An Investigation on The Role of Corporate Communication on Student Retention in Institutions of Higher Learning: A Case of Daystar University

Abstract

This study investigated the role of corporate communication on customer retention and the strategies used by corporate affairs in Daystar University to retain the internal customers who are the students. The objectives were to determine the role played by corporate communication on student retention, establish the drivers that can be used for corporate participation to enhance student retention and to assess the corporate communication strategies used in the institution. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were employed. A descriptive research design was used with a target population of 400 students who had been in the institution for a period of more than two years. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of the respondents, questionnaires and interviews were used in data collection. The results indicated that corporate affairs efforts to retain students through corporate communication include email, infospot, Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. Faculty support at 32.2% was cited as critical to student retention. Some of the respondents 26% believed that the institution is not making enough effort to reach their internal publics but concentrated more on the external publics. The findings revealed that there was still a lot to be done for student satisfaction in Daystar which would lead to student loyalty and finally to student retention. The researcher concluded that the corporate affairs department of Daystar University ought to improve on corporate communication that will aid in customer satisfaction and hence contributing great relationship between the institution and the stakeholders. The study recommended that the institution should have a designated team working together with the PR team for continuous monitoring and assessment of both internal and external environment so as to ensure that the institution's credibility with its internal and external stakeholders is upheld.