Social Media and Retention: The Administrative Perspective at Hispanic-Serving Institutions of Higher Education

Although the Hispanic population is the fastest growing ethnic group in the nation, they are still underrepresented in colleges and universities. Educational institutions must learn to adjust to technological innovations in order to facilitate an interactive learning environment and retain more students. Being innovative, cost-effective, and efficient while implementing retention programs at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) is highly important due to the complex nature of serving a population of first-generation, at-risk college students. Using social media at HSIs could be a cost-effective and efficient manner to communicate with and engage Hispanic students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze administrative leaders’ perceptions of social media and the effect it had on student retention at four south Texas Hispanic-serving institutions. The study findings offer perspectives in the areas of culture, community, communication, collaboration, and challenges that come with new technologies to increase student retention at HSIs.