Alternative Pathways to Legitimacy: The Case of Ontario For-Profit Colleges

• In Event: 413 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Refereed Roundtable Session. Table 01. Culture and Organizations
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 04. Higher Education

Abstract

This study empirically examines how for-profit career colleges in Ontario, Canada market themselves to prospective students. It uses a mixed-methods approach in order to review the content of 489 online promotional profiles for for-profit colleges. It finds that Ontario for-profit colleges adopt several unique marketing strategies, including (1) emphasizing their expedient provision of modern, practical skills and (2) the convenience afforded by the location of their campuses. We interpret these findings through the lens of the new institutionalist theoretical perspective, highlighting how these organizations draw upon alternative symbolic resources in order to legitimate their chosen forms.

Authors

• Roger Pizarro Milian, McMaster University

• Linda Quirke, Wilfrid Laurier University