Increasing your U.S. News and World Report graduate school rankings: a census of public affairs schools and their strategic communications efforts to create a tradition of distinction

摘要

Colleges and schools in today??s competitive marketplace must not only becognizant of student and faculty recruitment, but also of their positioning in rankings.This thesis seeks to determine how the use of strategic communications can play a rolein increasing student applications, the quality of student applications and fundingresources; thereby, increasing their rank as determined by the U.S. News and WorldReport. It is believed that an in-depth strategic communications plan committed to paper,and resourced properly, can increase each of these areas. Specifically, this researchexamined the top 50 ranked schools in public affairs to determine the relationshipbetween top ranked schools and their communications departments and each of theiruses of strategic communications as defined as the long-term planning, implementationand research of the use of public relations, marketing, and advertising.