DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2017.v05i07.023

Pages: 779-795

The concept of organizational image has been emphasized in the field of marketing and business perspective. However, there has been little research in the area of organizational image in universities. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of students’ social identity development on the university image. The participants were drawn from four universities; two public universities and two private universities in Kenya. The target population for the study included all the fourth year students in the selected universities. Data were collected by use of interviews. The findings indicated that students’ identification with the university could be linked to student satisfaction with the university. Students who were satisfied with their degree programmes and university were found to engage in various behaviors that benefited them and the university, such as engaging in co-curricular activities as well as positively interacting with the institution. In addition, the quality of relationships between students and their lecturers is largely determined by the class size. Student-to-student relationship on the other hand is determined by the students’ level of interaction with the university environment. The administration and governance of the universities shape the students’ social identity. The conforming or non-conforming to the rules by the students dictates how they view their university. The study concludes that a students’ social identity development plays a significant role in shaping the university image. The study further recommends that institutions of higher education should come up with impressive and high status activities and facilities to enhance development of students’ social identity and in turn enhance the university image.