Grounded in Benoit's image repair theory and the scansis framework proposed by Coombs and Tachkova, this research examined the digital image repair strategies (Facebook)
employed by US public universities across five scansis contexts through a mixed-methods
approach (i.e., quantitative and qualitative). The researcher also analyzed users' comments to
determine how the public reacted to various image-repair posts. The overall results indicated that
bolstering, stonewalling, and corrective action were the three most popular strategies among
public universities. The researcher noticed that users' reactions to the first two strategies were
highly polarized and nuanced. Interestingly, corrective action elicited overwhelmingly negative
responses and sentiments. People commonly questioned the attitudes of universities and
expressed dissatisfaction with the changes they made following the scandals. Overall, the study
presented valuable insights for university public relations practitioners on repairing institutions'
image under varied scansis contexts.
