FORMATION OF A UNIVERSITY’S COMMUNICATIVE IMAGE IN THE MEDIA SPACE: STRATEGIES AND FUNCTIONS

Abstract

The relevance of the study is determined by the growing competition in the educational services market and the active efforts of universities to build a positive image for successful operation and attracting applicants. The scientific novelty lies in the introduction of the concept of “communicative image” as applied to higher education institutions. The university’s image is viewed as an information-communication construct that shapes the external perception of the educational institution at both verbal and visual levels. A model for positioning the university’s image in the media environment is developed, and the functions of the communicative image are identified: informational, presentational, axiological and communicative. The paper classifies and evaluates methods of presenting educational institutions across various channels to enhance positive visibility through the dissemination of official information about scientific achievements and ongoing events. It defines communicative strategies for image positioning and the linguistic means used to ensure communication with different public groups. As a result of the research, three types of content are identified (operational news, image-presentation, and infotainment), with the dominance of a particular function established for each, along with a description of the corresponding set of linguistic tools.