Abstract

The role of university administrators in the use of social media within higher education institutions remains an underexplored area of academic research. While much of the existing literature has focused on students’ and faculty members’ engagement with social media—examining its implications for learning, teaching, and academic identity, there is limited understanding of how administrators adopt and govern social media in their institutional roles. This study aims to fill that gap by investigating the practices, perspectives, and decision-making frameworks university administrators employ when using social media in professional contexts. Drawing on Kemmis’ theory of practice architecture, the research conceptualizes administrators’ digital practices as socially situated and structurally shaped. It explores how administrators' engagement with social media is influenced by the cultural-discursive (language and meaning), material-economic (resources and technologies), and social-political (power and organizational roles) dimensions of their institutions. Special attention is given to how administrators navigate the tension between their organizational responsibilities—such as managing institutional reputation, enforcing policy, and responding to crises—and their personal agency and digital identity. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to produce a well-rounded understanding of the topic. Surveys will capture the frequency, purposes, and patterns of social media use among administrators across a range of institutional settings. Semi-structured interviews will allow for deeper exploration into the motivations, constraints, and experiences that shape how administrators engage with social platforms. Data will be analyzed using a combination of descriptive statistics and qualitative coding, with findings triangulated to ensure validity and reliability. The outcomes of this research will inform the development of evidence-based institutional policies that support meaningful social media engagement while minimizing ethical, reputational, and operational risks. By highlighting administrators' often-invisible role in shaping digital communication within colleges and universities, the study contributes new insights to the fields of information systems, digital governance, and higher education leadership. Ultimately, this research emphasizes the need for clearer frameworks to guide administrative use of social media, offering practical recommendations and theoretical contributions that respond to the evolving demands of digital leadership in higher education.

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