Academic Staff Using University Website Profile Page for Academic Digital Branding

Abstract

The growing interest in the internet and other digital technologies transforming the practice of education has led to the emergence of novel uses of new media for engaging with stakeholders. This study explored the web profile academic staff in Nigerian universities to understand how academic staff are using the platform to position their academic brand in this digital age. The ALARA model of information search was adopted taking on a qualitative approach in understanding how information are presented and accessed on websites. The analysis revealed that academic staff are not taking ownership and responsibility for their pages, and they are making little effort to develop their academic brand in this digital age. This study contributes to knowledge of academic branding with implications for university administrators working on creating a platform for academics branding. This study also contributes to the literature on the general guidelines on usability evaluations of websites to improve staff profile webpages.