Internal Branding of an AECL Department: Exploring Student Insights Regarding the Undergraduate Majors of Their Department
Keywords:
Internal Branding, Student Perceptions, Undergraduate Majors, Agricultural Education, Organizational SilosAbstract
First-year college students are entering higher education with less agricultural knowledge overall, leading to misperceptions about potential career paths associated with their chosen degree programs. Researchers in Oklahoma State University's Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership (AECL) Department's pilot undergraduate research course desired to explore students' perceptions of the department's majors and internal brand. A quantitative, exploratory survey was completed by 207 students. Students felt most knowledgeable about their chosen major, were satisfied with their major choice, and anticipated obtaining a job upon graduation based on their major. When social pressures and career readiness perceptions of the majors were analyzed according to major program, most students showed a preference for their own major among the indicators. However, results varied on the students' perceptions of other majors within the department. Agricultural communications was perceived the most positively by all AECL majors. Agricultural leadership was considered to be the most inclusive. Agricultural education was perceived to be the most important major program to the agricultural industry. It is recommended the AECL Department implement a multidisciplinary freshman orientation program, conduct a communications and branding assessment for recruitment and retention, and explore qualitatively the meaning of student perceptions of majors.
References
Alam, M. I., Faruq, M. O., Alam, M. Z., & Gani, M. O. (2019). Branding initiatives in higher educational institutions: Current issues and research agenda. Marketing and Management of Innovations, 1, 34-45. https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2019.1-03
Alshathry, S., Clarke, M., & Goodman, S. (2017). The role of employer brand equity in employee attraction and retention: A unified framework. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 25(3), 413-431. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-05-2016-1025
Baker, L., Settle, Q., Chiarelli, C., & Irani, T. (2013). Recruiting strategically: Increasing enrollment in academic programs of agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Education,54(3), 54-66. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2013.03054
Baker, L. M., & Abrams, K. (2011). Communicating strategically with generation me: Aligning students' career needs with communication about academic programs and available careers. NACTA Journals, 55(2), 32-39. https://www.nactateachers.org/attachments/article/1148/Baker_JUNE%202011%20NACTN%20Journal-8.pdf
Barrick, K. (1989). Agriculture education: Building upon our roots. Journal of Agricultural Education, 30(4), 24-29. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.1989.04024
Bianchi, C., Williams, J. J., Drew, J. C., Galindo-Gonzalez, S., Robic, S., Dinsdale, E., Morgan, W. R., Triplett, E. W., Burnette, J. M., Donovan, S. S., Fowlks, E. R., Goodman, A. L., Grandgenett, N. F., Goller, C. C., Hauser, C., Jungck, J. R., Newman, J. D., Pearson, W.R., Ryder, E. F., Sierk, M., Smith, T. M., Tosado-Acevedo, R., Tapprich, W., Tobin, T. C., Toro-Martínez, A., Welch, L. R., Wilson, M. A., Ebenbach, D., McWilliams, M., Rosenwald, A. G., & Pauley, M. A. (2019). Barriers to integration of bioinformatics into undergraduate life sciences education: A national study of U.S. life sciences faculty uncover significant barriers to integrating bioinformatics into undergraduate instruction.Plos One, 14(11), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224288
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020). Employee Tenure in 2020. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/tenure.pdf
Chapleo, C. (2011). Exploring rationales for branding a university: Should we be seeking to measure branding in the U.K. universities? Journal of Brand Management, 18(6), 411-422. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2010.53
Chen, C.-F., & Chen, C.-T. (2014). The effect of higher education brand images on satisfaction and lifetime value from students' viewpoints. Anthropologist, 17(1), 137-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2014.11891423
Colbath, S. A., & Morrish, D. G. (2010). What do college freshman know about agriculture: An evaluation of agricultural literacy. NACTA Journal, 54(3), 14-17. https://www.nactateachers.org/attachments/article/414/Colbath_September_2010_NACTN_JOURNAL-5.pdf
Copp, N. H., Black, K., & Gould, S. (2012). Accelerated integrated science sequence: An interdisciplinary introductory course for science majors. Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 11(1), A76-A81. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3592751/
Cox, S., & Naylor, R. (2018). Intra-university partnerships improve student success in a first-year success and retention outreach initiative. Student Success, 9(3), 51-64. https://doi.org/10.5204/ssj.v9i3.467
Del Rossi, A. F., & Hersch, J. (2008). Double your major, double your return? Economics of Education Review, 27(4), 375-386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.03.001
Devasagayam, R. P., Buff, C. L., Aurand, T. W., & Judson, K. M. (2010). Building brand community membership within organizations: A viable internal branding alternative? Journal of Product & Brand Management, 19(3), 210-217. https://doi.org/10.1108/10610421011046184
Dholakia, R. R. (2017). Internal stakeholders' claims on branding a state university. Services Marketing Quarterly, 38(4), 226-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332969.2017.1363580
Eldegwy, A., Elsharnouby, T. H., & Kortam, W. (2018). How sociable is your university brand? An empirical investigation of university social augmenters' brand equity. InternationalJournal of Educational Management, 32(5), 912-930. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-12-2017-0346
Erdoğmuş, İ., & Ergun, S. (2016). Understanding university brand loyalty: The mediating role of attitudes towards the department and university. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229, 141-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.07.123
Evans, N. (2012). Destroying collaboration and knowledge sharing in the workplace: A reverse brainstorming approach. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 10(2), 175-187. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2011.43
Foreman, B., Retallick, M., & Smalley, S. (2018). Changing demographics in college of agriculture and life sciences student. NACTA Journal, 62(2), 161-167. https://www.nactateachers.org/attachments/article/2730/12%20Beth%20Foreman.pdf
Fosnacht, K., & Calderone, S. M. (2017). Undergraduate financial stress, financial self-efficacy, and major choice: A multi-institutional study. Journal of Financial Therapy, 8(1), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.4148/1944-9771.1129
Franzen, G., & Moriarty, S.E. (2009). The Science and Art of Branding (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315699042
Friedman, H. H., & Kass-Shraibman, F. (2017). What it takes to be a superior college president: Transform your institution into a learning organization. The Learning Organization, 24(5), 286-297. https://doi.org/10.1108/tlo-12-2016-0098
Graunke, S., & Woosley, S. (2005). An exploration of the factors that affect the academic success of college sophomores. College Student Journal, 39(2), 367-376. https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CA133606107&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1 &it=r&llinkacces=abs&issn=01463934&p=AONE&sw=w
Guth, D. J. (2017). Building a new structure. Community College Journal, 87(5), 28-33. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=guth+2017+building+a+new+structure&id=EJ1142040
Hertel, T. J., & Dings, A. (2014). The undergraduate Spanish major curriculum: Realities andfaculty perceptions. Foreign Language Annals, 47(3), 546-568. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12099
Huddleston, T. J. (2000). Enrollment management. New Directions for Higher Education,111(7), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.11107
Joseph, M., Mullen, E. W., & Spake, D. (2012). University branding: Understanding students'choice of an educational institution. Journal of Brand Management, 20(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1057/bm.2012.13
Mazzarol, T., & Soutar, G. N. (2002). "Push-pull" factors influencing international student destination choice. International Journal of Educational Management, 16(2), 82-90. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540210418403
McKim, A. J., Greenhaw, L., Jagger, C., Redwine, T., & McCubbins, O. P. (2017). Emerging opportunities for interdisciplinary application of experiential learning among colleges and teachers of agriculture. NACTA Journal, 61(4), 310-316. https://www.nactateachers.org/attachments/article/2669/McKim_EmergingOpportunities.pdf
Milsom, A., & Coughlin, J. (2017). Examining person-environment fit and academic major satisfaction. Journal of College Counseling, 20(3), 250-262. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12073
Mourad, M., Meshreki, H., & Sarofim, S. (2020). Brand equity in higher education: Comparative analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 45(1), 209-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1582012
Ng, I. C. L., & Forbes, J. (2009). Education as service: The understanding of university experience through the service logic. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 19(1), 38-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841240902904703
Pinar, M., Trapp, P., Girard, T., & Boyt, T. E. (2014). University brand equity: An empirical investigation of its dimensions. International Journal of Educational Management, 28(6), 616-634. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijem-04-2013-0051
Punjaisri, K., & Wilson, A. (2011). Internal branding process: Key mechanisms, outcomes and moderating factors. European Journal of Marketing, 45(9/10), 1521-1537. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090561111151871
Sartain, L., & Schumann, M. (2006). Brand from the inside. Jossey-Bass.
Schmidt, H. J., & Baumgarth, C. (2018). Strengthening internal brand equity with brand ambassador programs: development and testing of a success factor model. Journal of Brand Management, 25(3), 250-265. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41262-018-0101-9
Schreiner, L. A. (2009). Linking student satisfaction and retention. Noel-Levitz.
Scofield, G. G. (1994). An Iowa study: Factors affecting agriculture students career choice.
NACTA Journal, 38(4), 28-30. https://www.nactateachers.org/attachments/article/754/Scofield_NACTA_Journal_Dec_1919-7.pdf
Simi, J., & Sudhahar, C. (2019). Dimensions of internal Branding: A conceptual study. Journal of Management, 6(1), 177-185. https://doi.org/10.34218/jom.6.1.2019.019
Stair, K., Danjean, S., Blackburn, J. J., & Bunch, J. C. (2016). A major decision: Identifying factors that influence agriculture students' choice of academic major. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 4(2), 111-125. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304494995_A_Major_Decision_Identifying_Factors_that_InfluencI_Agriculture_Students'_Choice_of_Academic_Major
Stebleton, M. J., Huesman, R. L. J., & Kuzhabekova, A. (2010). Do I belong here? Exploring immigrant college student responses on the SERU survey sense of belonging/satisfaction factor. Center for Studies in Higher Education Research & Occasional Paper Series, 13(10), 1-12. https://cshe.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/publications/rops.stebleton_et_al.immigrantstudents.9.14.10.pdf
Sujchaphong, N., Nguyen, B., & Melewar, T. (2015). Internal branding in universities and the lessons learnt from the past: The significance of employee brand support and transformational leadership. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 25(2), 204-237. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2015.1040104
Swaminathan, V., Sorescu, A., Steenkamp, J.-B. E. M., O'Guinn, T. C. G., & Schmitt, B. (2020). Branding in a hyperconnected world: Refocusing theories and rethinking boundaries. Journal of Marketing, 84(2), 24-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919899905
