[Commlist] CfP: Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS) - "Changes in communication in, from, and about higher education institutions"

Thematic Section on "Changes in communication in, from, and about higher 
education institutions"

Studies in Communication Sciences (SComS)

Deadline: December 12, 2021

Edited by Silke Fürst, Daniel Vogler, Isabel Sörensen, Mike S. Schäfer 
(University of Zurich, Department of Communication and Media Research 
IKMZ, Switzerland)

We are seeking contributions for a thematic section of Studies in 
Communication Sciences (SComS) exploring changes in communication of 
higher education institutions. SComS is a peer-reviewed journal of 
communication and media research with platinum open-access (no article 
processing charges).

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are pivotal organizations in modern 
societies (Schäfer & Fähnrich, 2020). In past decades, the higher 
education sector has expanded considerably in many countries, with rapid 
increases in research output, growing student enrollment, and newly 
founded colleges and universities. New public management reforms and a 
growing need for societal legitimation have led many HEIs to prioritize 
communication, i.e., to establish communication offices, pursue 
branding, marketing, and reputation management, and to professionalize 
their communication efforts on traditional channels, websites, and 
social media (Davies & Horst, 2016; Elken, Stensaker, & Dedze, 2018; 
Marcinkowski, Kohring, Fürst, & Friedrichsmeier, 2014; Raupp & 
Osterheider, 2019; Schwetje, Hauser, Böschen, & Leßmöllmann, 2020; 
Vogler & Schäfer, 2020). This has resulted in competition for public 
visibility, involving researchers, HEI leadership, and professional 
communicators at central levels, research centers, and departments 
(Crettaz von Roten & Entradas, 2018; Entradas et al., 2020; 
Friedrichsmeier & Fürst, 2012; Koivumäki & Wilkinson, 2020; McKinnon, 
Black, Bobillier, Hood, & Parker, 2019; Rödder, 2020; Watermeyer & 
Lewis, 2018). This competition could fuel the mediatization of 
scientific organizations (Peters, Heinrichs, Jung, Kallfass, & Petersen, 
2008; Scheu, Volpers, Summ, & Blöbaum, 2014) and poses new risks and 
challenges, from unintended and potentially dysfunctional effects to 
scandals and crises (Fähnrich, Danyi, & Nothhaft, 2015; Schwarz & Büker, 
2019). However, scant research has been conducted on how communication 
in, from, and about HEIs has developed over time and changed as a result 
of transformations in higher education and the media landscape. The 
Covid-19 pandemic has also had an impact on higher education 
communication that has yet to be explored. Moreover, several studies 
have focused on practices and structures of communication offices, 
whereas little attention has been paid to members of the administrative 
board (rectorate) and their changing perceptions and strategies 
regarding the public communication and representation of their 
particular organizations.

While communication offices at HEIs have expanded, journalism has 
suffered from reductions in staff and resources, resulting in an 
increasing imbalance between science journalism and university public 
relations (Göpfert, 2007; Guenther, 2019; Vogler & Schäfer, 2020). 
Researchers argue that this development poses a risk that fact-based, 
independent, and critical reporting on science could decline while the 
dissemination of strategic, affirmative, and sometimes even misleading 
information could increase (Bauer & Howard, 2009; Göpfert, 2007; 
Weingart, 2017; Wormer, 2017), thereby jeopardizing trust in science and 
HEIs in the mid-to-long term (Weingart & Joubert, 2019). However, we 
know little about these interrelations, about the quality and ethics of 
HEIs’ communication as well as about news coverage and public 
perceptions of HEIs and their changes over the past years and decades.

Existing studies indicate a growing diversity of communication formats 
and media channels addressing various stakeholders, including the 
proliferation of events and media releases as well as the increasing use 
of online channels (Lo, Huang, & Peters, 2019; Metag & Schäfer, 2017; 
Raupp & Osterheider, 2019; Vogler, 2020). While communication on social 
media allows for direct and visible interactions with stakeholders, more 
research on its actual importance and influence is needed. First results 
show that many universities use social media but fall short of utilizing 
them fully and only tend to engage in minimal dialogue with stakeholders 
(Entradas et al., 2020; McAllister, 2012; Metag & Schäfer, 2017; VanDyke 
& Lee, 2020). However, the role of social media communication – and 
online channels in general – may have undergone transformations in 
recent years and in relation to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

We invite the submission of empirical analyses and theoretical / 
conceptual contributions from scholars of organizational communication, 
communication management, strategic communication, science communication 
and journalism, higher education studies, organizational sociology, 
sociology of science, and other related fields and disciplines. We 
welcome submissions related (but not limited) to the following areas and 
topics:

  * Changes in the resources, practices, strategies, and influences of
    communication offices at HEIs
  * The professionalization of HEI communication and communicators,
    e.g., with respect to professional training, evaluations of
    communication processes and practices or in terms of ethical
    standards and reflections
  * Changing representations of HEIs in media / public / online discourses
  * The uses, perceptions, and effects of HEI communication and coverage
    among various target groups / stakeholders
  * The transformation of relationships between different actors
    involved in HEI communication, e.g., communication professionals,
    rectorates of HEIs, policy makers, scientists, journalists,
    students, citizens
  * Changes in HEI communication resulting from digitization
  * The shifting importance of crisis communication and Covid-19-related
    changes in HEIs’ communication
  * Communication in, from, and about HEIs in light of the mediatization
    of science
  * The evolving role of public visibility for the legitimation of HEIs

Submission guidelines
The journal welcomes submissions in English, German, French, or Italian, 
but the abstracts must be in English. All submissions should be uploaded 
on the SComS platform: https://www.hope.uzh.ch/scoms/about/submissions 
<https://www.hope.uzh.ch/scoms/about/submissions>.

Paper submissions will be due 12 December 2021. Final acceptance depends 
on a double-blind peer review process. The expected publishing date of 
this special issue is November 2022.However, early submissions that 
successfully pass the review process will also be immediately published 
online first. Contributions that receive positive reviews but are not 
accepted for the Thematic Section may be considered for publication in a 
subsequent SComS issue within the General Section.

For any further information please contact Silke Fürst 
((s.fuerst /at/ ikmz.uzh.ch) <mailto:(s.fuerst /at/ ikmz.uzh.ch)>).

Timeline:

  * Full papers are required no later than December 12, 2021
  * 1st review will be provided by March 15, 2022
  * 2nd submission should be submitted by May 15, 2022
  * 2nd review and notification of acceptance will be provided by July
    31, 2022
  * Final papers should be submitted by September 15, 2022
  * Publication of the Thematic Section is scheduled for November 2022

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