“D-III students deserve better”: strategic communication with college stakeholders

Abstract

Research methodology

This case is based solely on secondary, publicly available information. Sources include the X social media platform, Anna Maria College’s (AMC) website and the Massachusetts-based Spectrum News.

Case overview/synopsis

AMC administrators knew student-athletes held a stake in the institution’s success. After all, over 40% of the College’s students played on its 13 Division-III (D-III) teams, which meant a significant portion of the private institution’s tuition and student fees were paid by student-athletes. But student-athletes were not AMC’s only stakeholders. In Spring 2024, this came to a head when the College found itself intervening as a faculty member and his student-athletes struggled to communicate with one another. AMC administrators were left wondering: How should they reconcile the competing needs of their diverse stakeholder groups?

Complexity academic level

This case and its accompanying teaching note are appropriate for lower-level undergraduate organizational communications classes that explore how stakeholder theory can drive messaging development. The case was tested in the classroom with upper-level undergraduate students in a strategic managerial communication course. It was embedded in a unit that focused on stakeholder management and communication, and it should be a prerequisite to a unit in which students build on the case’s content to develop full, multi-touch communication campaigns.

Citation

Miller, L.N. (2024), "“D-III students deserve better”: strategic communication with college stakeholders", , Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/TCJ-06-2024-0184