Practices and perceptions of social media among leaders in higher education: A quantitative study

This quantitative dissertation study explored the social media practices and perceptions of 452 leaders of 142 public and private non-profit four-year degree granting institutions in the western United States. Descriptive statistics were calculated for gender, position title, age, social media use, and attitudes regarding themes revealed in a review of current literature. Then, a Spearman Rho analysis was used to measure the strength of correlation between hours using social media and rank scores of social media attitudes. The study revealed that about 85% of leaders use social media for an average of 4.54 hours per week (SD=5.59, N=452). Social media use was higher among younger leaders, and social media use among the participants was higher compared to the general population.;Frequency distributions reveal a generally positive attitude about using social media for marketing; and divided attitudes regarding using social media to enhance and support instruction. Most participants report feeling that social media does not pose a serious threat to institutions. Although participants were generally unlikely to use social media as a vehicle for transparency, a moderate positive correlation (rs=.42, p=2.99E-7) exists between hours using social media and transparency attitude. The study found a small correlation between hours of use and attitudes regarding educational enhancement (rs=.24, p=.005), and a small correlation between hours of use and attitudes regarding social media as a threat to the institution (rs=.19, p=.03). The study revealed no relationship between hours using social media and attitudes regarding marketing and recruiting (rs=.13, p=.13).