From feed to access: Official digital media channels, information quality and student engagement orientation in higher education

Students in higher education increasingly receive academic and co-curricular information through official online pages, groups, and messaging channels. Although these channels are common, less is known about whether students experience them as complete, accurate, and retrievable digital media spaces that support participation in the wider higher education environment. This cross-sectional quantitative study examined 400 students who followed or regularly checked official digital channels in a higher education setting. The analysis measured digital channel use, perceived update quality and completeness, retrievability of prior announcements and reports, engagement behavior, and future participation intention. Results showed favorable ratings for digital media information quality. Update quality/completeness and retrievability were rated similarly, with no statistically significant difference between the two. Digital media information quality was positively associated with engagement behavior, engagement intention, and overall engagement orientation. Students in the high media-quality tier reported stronger engagement orientation than those in moderate and low tiers. The findings suggest that official digital channels can serve as useful educational support spaces when information is clear, mobile-accessible, and retrievable.