prospective
students spend their time
consuming.
Quarterly

1, 2
Job training on types of digital
media that can be used in
higher education admissions.
Quarterly 1, 2
Job aid on steps of how to
make a case for investment by
the school in using digital
media as a part of their
budget.
Every Semester 3
Encouraging
Develop a community of
practice to allow for
collaboration and mentoring
with colleagues who are
successfully using each type
of platform.
Every 90 days (Ongoing) 1, 2, 3
Rewarding
Task, reward, and evaluations
structures that promote
mastery, learning, effort,
progress, and self-
improvement standards to pair
the long-term goals of the
institution.
Every 30 days (Ongoing) 1, 2, 3
Monitoring
Monitor the use of resources
to ensure that all members of
the workforce have access to
the tools they need to do their
jobs effectively.
Every 30 days (Ongoing) 3

Organizational support. Organizational support is required to implement the drivers.
The goal is that admissions and marketing officers will increase the number of students enrolling
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into their programs. Support is necessary from faculty and senior administrators to gain
validated support from several areas. The first area would be from the staff in the office of
institutional research and effectiveness who has access to all platforms and dashboards for the
measurement of metrics. Their charge is to develop reports on the efficacy of the institution and
have the experience necessary to conclude success.
Additionally, it will be necessary for the senior leaders to meet with lower-level support
staff in both these areas to hear from them potential new initiatives and why they think they are
important. It is an important task for the senior leaders who are not in a supervisory role for the
admissions and marketing officers. Finally, the faculty and staff need to attend institutional
forums and update meetings where admissions and marketing officers provide information on
enrollment and recruiting.
Additionally, the final support that can be offered is for the administrators to take a look
at the enrollment goals holistically and provide support for the admissions and marketing officers
to determine how they believe they can most effectively reach them. Upon this self-prescribed
plan, it will be necessary for the organization to proactively ask what resources would be needed
to attain the goals. After this shared understanding, they can then demonstrate their confidence
in the team’s ability to identify goals and benchmarks and the resources needed by giving them
additional funding to carry out their plans. Through open dialogue with the staff, administrators
who control operational support can receive detailed information on how an investment of
resources ties to their approaches on meeting goals, helping them understand the process and the
justification for innovative advertising and marketing of their institutions as it relates to the
enrollment goals.

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Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. The recommended solutions will provide the platform for the
admissions and marketing officers to accomplish the following:
1. Know of types of digital media that are most regularly used by incoming, enrolled, and
current students at SGU. (Factual Knowledge)
2. Know the amount of time spent on digital media most regularly used by incoming,
enrolled, and current students at SGU. (Factual Knowledge)
3. Have working knowledge of each type of digital media used by incoming, enrolled, and
current students at SGU. (Conceptual Knowledge)
4. Leverage the process desired by administrators to make a case for support for investment
into digital media. (Procedural Knowledge)
5. Demonstrate value in using digital media on the platforms where students spend the
majority of their time. (Motivation)
6. Have confidence in their abilities to reallocate their time to learn and practice using new
technologies effectively. (Motivation)
7. Move proposals forward for budget consideration as a result of process preparation. (New
Strategy Encouragement)
8. Indicate with confidence that using digital media to attract students is worth the
investment of time. (Confidence)
9. Value the cross-functional, team-based learning community to produce content regularly
on digital media platforms. (Confidence/Value)
Program. The learning goals previously discussed must have a fully implemented
development program to ensure successful implementation and completion. The program
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developed for the admissions and marketing officers will be implemented by using workshops
and community learning plenary sessions. These events will be facilitated by internal and
external experts in the subject areas of digital marketing and advertising. The program will start
with the delivery of the data collected from students regarding their online behaviors and then
move into the explanations of each type of data that can be used to gain their attention on those
online platforms. From there, a group analysis will take place regarding the current platforms
used at SGU and the ones that need developing based on the student data. The group will then
determine any estimated costs associated with the development of each platform, and participate
in a workshop with senior leadership to discover optimal background needs to evaluate budget
requests.
By gathering as a group, and sharing knowledge and ideas, the group participates in a
type of efficacy that involves everyone’s thoughts and opinions (Stajkovic, Lee, & Nyberg,
2009). The final program will be the education of how to use each platform and, most
importantly, how to use it for the various jobs of each stakeholder. For instance, some in the
admissions department may use social media more than the marketing department, but marketing
may use SEO or retarget more frequently than the admissions officers. Staff members who have
very little working knowledge of the most popular types of digital media their students consume
will feel empowered with the knowledge and hopefully incorporate their new skills into their
recruiting tactics. The benefit of this job training is that everyone will have a baseline
knowledge of how to cross-functionally use each platform to the benefit of recruiting students to
SGU.
Evaluation of the components of learning. It is important in any learning program that
evaluation occurs following the activities to determine if the intended outcomes were met.
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Without an assessment, key benchmarks and learning outcomes may be forgotten or skipped.
Consequently, it is also important that the stakeholder demonstrate declarative and procedural
knowledge in a way that can be replicated individually. The outcome of this study is for the
admissions and marketing officers to prepare a strategic admissions digital marketing plan. In
evaluating the components of learning and the program development, it is important to identify
the specific methods or activities which will be used and the timing of that evaluation. Table 13
below looks at the declarative knowledge, procedural skills, and the individual behaviors of the
stakeholders to encourage this type of assessment.
Table 13
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program.
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”
I am checking of knowledge during the
workshops or community collaboration
presentations through partner work or short
quizzes.
Periodically during the workshops and
documented in instructors notes.
Small group or large group discussions and
reporting of newly learned knowledge.
Periodically during the workshops with
colleagues taking notes.
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
Presentation to colleagues during workshops or
community collaboration presentations using
different platforms to exhibit knowledge.
Periodically during the workshops and outside
of the workshops as opportunities present
themselves.
Practice performing new knowledge with
colleagues in groups.
Quarterly throughout the year.
Solicit colleague feedback during educational
scenarios and test cases.
During the workshops.
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Each stakeholder completes a document which
provides a roadmap on the pros and cons of the
activities learned and how they will enhance
their department performance.
Immediately upon completion of the
workshop.
Exit surveys by the participants asking
questions about the validity of the topics in
their areas, and if they think that the time spent
was a good investment.
Immediately upon completion of the
workshop.

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Table 13, continued
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Comprehensive pre and post-tests on the
learning delivered to the stakeholders to
evaluate and measure progress made.
During the learning activities.
Group discussions on value and job
modifications that will take place.
During cross-functional divisional meetings
between both the admissions and marketing
departments.
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
One-on-one meeting with individual
stakeholder’s supervisor to discuss the program
and its outcome for their work area.
During regularly scheduled coaching sessions
with supervisors.
Creation of individual implementation plan to
show growth in the knowledge and intended
application over the next year.
Immediately following completion of the
workshop.
Communicate with campus community
information on how and why this new activity
will make an impact on your department and
its functions.
Periodically throughout the academic year with
reporting on successes and missteps to increase
transparency.

Level 1: Reaction
Stakeholder reaction is an important metric to evaluate training and learning programs.
The goal of these programs in Level 1 is to have a high level of stakeholder satisfaction where
they feel as though the content will be valuable to them and they enjoyed the experience of
learning a new topic (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Table 14 below gives the methods or
tools of engagement, relevance, and customer satisfaction for the stakeholders and the timing of
these reaction measurements. High levels in each of these three areas is more likely to yield
success in a program. This information provides more about the emotional feelings the
stakeholders have as opposed to the evaluation section above, where the metric is more tangible.

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Table 14
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program.
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Observation by peers and workshop leaders of
individual’s comments and actions.
During the program and after
Evaluation after the workshop. Conclusion of each workshop
Participation in discussions and workgroups
during the program.
Ongoing throughout the program
Participation in discussions and workgroups
after the program concludes. (Throughout the
year)
Ongoing throughout the program
Relevance
Recaps at intervals throughout the program to
pulse-check effectiveness of the program.
Periodically throughout the program
Program content evaluation to verify topics
were useful and helpful
Following each part of the program
Customer Satisfaction
Survey feedback to leaders of the program. After the program
Validation verbally to their supervisor on the
use of the program to their specific tasks.
Periodically throughout the program

Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. While there will be continuous
knowledge checks throughout the program, there is a need for a comprehensive review of the
intended learning outcomes of the training and workshops. Using Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s
(2016) four-level model, the program administrators will determine if the goals of the programs
were met in a variety of areas. Therefore, upon the completion of the program, a written
anonymous survey will be administered through the office of institutional research and
effectiveness (IRE). Administering the survey through this division will allow for the
stakeholders to give their honest feedback without fear of retaliation and will also allow for the
IRE office to provide an analysis report to the senior administrators of the school in a way that
does not single out one employee over another. The post-training evaluations will evaluate the
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 124
stakeholders’ Level 1 indicators by asking questions about their engagement, content relevance,
and their overall satisfaction with the process. Level 2 learning will take place both during and
after the program, verifying that knowledge transfer has occurred and that the participants see
value in the practices. An area of the Level 2 evaluation for this subject matter is the confidence
and the attitude of the stakeholders to implement what they have learned into their current
practices. Appendix A includes questions which evaluate Level 1 and Level 2 outcomes and
provide data which will influence the continual improvement of the program.
They are delayed for a period after the program implementation. The office of IRE
will administer an additional survey immediately following one admissions cycle after the
program, giving the stakeholders time to implement the tools they learned into their regular
practices effectively. If one cycle is not enough to implement, the survey will be administered
again after the second admissions cycle after the program. The delay allows for those who want
to take the first cycle to plan their approach, the opportunity to implement in cycle two. The
difference between the first survey and the second is the first survey shows the effectiveness of
the learning and training and the second shows the application and practice of the material into
participants’ daily activities. Blended questions and responses in this survey help to achieve the
most accurate data collection. Following Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) approach, the
questions will involve aspects of levels one through four.
Additionally, in this survey, there will be an opportunity for the participant to give open-
ended responses. These responses will allow for the participants to provide details which can be
helpful and provide additional context that the first survey did not. Appendix B gives an
example of this survey and the layout of the questions in a blended approach, taking into
consideration all the tables above.
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Data Analysis and Reporting
The goal of increasing the number of students entering the top of the enrollment funnel is
driven by success metrics. Therefore, the most helpful data analysis will be to use key
performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs will be used to measure the current state of the admissions
enrollment performance in several areas. Each area will allow for review of each level as
described in each table above. The left column will give insight into the leading indicators from
Level 4, along with the results expected from the implementation of the program. Table 15
below indicates the KPIs, the metrics to be used to evaluate the data, the frequency that the data
will be measured, and the type of display that highlights the data. The data must be pulled and
presented before the implementation of the program to allow for the opportunity to see the most
considerable differences between pre-training and post-training and implementation.
Upon collection of all of the KPIs, the office of IRE will compile a visual dashboard to
present to the senior leadership team. Appendices E through M show the individual samples of
the way the KPIs can be represented. Each KPI can then be combined into a dashboard that
shows current progress throughout the year. Additionally, this visual representation will be most
helpful when pairing it with similar data to the year before, to identify trends to assist the teams
on strategic planning for the future.

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Table 15
Key Performance Indicators for Accountability
Key Performance
Indicator (KPI)
Metric Frequency Graph Details
Inquiry Leads Inquiry Forms Submitted
(Number of inquiry forms
completed into the CRM
system)
Monthly Line Graph
Marketing Source The inquiry leads generated
by the type of marketing
source (Inquiry forms by the
kind of marketing that placed
them into the inquiry form)
Monthly Bar Graph
Admissions Pipeline Stages that prospective
students are in (inquiry,
applicant, admitted, enrolled)
Monthly Funnel
Geography Interest by state, region, and
country (location of inquiry)
Monthly Map
Distance Groupings Yield rates by distance from
campus (Enrolled students in
miles from campus)
Monthly Bar Graph
Yield Rate Yield rates by marketing
source (Enrolled students by
type of marketing source that
first brought them to inquiry)
Monthly Bar Graph
Admissions
Efficiency
Length of time to contact
prospective students (time
from inquiry submission to
the first contact)
Monthly Line Graph
Staff Performance Enrollment deposits by staff
(number of enrollment
deposits by the staff member
assigned to the applicant)
Monthly Bar Graph
Performance to Goal Goals versus Results
(applications last 30 days,
registers previous 30 days,
application % to goal,
registers % to goal)
Monthly Infographic

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The goal of using Level 4 in the New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016) is to increase the number of inquiries through the top of the enrollment funnel
by 4%. Despite SGU having a rolling admissions cycle (applicants are taken year-round, without
an application deadline), the results of recruiting efforts are calculated and reported each year in
August. The vice president of enrollment and financial aid gives a bi-weekly report to the
president and senior administrators on all aspects of the enrollment funnel. A report provided in
August to the board of trustees will be used as an indicator of success in the model. A visual
dashboard will be developed and maintained through the CRM system, allowing all admissions
and marketing officers to see progress daily throughout the recruitment cycle. Figure 7 below
shows parts of the proposed dashboard developed within the CRM system.

Figure 7. Enrollment dashboard.
Summary
Training can provide the results desired if it is planned and executed in a way that gives
value to the organization. Without critical performance markers, companies have a hard time
connecting the value to the expense (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), which can indicate a low
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 128
return on expense. Without planning a training value, the development and investment of
resources for these practices are often eliminated during fiscal challenges (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). Additionally, Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) commented that training is
not exempt from providing a detailed accounting of its effectiveness.
The recommendations presented in this study are based on the Kirkpatrick model, which
guided this training model grounded in evaluation (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The four
levels are used in reverse order, starting with results, moving to behaviors, assigning learning
outcomes, and, finally, evaluating the participant’s reactions. While the original Kirkpatrick
model developed in the 1950s still holds value, in 2010, it was updated to operationalize a new
generation of businesses effectively and is now called the New World Kirkpatrick Model
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
By reversing the model and starting with Level 4, the results and expectations are the
frameworks on which the program is built. This program was expressly designed to offer the
admissions and marketing officers the ability to learn and practice the skills needed to have a
working knowledge of the various types of digital media. These skills included how to identify
which platforms they should make an effort to learn and how to develop advertising plans to gain
prospective students’ attention. Between Level 3 and Level 2 was the primary area of emphasis
for this study, as it provided the most considerable areas of growth for the participants. Looking
at how to influence their Level 3 behaviors allowed the researcher to design a program that
effectively highlighted the critical practices and required drivers, which would allow the
participants success in their learning objectives. Level 2 was the area where a significant amount
of time was spent on design to ensure alignment in expectations as it related to the participant's
attitude, confidence, and commitment to the program. Answers from the stakeholders during
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 129
their interviews influenced the design of this level because they indicated they did not have time
in their schedule to learn or practice new innovative ideas. By putting a heavy emphasis on this
area, the study provided job aids and training which assist in the confidence and commitment of
the group.
By using the New World Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), this study
can provide SGU a satisfactory return on investment (ROI), return on objectives (ROO), and
return on expectations (ROE). Satisfaction is a key indicator of success for businesses looking to
implement training models, and, looking at the results at the beginning of the program keeps the
measurement and metrics of success at the forefront of design. While measuring the ROI or
ROO on a project is commonplace in businesses today, the key differentiating value proposition
of using this model is its focus on ROE. This program can be considered successful because it
was initiated due the value it would provide to SGU as an organization and the participants as
stakeholders individually.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Approach
A conceptual framework based on Clark and Estes (2008) was introduced in Chapter Two
as a fundamental model of the exploration of this study. Using the model to determine the KMO
influences on the problem of practice and stakeholder implementation helped the researcher
frame thoughtful recommendations to the staff. Looking at the interaction between the cultural
models and setting determined which influences played the most substantial role to promote or
prevent the admissions and marketing officers from achieving their goal. By combining the
Clark and Estes (2008) conceptual framework gap analysis with the New World Kirkpatrick
Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), the validated and semi-validated influences were
identified and solutions were recommended.
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The greatest weakness in the approach was the requirement by the institutional review
board to use a third party to conduct the interviews. The board required this de-identification due
to the position the researcher held in the institution to prevent undue bias and harm in
participants’ employment at SGU. The researcher, while appreciative of the sanction and of
someone willing to conduct the interviews with the stakeholders, felt as though there were
important details missed by the third party due to lack of background information on the subject
matter. In the interviews where the stakeholders mentioned specific thoughts or opinions, the
researcher would have asked different follow-up questions to gain clarity or insight. Also, there
was a significant amount of clarity lost by not watching and hearing the specifics of each
interview. The mannerisms and inflections or excitement in their voices was not documented by
the interviewer, leading to assumptions by the researcher.
Limitations and Delimitations
While limitations to this study were previously discussed in Chapter Three, it is important
to re-address those topics and others which developed throughout data analysis and reporting.
The results and findings can be affected by limitations in the study regardless of the researcher’s
intent (Simon, 2011). Simon (2011) stated delimitations involve the parts of the study which the
researcher can control. By choosing a specific type of data collection, any researcher will
experience strengths and weaknesses in their approach (Creswell, 2014). This study was
conducted in a small graduate-level only institution in a state which boasts much higher
enrollment for graduate programs. The data presented is not indicative of all graduate-level
programs throughout the state, country, or abroad. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) also pointed out
information discovered by interviews can be skewed by the participant’s perspective versus
reality.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 131
Additionally, due to the size of the institution, the stakeholder group was small. The fact
that not all stakeholders at the institution agreed to be interviewed decreased the sample size
further. From the sample, seven were interviewed, and the number was not equal in the ratio of
admissions officers to marketing officers. While a larger sample size including other universities
within the same area as SGU could have been collected, each school has different working
relationships between the two groups, and it would have been challenging to find an institution
fully replicating the relationship between groups at SGU. If the researcher had changed
methodological approach to include interviewing senior administrators and faculty members,
they would have had additional opportunities to validate the organizational barriers which
interact with the knowledge and motivation of the staff in charge of recruiting students.
Additional limitations involved the lack of published research on areas of digital media
students consume which do not include social media. While social media is considered to be
consumed regularly by students in the target age range of graduate institutions, there are other
types of digital media students consume daily. Data regarding these types of media would have
added support to the argument that students’ attention can be captured in a variety of areas
online.
Future Research
This study was developed as an introduction to the need for future research on this topic.
The design and approaches can be used to broaden data collection and assumed influences in the
concepts described throughout the study. With more time and resources, three areas could
increase the impact of the recommendations. Using the ideas developed by this study and
creating further research on the topic will allow for a more considerable impact on the findings.
Once expanding the research, segmenting the larger pool of data into undergraduate and graduate
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 132
studies would provide those within the field valuable information to help inform their strategic
planning. There are three areas in which I recommend additional research to improve the scope
of knowledge and provide the industry with valuable insight.
The first area is the types of digital media consumed by both undergraduate and graduate
students and calls for an expanded study. Currently, the vast majority of the data available
pertains solely to consumable social media. There is minimal data on the consumption of digital
ads, retargeting, SEO success, and other tactics used to gain consumers’ attention. By
conducting an exhaustive search of all of the ways students give attention to brands outside of
academics, higher education marketers would see the totality of their options to infuse
themselves into that group.
The second area involves current practices of admissions and marketing departments in
higher education. It would be beneficial to find the types of departments that exist and the
differences in them between undergraduate and graduate institutions. Knowing the types of
responsibilities for each group and how they interact and either work together or work separately
to recruit students to their institutions would be of benefit to HEI leaders. The interaction of both
groups and their functional job responsibilities will provide context as to who can influence the
gaps at each institution and whether there can be universal recommendations regardless of their
working relationships. Additional data can be collected at the same time on budgets and budget
requests for each area and how they impact the institution’s recruitment goals. The most crucial
information to be evaluated are the trends in dollars and time spent on marketing and digital
marketing by type of institution. Further contextual conclusions can be drawn after evaluating
similar criteria of for-profit educational institutions and their performance on achieving
recruitment goals.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 133
Finally, the organizational support and climate for the marketization of education is a
concern for higher education. Further research on faculty and academic administrators’ thought
process would be beneficial to normalizing the practice. Understanding the concerns and
documenting the communication practices in areas where the concern is prevalent will help with
an education and communication plan to gain support from internal communities.
Conclusion
Higher education institutions are sophisticated in concept but traditional in practice.
Since the first school was founded in 1636, they have grown nationally to provide an educational
experience of growth and exploration for students both young and old. As funding has increased
and decreased with the state of the economy, many institutions focus on the financial aspects of
providing this education. In most instances, these non-profit institutions offer much more value
to the students than they charge for tuition. Increasing the focus on the monetization of
individual programs will help fund the institution’s foundational programs.
This study focused on the admissions and marketing officers who are responsible for the
recruitment of students into the top of the enrollment funnel of the school. These stakeholders
are assigned goals to recruit the number of students needed to satisfy the budget and to attract the
highest quality of students who will enroll and graduate as high-caliber alumni for the institution.
This study focused on the knowledge, motivational, and organizational gaps that prevent these
stakeholders from using digital media in their recruitment tactics. Specifically, the data from this
study identified the influences responsible for these gaps.
The discovery of validated gaps in each of the three areas studied allowed for
recommendations to close those gaps. Both the admissions and marketing officers had
knowledge deficiencies in the types of digital media used by students and which ones could be
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 134
used to gain their attention for recruitment activities. Also, they were unaware of how to
advocate and request budget and other types of support for activities which would gain students’
attention. The motivation of the admissions officers, in particular, was called into question
because there was an unconfirmed apprehension that lowering the cost per acquisition by using
digital media would eliminate jobs. Consequently, the marketing officers showed a fear of
spending a significant amount of time learning new recruitment tactics for a goal for which they
were not personally held accountable. All responses indicated a positive and collaborative
environment, despite feelings from the faculty that marketing was not a required expense. Each
group described supervisors as supportive and approachable, enabling their understanding of
how to gain capital investment in their ideas.
As a result of data analysis, a comprehensive improvement plan was developed following
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) model, which gives specific ways in which the stakeholders
can improve their goal achievement and increase support outside of their functional areas. The
recommendations for the stakeholders in this study are (a) evaluation of data collection of current
and incoming students’ digital usage, (b) launching a job training program to learn the types of
digital media which can be used for admissions recruiting, (c) developing a job aid on steps to
make a case for budget support, (d) building a learning community for both groups to support
each other’s development, and (e) monitoring the progress of the program using task rewards to
encourage participants. By implementing the recommendations and potential solutions to this
study, the admissions and marketing officers at SGU will see the value in using digital media to
increase their effectiveness in recruiting students through the top of the enrollment funnel and
can decrease the current cost per acquisition of an enrolled student.
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 135
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APPENDIX A
REQUEST FOR INTERVIEW PARTICIPATION
Hello [Insert Name Here],
Your background matched with the qualifications for a review of research of a
pseudonym institution called Science Graduate University that is part of a doctoral research
project being conducted through USC Rossier School of Education. Your participation is
requested for a one-hour interview of admissions and marketing officers of Science Graduate
University. The purpose of the discussion is to gain a fundamental understanding of the factors
influencing a graduate institution’s use of digital media in recruiting efforts. As a vital member
of the admissions process for the institutions, you possess valuable information and experience
that will inform the researcher’s study. While the researcher works for your institution, this study
is not endorsed by or affiliated with the institution. This study fulfills a requirement for the
researcher in their doctoral program at USC Rossier School of Education.
Please know that your participation in this interview is entirely voluntary. Your identity
will be kept confidential, and pseudonyms will be used throughout the study. The meetings will
be conducted by a third party who is not affiliated with your institution but will be provided the
necessary background to complete the interviews. All information and responses collected
during the meetings will be treated confidentially with the third party who will give the
researcher summary reports.
If you decide to participate, the third party interviewer will be asking for your permission
to record during the interview, to provide backup if needed to summarize your comments after
the meeting. After the discussion, you will have the opportunity to review the transcripts.
Additionally, at any time during the interview, you can decline to answer a question or withdraw
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your participation in the conversation and study. Your answers will not be shared with anyone
within your institution, nor tied to your name and communication. The only person who will
have access to your responses will be the independent third party.
The president of your institution has approved of the study as not being sponsored by the
school, and all data will be used solely for the researcher’s final dissertation. I have also received
IRB approval from the University of Southern California approving of my research and data
collection process. I sincerely hope you are willing to participate in this interview to help better
inform the study of how graduate institutions can use digital media in their efforts to recruit
students.
If you would like to participate, please use the link provided in the email. If you would
like to schedule a different time with the interviewer, please contact Leslie Hughes at
lhughes@usc.edu to set a date and time for the interview that will accommodate your schedule.
Thank you in advance for your participation.
Sincerely,
Kelly Esperias
Doctoral Candidate - Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

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APPENDIX B
Interview Protocol
Name (pseudonym): _________________________________________
Location of Interview: __________________________________________
Date/Time of Interview: _________________________________________
Introduction to Interview
Hello, thank you for agreeing on both to take this interview and for helping me
understand some information on the admissions and marketing process that your institution has.
Your responses and thoughts on the subject will be invaluable to the researcher as she studies the
various aspects of graduate school recruitment and enrollment. The purpose of the study is to
evaluate the enrollment funnel and how graduate admissions processes are affected by the
marketing used to gain potential students attention to attract them to the institution. While the
researcher serves in a leadership position for the institution, her research is completely separate
from her position here at the institution, and your answers will remain anonymous to remove
identifying information from them. All data will be kept in a secure place, and your responses
will not be shared with your supervisor or any leadership within the institution. If there is
anything you would like to discuss the study and its purpose, we can do so before the interview
begins. Is it okay if for memory purposes when documenting information of our interview that I
use a tape recorder to record our conversation? Again, it will only be used to help me remember
the details of our conversation, and I will be using pseudonyms when quoting the interviews. I
have also provided copies of a form, allowing my request to record our conversation. If you sign
both copies, you will get to keep one, and I will keep the other in a confidential file with this
recording. All questions should be fairly straightforward, but if at any time you don’t feel
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comfortable answering a question or if you want to cease your participation in the study, please,
feel free to let me know. Do you have any final questions before we begin?
Interview Questions for Stakeholders
1. Can you tell me a little about your background and what you do here?
a. Follow-up: How long have you been in this current position?
b. Follow-up: What is your experience in admissions or marketing?
c. Follow-up: What are the aspects that you like most and least about your
functional responsibilities in this position?
2. Can you tell me about your department and its functions as it relates to admissions and
marketing?
a. Follow-up: What are the differences in challenges between graduate and
undergraduate admissions and the tactics used in them?
3. How do the marketing and admissions departments work together or separately in
recruiting potential students to the institution?
a. Follow-up: Are there goals for the admissions officers of the school, and if there
are, is it shared with the marketing officers?
4. Is digital media currently used in the institution’s admissions process?
a. Follow-up: If so, what is explicitly used and how?
5. Is there use of digital marketing within the institution? (Digital marketing for this purpose
will be defined as a search engine optimization, retargeting, and paid search activity.)
6. Can you tell me what you know about potential students of this institution use of social
media?
a. Follow-up: If they are users, which ones are the most prevalent?
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b. Follow-up: Does this information inform your admissions strategy? And if so,
how?
7. What is your knowledge of marketing as it relates to the admissions process?
a. Follow-up: How much marketing is involved in the admissions recruitment
process?
b. Follow-up: How is the admissions recruitment process part of the marketing
efforts of the institution?
8. Talk to me about the revenue streams from admissions benefit the institution?
a. Follow-up: Do you know what percentage of the revenue budget is attributed to
tuition revenue?
b. Follow-up: Can you give us an idea of how the revenue streams of the school are
communicated with the faculty and staff?
9. Are the marketing and admissions goals, missions, and strategies for the organization to
communicate with all members of the institutional community?
a. Follow-up: If so, how is it presented and how often does this occur?
10. What kind of effect do you believe that admissions recruiting has on the institution and
its students?
11. What type of feedback do you receive from incoming students on how they first learned
about the institution?
a. Follow-up: Is there any additional information they give you on how they decided
to enroll in the institution as an enrolled student?
12. To what extent are you involved with the strategic planning and budget development of
your office?
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 162
13. Walk me through how you would approach your supervisor with the idea that involves a
subject matter that they do not have prior knowledge?
14. If you were to implement a new project in your department to attract more students, what
is the process?
15. Can you describe a time where you have interacted with the executive cabinet on an
admissions and marketing strategy and its measurement?
a. Follow-up: How did that go? Can you tell me about the process and its outcomes?
16. Can you talk to me about the goals and objectives within your department?
a. Follow-up: What are your roles and responsibilities concerning admissions and
marketing?
b. Follow-up: How are they communicated or presented to the entire institutional
community?
17. Can you talk to me about the organizational climate of the institution?
a. Follow-up: How would you describe, communication, willingness to innovate,
and management and leadership?
18. How does your institution define success?
a. Follow-up: How are successes measured or celebrated?
19. How does your institution define failures?
a. Follow-up: How are failures measured?
20. How does your institution view successes or failures within your department and others?
21. Is there anything that we have not covered in the questions that would help inform the
researcher on any other aspects of using digital marketing in the admissions process?
22. Are there any final thoughts that you would like to add?
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 163

Thank you for your answers today and sharing your time for this study. It is wonderful to
be able to learn your thoughts and perspectives on graduate school admissions and marketing and
how it relates to the larger institutions goals. I will be sharing your thoughts and feedback with
the researcher, and if you are interested in the findings, I will give the researchers contact
information to you. Also, if there is anything you think of after this interview that you might
have forgotten, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you again for your time.

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 164
APPENDIX C
Immediate Post-Program Evaluation Instrument
(Measuring Kirkpatrick Levels 1 &2)
Instructions: Your feedback is an essential part of this program. Our goal is to make this
program an iterative process that is consistently reviewed and refined to give admissions and
marketing officers the best program to support innovation in the recruitment of incoming
students.
1. I felt compelled to participate and engage with others regarding the program. (Level 1-
Engagement)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
2. I found the discussions and workgroups during the program to be helpful in my current
and future learning. (Level 1-Engagement)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
3. Throughout the program, I was able to relate and implement the content directly to my
current position. (Level 1-Relevance)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
4. If given the opportunity, I would voluntarily participate in this program again due to its
direct correlation to my abilities to innovate in my position. (Level 1-Customer
Satisfaction)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

5. I am knowledgeable about the time spent on each type of digital media that different
constituencies of students use. (Level 2-Declarative Knowledge)
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 165
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

6. Regarding using SEO, retargeting, and digital media ad buys, please indicate your
comfortability to engage in them and use their metric platforms for measurement of
effectiveness. (Level 2-Procedural Knowledge)
a. Not comfortable. Would not be able to initiate an ad campaign without
assistance.
b. Somewhat comfortable. Would be able to initiate an ad campaign without
assistance but would need help with the analysis of metrics.
c. Very comfortable. Would be able to initiate an ad campaign and analyze its
metrics without assistance.
d. Advanced knowledge. Can develop, implement, and measure my own
digital media campaigns on all platforms.
7. Digital advertising through digital media to prospective students will increase the number
of students we get through the top of the enrollment funnel. (Level 2-Attitude)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
8. I can incorporate what I have learned into my current practices in my position at SGU.
(Level 2-Confidence)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
9. I will prioritize time to practice this new skill and incorporate it into our strategic
objectives for the division to help increase the number of students we get through the top
of the enrollment funnel. (Level 2-Commitment)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 166
APPENDIX D
Immediate Post-Program Evaluation Blended Instrument
(Measuring Kirkpatrick Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4)
Instructions: Your feedback is an essential part of this program. Our goal is to make this
program an iterative process that is consistently reviewed and refined to give admissions and
marketing officers the best program to support innovation in the recruitment of incoming
students.
1. The training learned in this workshop is directly applicable to the areas of focus for my
department at SGU. (Level 1 Relevance)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
2. Please give an example of the areas that you feel we're the most applicable to your areas
of focus for your department. (Level 1 Relevance)
3. What areas of the program do you believe that you could not apply to your areas of focus
for your department? (Level 1 Relevance)
a. If any, could the program have made a more explicit connection for you, and if so,
how? (Level 1 Relevance)
4. Is there anything that you did not learn during the program that you wish you would
have? Any areas that were not covered by a specific type of digital media? (Level 2
Knowledge Skills)
5. What is your confidence in using the skills the program covered before, and now after the
program? How have they changed? (Level 2 Confidence)
6. I have used the majority of the skills learned during the program in my work processes.
(Level 3 Transfer)
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 167
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
7. If you answered disagree, or strongly disagree to number 6, please circle all reasons that
apply. (Level 3 Transfer)
a. Much of what I learned I could not implement successfully.
b. I am still not comfortable with the majority of the topics covered in the program.
c. I do not feel confident applying the knowledge without assistance.
d. I don’t have the time to dedicate to the practice of the material.
e. I don’t think that the knowledge from this program will help me meet my goals.
f. My supervisor doesn’t support or encourage it.
g. Other (please explain):
8. Is there anything additional that could help you implement what you learned in the
program to your current job? (Level 3 Transfer)
9. My supervisor regularly checks in on how my program knowledge is being used and asks
if I need additional support. (Required Drivers - Encouraging)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
10. I participate in group collaboration sessions with those who have participated in the
program to share stories and lessons learned after implementing on our own. (Required
Drivers - Encouraging)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
11. I receive positive reinforcement from the measurement of data that shows the successful
implementation of the knowledge I have learned. (Required Drivers - Rewarding)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 168
12. Senior leaders on campus acknowledge my work at applying this knowledge and provide
praise and affirmation regarding the results of these efforts. (Required Drivers -
Rewarding)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
13. My supervisor and I discuss goals that we developed after the program to evaluate my
performance using what I learned. (Required Drivers - Reinforcing, Monitoring)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
14. My supervisor and colleagues hold me accountable for practicing and using the
information learned during the program, and I am required to present the results of the
practice regularly. (Required Drivers - Monitoring)
Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
15. The following are the results of applying what I learned (circle all that apply): (Results
and Leading Indicators)
a. Engagement on social media platforms has increased.
b. Content on social media platforms has increased.
c. The number of inquiries at the top of the enrollment funnel has increased.
d. The amount of applications submitted has increased.
e. The number of views on the admissions pages has increased.
16. Do you have any suggestions on how this program could be improved or better supported
for you and your colleagues to experience success?

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 169
APPENDIX E
Inquiry Leads

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 170
APPENDIX F
Marketing Source

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 171
APPENDIX G
Admissions Pipeline

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 172
APPENDIX H
Geography Map

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 173
APPENDIX I
Distance Groupings Map

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 174
APPENDIX J
Yield Rate

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 175
APPENDIX K
Admissions Efficiency

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 176
APPENDIX L
Staff Performance

DIGITAL MEDIA IN ADMISSIONS 177
APPENDIX M
Performance to Goal

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study was developed to evaluate the use of digital media in increasing prospective student inquiries through the top of the enrollment funnel at a graduate university by 4%. This study was conducted using a gap analysis framework to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs of the school’s admissions and marketing officers. Data were collected through interviews to answer three research questions: (a) What are the stakeholder’s knowledge and motivation related to increasing the use of digital marketing in admissions to increase enrollment in key programs by 4%? (b) What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and stakeholder knowledge and motivation? (c) What are the recommended knowledge, motivations, and organizational solutions? ❧ There were factual, conceptual, and procedural knowledge issues with regard to the use of digital media and funding activities. Motivational gaps pertained to time management and self-efficacy in learning new technologies. The organizational needs involve the promotion of admissions goals and the acceptance of education as a marketable entity by faculty, staff, and administration. ❧ After the study, the researcher provided comprehensive training, monitoring, and evaluation plan. To make a substantial impact on the volume of individuals exposed to the institution’s academic opportunities, the school needs to use varying types of digital media to broaden its reach. The recommendations allow both the stakeholders and their supervisors to consistently evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and its goal of increasing inquiries to the school by 4%.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Esperias, Kelleen Scanlan (author)

Core Title Using digital marketing to reach students in graduate school admissions: an innovation study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 11/06/2019

Defense Date 08/27/2019

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

Tag admissions,advertising,digital media,Higher education,Marketing,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Hasan, Angela (committee chair), Lucido, Jerry (committee member), Malloy, Courtney (committee member)

Creator Email kellyesperias@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-231658

Unique identifier UC11673559

Identifier etd-EsperiasKe-7899.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-231658 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-EsperiasKe-7899.pdf

Dmrecord 231658

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Esperias, Kelleen Scanlan

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