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    A Model of Rhetorical Legitimization and the Case of Quality Assessment in Higher Education

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    Issue Date
    2014-12-31
    Author
    Berry, Alison Nicole
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    130 pages
    Type
    Dissertation
    Degree Level
    Ph.D.
    Discipline
    Communication Studies
    Rights
    Copyright held by the author.
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    Abstract
    The Department of Education (DoE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) are regulatory agencies in the system of accreditation that influence both the quality and reputation of colleges and universities. Recent criticism (e.g., Butler, 2012; Obama, 2013b; Weissburg, 2009; Wellman, 1998) of accreditation processes in the United States and changing legislation (i.e., DoE, 2014e) brought attention to how stakeholders perceived these organizations. This dissertation explored the accreditation-related, web-based rhetoric of the DoE and CHEA to uncover how these organizations responded to stakeholder concerns regarding higher educational quality assessment. Grounded in legitimacy theory (Chung, 2010), a Rhetorical Legitimization Model was developed to illustrate the strategies used by the DoE and CHEA. Both organizations: (1) employed the legitimizing strategy of isomorphism that encouraged regulatory legitimacy, (2) utilized impression management that encouraged pragmatic legitimacy, and (3) engaged in a dialogic approach that encouraged normative legitimacy. This study also found that, although the rhetorical strategies used by the organizations were strikingly similar, the DoE and CHEA varied in the utilization of impression management and a dialogic approach to legitimization. The results of this study likely provide valuable information to practitioners and researchers regarding how accreditation-related organizations utilize rhetoric to influence legitimacy.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/18098
    Collections
    • Communication Studies Dissertations and Theses [127]
    • Dissertations [2980]

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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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