Branding Higher Education for Student Recruitment: A Shift From Academia to Career-Focused Education

This major research paper analyzes the data coded across Ryerson’s digital and social media student recruitment platforms to identify what main messages Ryerson communicates during application and enrollment periods for students. The following research questions help guide the study: What messages does Ryerson communicate about itself in the mission statement and recruitment platforms in Why Ryerson’s Facebook page, Why Ryerson’s blog posts and the Undergraduate tab on Ryerson’s website? In what ways do Ryerson’s primary branding messages change across its different social media and digital platforms? Hsieh and Shannon’s (2005) conventional qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data coded in Ryerson’s mission statement, the Undergraduate tab on the Ryerson website, the Why Ryerson Facebook page and the Why Ryerson blog during the Ontario University Fair and March Break Open House student recruitment time periods. The study led to identify the main messages Ryerson communicates during student recruitment time periods and additional patterns and themes that were not directly informed by the literature.