Framing of Student Veterans in Higher Education Institutions' Marketing Messages

Veterans are a growing student population in institutions of higher education in the U.S., and universities adopt a variety of marketing efforts to recruit them. With a focus on university marketing messages as a targeted and public way for universities to attract student veterans, the current study examines how student veterans are framed and presented in marketing messages. Qualitative analysis of the marketing messages put forth by 110 schools ranked as top 10 Military Friendly® across 11 school types revealed three types of message framing: (1) deficit/challenge-based, (2) strength-based, and (3) support-based. The analysis revealed that most of the military-friendly schools' marketing messages do not draw on strengths discourses to recruit student veterans. Rather, isomorphic messages communicate a deficit framing of student veterans through the subtle characterizations of student veterans as challenged and in need of institutional support to facilitate their success. Calling for a shift from deficits to strengths, this article discusses the implications of a strength discourse on universities' marketing and student recruitment and engagement efforts.