Digital Pedagogical Transparency and Institutional Attractiveness: The Moderating Role of Governance Structure in Jordanian Higher Education

Abstract

In the digital world of a fast-changing environment with emerging expectations of learners, colleges need to think of creative ways of signaling to potential students to enroll in their programs. This paper presents the concept of Digital Pedagogical Transparency (DPT) as a new institutional indicator and explores its role in the institutional attractiveness (IA) at Jordanian schools. The research is based on Signaling Theory and the Institutional Trust Theory, and the authors examine the idea of the connection between DPT, in the context of university communication platforms, and IA mediated by perceived epistemic credibility (PEC) and learner-institution resonance (LIR). Applying an experimental design with a scenario, the results indicate that DPT has a strong indirect positive impact on IA via the mediating effect of PEC and LIR in their sequence. Moreover, the relationship will depend on the governance structure (GS) (public vs. private institutions). In particular, DPT has large and positive impact on credibility perceptions and resonance in public universities, but its impact is relatively more attenuated in private institutions, where students are more skeptical of institutional assertions. The results can be added to the new trends in adaptive learning ecosystems because they reveal the influence of transparency-related signals on the decision-making process of students. Practically, the research indicates that DPT practices should be strategically integrated in the communication strategies of higher education institutions in Jordan and aligned with GS to enhance the appeal of institutions.