A quick and dirty guide to effective communication within University student bodies.

1. The Medium is the
Message
Two case studies how universities
are or are not communicating
campus issues to the student
body.

2. Project Contributors:
Danyell Morris
Earl Wilson
Eric Puckett
Robert Davis
Kash Lakes

3. The University of Memphis employs
4 different types of
communication…
1. Email
2. Tiger Text
3. Twitter
4. The Daily Helmsman (Campus Newspaper)

4. In light of a recent bomb scare, the
University of Memphis
communicated effectively with
these four mediums…

5. Tiger Texts

6. Twitter

7. Email

8. The Daily Helmsman

9. There is a message within the
messages:
The University of Memphis communicates something deeper to the
student body by using these different mediums for the same issue. As
Marshall McLuhan once said, “The medium is the message.” The
Universities communicates acceptance and awareness of the diversity
within its campus walls by using each of these diverse vehicles to
communicate the same message to it’s receivers.
Additionally, it’s students (the receivers) feel validated and welcomed by
being met where they are and communicated with through their chosen
communication medium.

10. The Medium Shapes the Message
As you can see from the pictures below, each new medium the
message is communicated through creates natural parameters that
ultimately shape that message. You can see the subtle changes that
happen from details to voicing as the medium or vehicle for
communication changes from one method to another:

11. Negative Communication Methods
According to a survey taken at the University of Manchester in 2008 the
student body communicated that they were unsatisfied with the
Universities methods of communication stating these things as their
frustration:
1. Cluttered Email Messages (Too much unimportant info)
2. Lack of Diverse Mediums for Communication
3. Ambiguity with issues related to policies and administrative staff

12. Conclusion
While it is important to communicate often, it seems that the most
important component is communicating the most useful
information through a diverse set of vehicles. In this way a larger
population of the student body will receive necessary information
and will be less likely to disregard vital information due to clutter
and ambiguity.