DEFINING STUDENT SUCCESS AND IDENTIFYING THE RHETORICAL APPEALS THAT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES USE TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE PURSUIT OF HIGHER EDUCATION DEGREES

Abstract

The purposes of the study included examining how four-year institutions of higher education define student success, measuring student success, and examining how words associated with student success were used to appeal to people interested in college degree attainment. Information from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education was used to obtain a sample of 30 academic institutions with similar attributes to Indiana State University. Websites from Academic Affairs, Office of the President, and Student Affairs were examined for mentions of student success. Burke’s work with rhetorical appeals and the dramatistic pentad was used to analyze and interpret the mentions of student success. Student success was not clearly defined or measured at the institutions sampled for the study. Figures of speech were used on college and university websites that created the impression of a parental environment in relation to the lives of college students.