Dialogistic Presence on Community College Websites in Nine Megastates

Abstract

Use of Internet websites as a communication tool by community college is nearly universal. Exactly what information, functions, and links are offered varies widely among institutions. Research has reported that high school juniors and seniors, prefer to find information on the Internet during their college search process, and Noel Levitz (2006, 2007a, 2007b, 2008, 2009) has repeatedly reported this cohort's desire for electronic-based dialogue with institutional representatives. A survey was conducted to determine the extent to which community colleges incorporate dialogic loops, or two-way communication mechanisms, desired by this key target audience into their websites. A content analysis of the websites was performed using a stratified random sample of 218 community colleges in the nine megastates of California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, and Texas (Grapevine, 2009). Nearly all community colleges integrate dialogic loops on their websites, representing 98.6% of the sample (n = 215). The research also found that when community colleges use dialogic loops, they are also highly likely to incorporate Kent and Taylor's (1998, 2002) other theorized public relations, dialogic-related functions, including ease of website navigation, encouraging visitors to return to the website, and providing current and/or recently updated information. Unfortunately, community colleges are falling short in their public relations efforts to offer the type of web-based, dialogue facilitating mechanisms sought by one of their most important publics—prospective students.