Communication of the university social responsibility

Examining news about the Széchenyi István University in local online media

Abstract

The paper examines the university social responsibility with a focus on its communication in theory and practice using the example of the Széchenyi István University in Győr. Although the concept of university social responsibility has existed for nearly 20 years, the range of research and literature on the subject still falls far short of that of corporate social responsibility. While there are case studies from all over the world about the social responsibility of local universities, the scope of analysis of the topic is very narrow. The communication of the university social responsibility is also a rarely analysed topic in both the Hungarian and international literature. This study attempts to investigate the university social responsibility communication in the local online media based on quantitative and qualitative content analyses. Universities can reach a lot of people by using websites and social media, and online media can also be an important platform to communicate their social responsibility activities. Communication can contribute to the reputation and even to the competitiveness of universities. The main finding of the study is that news about the social responsibility activities of the Széchenyi István University can be found in the local online media. Based on this fact a wide range of social responsibility activities are assumed at the university. On the one hand, the research results can help institutions to develop conscious communication of their social responsibility activity, and on the other hand, they can be useful for the research community by contributing to studies related to the topic.