Public relations in higher education

Odnosi s javnošću predstavljaju jedan od najvažnijih komunikacijskih kanala i posrednika između institucija ili organizacija i njihovih javnosti. Kada je riječ o visokoobrazovnim institucijama, odnosi s javnošću također imaju značajnu ulogu u uspostavljanju i održavanju komunikacije s različitim javnostima, ali i u stvaranju brenda i pozitivnog imidža institucije. Budući da studenti u najvećoj mjeri čine javnost visokoobrazovne institucije, svrha je ovog diplomskog rada istražiti stavove studenata o ulozi odnosa s javnošću visokoobrazovne institucije. Teorijski dio rada čine odnosi s javnošću kao komunikacijski kanal te odnosi s javnošću u visokoobrazovnim institucijama s naglaskom na ulogu istih u izgradnji imidža i brenda navedenih institucija, dok je istraživački dio rada temeljen na ispitivanju stavova ispitanika o radu odnosa s javnošću visokoobrazovne institucije. Provedeno je primarno istraživanje metodom anketiranja na primjeru jedne visokoobrazovne institucije u Republici Hrvatskoj, a analiza je podataka provedena putem metode korelacije i linearne regresije. Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju da odnosi s javnošću u visokoobrazovnoj instituciji imaju značajnu ulogu u stvaranju i oblikovanju prepoznatljivosti i brenda visokoobrazovne institucije, a ujedno služe i kao alat za stvaranje studentske lojalnosti.Public relations represents one of the most important communication channels and mediators between institutions or organizations, and their public. In terms of higher education institutions, public relations play a significant role in establishing and maintaining communication with different publics. They also contribute to creating a positive image of the institution and its brand. Students are the most numbered public of a higher education institution and the purpose of this thesis is to investigate students' views on the role of public relations in a higher education institution. The theoretical framework consists of defining public relations as a communication channel, the same as public relations in higher education institutions, with an emphasis on their role in building the image and brand of the mentioned institutions. Primary research was conducted using the survey method of one of the higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia. The research part of the paper is based on examining the respondents' views on the work of public relations of higher education institutions, and data analysis was conducted using the correlation and linear regression method. The obtained results indicate that public relations in a higher education institution play a significant role in creating and shaping the recognition and brand of the higher education institution, and at the same time serve as a tool for creating student loyalty