Marketing Merit Aid: The Response of Flagship Campuses to State Merit Aid Programs

This study examines the differences in the portfolio of institutional scholarships and the marketing of these awards between flagship campuses with and without state merit aid programs. Using content analysis techniques to analyze institutional websites of the 16 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) flagship campuses, three thematic responses emerge that characterize and illustrate the ways in which flagship campuses have shaped their own aid programs to take advantage of state merit scholarships and to advance enrollment goals. These responses can be seen through the reach of the institutional scholarships, the transparency of the university merit aid programs, and the marketing aims of the scholarship efforts.