Don’t Txt Me L8r, Text Me Now: Exploring Community College Student Preferences for Receiving a Text Message from Their Institution

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjective: The objective of this study was to articulate community college student preferences for receiving a text message from their institution. Method: Using a random sampling technique, the researchers identified a group of 13 community college students (6 females, 7 males; 12 students of color) and performed in-depth interviews with these students to learn of their preferences when receiving an informative text message from their institution, such as the time of day, day of the week, and frequency of the text messaging service. Researchers also explored student preferences related to specific syntactic, semantic, and technologic elements of the text message itself. These elements include subject positionality, embedding of hyperlinks, and usage of emojis and slang. Results: From these in-depth interviews, researchers identified a set of themes regarding community college students preferences for institutional text messages: (a) students should be primed to learn what to expect from the text messaging service before it begins, (b) the first text message is critical for student engagement, (c) students want information specific to their needs, (d) the timing and frequency of the text message matters, and (e) students prefer specific syntactic, semantic, and technological elements of a text message. Contributions: This study provides insight for community college practitioners when planning and implementing text message campaigns, as well as grammatical and technological guidance when composing text messages for student audiences.