Demystifying Tuition? A Content Analysis of the Information Quality of Public College and University Websites

被引:11
作者
Davis, Laura A. [1 ]
Wolniak, Gregory C. [2 ]
George, Casey E. [3 ]
Nelson, Glen R. [4 ]
机构
[1] Univ Chicago, Consortium Sch Res, Chicago, IL 60637 USA
[2] Univ Georgia, Inst Higher Educ, Higher Educ, Athens, GA 30602 USA
[3] Univ Louisville, Higher Educ Adm, Louisville, KY 40292 USA
[4] Idaho State Univ, Finance & Business Affairs, Pocatello, ID 83209 USA
关键词
tuition; university websites; information quality; content analysis; website design; STUDENT PRICE RESPONSE; FINANCIAL-AID; HIGHER-EDUCATION; PERCEIVED EASE; IMPACT; ACCEPTANCE; ENROLLMENT; DIVERSITY; INCREASES;
D O I
10.1177/2332858419867650
中图分类号
G40 [教育学];
学科分类号
040101 ; 120403 ;
摘要
Colleges and universities increasingly rely on their websites to recruit students and convey information about tuition and costs of attendance. Given evidence of growing complexity in institutional tuition policies and cost-setting practices, the study examined how institutions' websites present financial information to the public. Through content analysis of website data from 50 public colleges and universities, researchers sought to characterize patterns in the scope and quality of tuition information on institutional websites and to understand how these patterns might influence individuals' conceptions of tuition and costs. The findings point to variation in informational quality across dimensions ranging from clarity of language use and terminology, to consistency and coherence of visual displays, which accompany navigational challenges stemming from information fragmentation and discontinuity across pages. Implications for research and improved institutional practice are discussed.
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页数:27
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