THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE PERCEIVED IMAGE OF RAJAMANGALA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SUVARNABHUMI

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to: 1) study students' perception of public relations news; 2) study students' perception of the university's image; and 3) study the relationship between the perception of public relations news and the image perception among students. This was a quantitative research study. The target population consisted of 9,042 students, and data were collected from a sample of 400 respondents using an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics—including percentages, means, and standard deviations—as well as correlation analysis.

The results of the analysis revealed that the majority of the respondents were female (214 respondents), aged between 19 and 20 years (215 respondents), first-year students (233 respondents), and enrolled in the Faculty of Business Administration and Information Technology (218 respondents). Overall, the students' perception of public relations news was at a high level. Similarly, their perception of the university's image was also at a high level. Specifically, the reputation and environment aspects received the highest mean scores, followed by the activities and social service aspects, which also maintained high mean scores. Regarding the relationship between the perception of public relations news and the university's image, the results showed a statistically significant, moderate positive relationship at the .05 level. Furthermore, the perception of public relations news was significantly related to all aspects of the university's image (reputation, environment, social services, and activities) at the .05 level. Based on these findings, relevant stakeholders can utilize the results to improve public relations strategies and raise awareness, making the university more widely known to the general public.