alumni futures

3 More Questions (and Answers) on Alumni Engagement

During our Higher Ed Live online discussion about alumni engagement, we answered a few questions from readers and viewers. But we didn't get to all of them. Here are answers from Charlie Melichar and Andrew Gossen to some additional comments and questions.

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Question:
How can our offices become proactive and future-thinking, versus playing catch-up (e.g., LinkedIn replacing alumni directories)?

Charlie:
Start with a clean slate. We still view problems through the lens of old solutions. Look at the news business, for example. The industry was so entrenched in papers as the delivery vehicle, they were slow to adapt to a new model to do what was ultimately most important – deliver information in the most timely way possible. We need to focus on the need, the opportunity, or the problem – and be open to changing our ways. People want a network, not a directory. People want a job, not a careers program. People want to make an impact, not a gift. How can we facilitate all of this?

Andrew:
You can’t do this unless there’s someone in your shop whose job is to pay attention to how the world is changing. They need the time to do this, and they need the experience and perspective to recognize emerging opportunities. In Cornell Alumni Affairs & Development, we ask two questions when new opportunities present themselves:

1.       Does the opportunity enable us to pursue an existing strategic goal more efficiently or effectively than we are doing now?; and

2.       Is there an emerging critical mass of alumni activity that warrants our involvement? 

Charlie’s focus on value from the user’s perspective is also essential. We aren’t employed to perpetuate ourselves and our programs; we’re employed to engage our audience. Focusing on our alumni and their evolving needs will make it much less likely that we’ll be left behind.

[Melichar: "People want a network, not a directory. People want a job, not a careers program. People want to make an impact, not a gift."]

Question:
Most donors engage without having to "be present." They send a check whenever they want. What are some non-financial analogs to this?

Charlie:
Social media is a great example of asynchronous engagement. People pick and choose the content that is meaningful them, from the sources they care about, and then do “something” with it. They like it, share it, mash it up. We need to get away from only counting engagement when it happens on our own terms (e.g., events we organize, conversations we convene) and find mutually beneficial ways to join with our constituents.

Andrew:
As Charlie suggests, it’s content. Social media. Archived video. Asynchronous games. Infographics. Memes. High-quality, on-demand engagement is a great fit with today’s highly digital lifestyle.

We could also focus on the convener role, trying to connect alumni so that they can engage with each other when it’s convenient for them, around their priorities. We make the introduction and get out of the way.

[Gossen: "Emerging platforms & techniques blur the distinction between giving and other modes of engagement – the boundaries start to collapse."]

Question:
In fundraising, should we just count donors and not worry about dollars? It's much easier to measure...

Charlie:
It depends on what you’re counting and why, but both are critical. There are engagement models that would take size of gift, whether it is a first-time gift, renewal at a higher level, and so on, as engagement measures. This underscores that there is no "one-size fits all" model. We need to tie these measures to institutional and program-level goals. That’s the way to stay relevant and nimble.

Andrew:
Emerging platforms and techniques blur the distinction between giving and other modes of engagement so thoroughly that the boundaries start to collapse. Take crowdfunding, for example. A $25 donation is definitely "giving." But receiving an almost-instant thank you from someone involved with the project is both stewardship and person-to-person engagement. The frequent, informal updates sent to donors by the project team are stewardship, but they’re also communication that fits well with culture of the social web. This may complicate measurement, but it almost certainly will better engage the donor. 

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Related articles

Online Discussion: Higher Ed Live Explores Alumni Engagement

Alumni as Volunteer Course Facilitators: 7 Reasons it Makes Sense

Last week we heard that Harvard University is recruiting alumni of a popular humanities course (The Ancient Greek Hero) to serve as volunteer mentors and discussion leaders for the MOOC-scale, online version of the class. No sooner had the Chronicle of Higher Education reported on this than a disillusioned reader commented,

Sure, we won't actually compensate you helping supervise this BS "class", but think of it as "service" to your alma mater.

Good grief... this is truly scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Another sarcastic and bitter soul opined,

Good news for adjuncts who thought they were at the bottom of the academic barrel! Harvard has come up with an even lower category. 

I'll assume for the moment that Harvard isn't proposing the alumni component as a way to further demean adjuncts, nor to trick alumni into doing something they ought not to. So then a question worth asking is why would Harvard ask alumni to serve in this capacity? Who benefits, and how?

[Why ask alumni to serve in this capacity? Who benefits, and how?]

A few reasons come to mind...

It makes the online course more functional
Content facilitators can make any course more functional, especially a humanities course where the educational currency is discussion. And it's even more true in a course with 27,000 enrolled students (as reported by the New York Times).

It connects alumni to students and to each other through volunteerism 
This is volunteerism on mutual terms. Instead of just saying "you need to help us because we don't have enough staff," they're saying, "you can put your education to work in a new way."

It may attract alumni who wouldn't volunteer in other ways
Many alumni are uninterested in socializing at mixers, or attending weeknight talks about the capital campaign. Many alumni are interested in the classics, in literature, and in the humanities. For them, this is a unique way to exercise that interest.

It adds to degree equity indirectly
If my alma mater runs open courses and those courses have high quality instruction, the quality of my own degree is maintained or even slightly increased as a result.

[Compared with handing out name tags...
this is directly connected to the graduate's educational experience]

It can connect volunteers more deeply than a generic activity can
This is a role that not just any graduate can fulfill effectively. Compared with handing out name tags, staffing the registration table, or setting up chairs and tables, this is directly connected to the graduate's educational experience.

It incorporates the academic and teaching mission of the institution
It goes beyond professional needs of alumni, and beyond the fundraising needs of the institution.

It reflects something unique to the institution
You can't take this particular class just anywhere, and you can't take it online from anyplace else. At least, not yet.

Agree or disagree? Did I leave something out? Is there a downside to this effort? Would it work in face to face classrooms, as well as online?

Leave a comment...

 

Related articles

Harvard Seeks Alumni Help With Free Online Course

Harvard's Ancient Greek Hero Course Online

Harvard Ask Alumni to Donate Time to Online Class

In Which I Attend My Own Reunion

I just got off the phone with a newspaper reporter from California. She's writing an article (see SacBee.com link below) about the effect of social media on high school and college reunions. I've worked in universities for more than two decades, so I probably should have stuck to that aspect of her topic. But I talked about Facebook and high school reunions instead.

Why?

Because today I am flying to New York for the 30th reunion of my high school graduating class. 

I attended a small public high school about 20 miles from New York City. The high school itself has long since moved to a new building, and there has never been an alumni director or an alumni organization of any kind. But 30 years later my classmates and I are eager to see each other, to make up stories about how cool we were, and to check on those yearbook "superlatives" (Spoiler: "Most likely to succeed" wasn't me!).

What I told the reporter, simply, was this: My high school reunion might not be taking place if it weren't for Facebook. The popular online platform made it easy to find a place where the vast majority of class members spend time on the internet. Facebook members reached most of the non-Facebook users via email.

Despite its reunion, there's no such organization as "the Nyack High School class of '82." But there's a community of friends and acquaintances with that name. And a very small number of dedicated volunteers, over the last several months, orchestrated the weekend of official and unofficial events that form our reunion. Significantly, during the weeks before the reunion, those of us active on Facebook have shared literally thousands of messages, Likes, photos, and comments with each other. 

[Once you're friends with someone,
you want to spend time visiting with them]

Over the last few years, some have said that Facebook's rise would doom physical reunions: "I've already heard everything about this person online – what is there left to talk about when I see them?"

But many realize that they aren't learning everything about people via Facebook. They're just becoming friends (again, or for the first time). And once you're friends with someone, you want to spend time visiting with them.

Social software doesn't complicate alumni activities. Used creatively and persistently, online networks merely enable a predictable, long-standing form of human behavior: hanging out together on the weekend. 

Photo: Vintage postcard of my high school

Related Articles:

Is Facebook cutting demand for high school reunions? (sacbee.com)

Who needs a reunion? I've got Facebook (nytimes.com)

Is Facebook replacing the need for reunions? (allfacebook.com)

Is Facebook good or bad for school reunions? (cnn.com)

Helping Volunteer Leaders Find Successors: 15 Suggestions

I recently had a lively discussion with some of my institution's top alumni volunteer leaders. The topic was volunteer leadership succession – for boards, committees, reunion classes, special interest groups, chapters, and other volunteer-led groups. I believe that a volunteer leader's most important job is to find his or her own replacement. A leader has not completely fulfilled that role until a successor is ready to take over. 

Together, we explored ways to identify and recruit the people who would succeed them in leadership positions. I've distilled here some of the tactics we discussed. 

Volunteer Leadership Succession:

1. Search for your successor right away
   It takes longer than you might think to find a suitable replacement. Begin planning and idenitfying as soon as you take over the group's leadership. 


2. Don’t overstay your own welcome
   If you love the job, you may want to stay in your leadership role as long as possible. Doing so, however, may create the impression that a leader has to serve for years, which can scare away likely successors. See also number 14 below.


3. Don’t try to do every job yourself
   Sometimes it's easier to do things yourself than to recruit helpers to whom you can delegate. But you might send the message to your potential replacements that a leader has to do all the work alone.


4. Consider a structured "order of succession"
   For medium and large volunteer groups, structuring succession (e.g., with a "president-elect" or a vice president who always succeeds the president) can stabilize succession further into the future. 


5. Seek guidance from past volunteers and current staff
   Don't do the searching by yourself. You have valuable, experienced resources who can provide eyes and ears, as well as names of likely future leaders. Use these resources.


6. Add – don't merely "replace"
   If you have someone ready and able to step up and contribute, you don't have to wait until the leadership role is vacant. Add them to the leadership ranks, creating a role if necessary. 


7. Consider co-leader roles
   Related to the the "add, don't just replace" idea is the option of having co-leaders. You don't need just a single person at the helm, especially if you have two people with complementary characteristics (e.g., a charismatic public speaker paired with a behind the scenes organizer).


8. Document your plans and achievements
   A listing of what the group has accomplished, and a road map showing a vision for the near future conveys a sense of structure. This makes new leaders more confident in their own prospects for success.


9. Have a back up candidate when possible
   Smaller groups may not have many volunteers to choose from, but if possible, identify second and even third choices (but don't necessarily let them know they're backups!). Plans change, and people can be transferred away, end up with family responsibilities, or face other unexpected demands that will cut into their volunteer time.


10. Thank and recognize volunteers
    Reinforcing the value and importance of volunteers' efforts is a key to making them feel that volunteerism is a privilege, not an obligation. Thank all levels of volunteers (not just leaders) publicly and sincerely. 


11. Create clear and finite roles
    Simple job descriptions can make volunteers feel like their roles are manageable. Ending dates, or task-based finish lines will reinforce this feeling. If volunteers feel that their jobs are too open-ended, they will worry about whether they can ever step down – and won't necessarily know when they have succeeded.


12. Attend as many alumni events as possible
    Volunteer leaders are usually front and center at their own group's events. But not always. Working a room to meet new people is a valuable way to identify people with an interest in volunteering. 


13. Remember the power of peer-to-peer relationships 
    People are more likely to donate financially when asked by a friend or other person they know personally. The same is true of volunteering. If comfortable doing so, a leader who asks a friend or acquaintance for volunteer help is more likely to get a "yes" than when asking a relative stranger. Volunteers can reach out to friends and classmates when seeking successors.


14. Be willing to stay during a transition
    Volunteers are often so relieved (and sometimes, burnt out) that when they step down they can disappear completely for a while. A volunteer leader should offer to be accessible to a successor, so that the new leader has a source of information, history, advice and – perhaps most importantly – encouragement. 


15. Use the Golden Rule
    Treat other volunteers the way you want to be treated. Did you get the support and aid you needed from other alumni and from staff? Were you treated with respect and professionalism? These are things to emulate in all your interactions with other volunteers.  

What other advice and guidance do you provide to leaders regarding leadership succession? 

Tell us by leaving a comment.

Thank you to members of the PCUAD group, to some of my university's volunteer leaders, and to members of the Alumni & Advancement Professionals' group on LinkedIn for providing some of these suggestions.

 

Do Events Have a Social Graph?

In a recent article titled The Next Big Thing, social network analyst Valdis Krebs pointed out that just as a person has a "social graph" that depicts how they connect and interact with others, a book can have a social graph too. His network map displays connections between the purchasing behaviors of individuals who bought a specific book on Amazon.com: 

Below is a network map of a very interesting new book – Too Big to Know [2B2K] by internet scholar David Weinberger. David's book is shown by the magenta node in the center of the network. Directly connected to his book are the books that Amazon mentions that customers also bought [green nodes], in addition to 2B2K. These books are probably more similar than different to 2B2K. The blue nodes are books that are 2 steps away from 2B2K, they are probably more different than 2B2K, but retain similarities also. The arrows show the direction of the majority of also-bought activity. 

His conclusion? Amazon is building an "Interests & Passions network...under the radar."

"Social Graph" of the book Too Big to Know on Amazon.com, via The Network Thinkers - Click to enlarge

It occurs to me that if a thing (like a book) can have a social graph, so can some of the "things" we use to engage alumni and donors. For example:

Events can have a social graph.

Is someone who attends a particular event more or less likely to attend certain other events? The answer could improve our target marketing for events.

Volunteerism can have a social graph.

Is someone who volunteers for a specific role more or less likely to fulfill another, specific role? The answer could improve volunteer recruitment.

[If a book can have a social graph, why can't an event?]

And directionality matters here too. For example, arrows would show which volunteer roles lead to future activities.

This is hardly a new idea. Overlay behavior onto a social graph and you're creating an interest graph. That's how several popular online services work, in a general way: Zappos, Netflix, and of course Amazon. But these sites mostly aggregate past users' behaviors to influence the next user's behavior, without those users being connected otherwise. A true "interest graph"–based system would interpret your behavior to help organizations understand why you attended that additional event, or how you felt about your volunteer experience.

Intrigued by this idea? Then see this article by Derrick Harris: The personalized web is just an interest graph away.

Do events, volunteer roles, and other engagement tools have social graphs?

If they do, should we be capturing and analyzing them?

Why – or why not? 

Related articles

• Amazon is building a social graph under the radar (thenetworkthinkers.com)
• [2b2k] Too Big to Know's network (hyperorg.com)
• Looking Beyond the Social Graph, Capsule Aims To Map the 'Experience Graph' (prweb.com)
• The personalized web is just an interest graph away (gigaom.com)

Include Alumni in Institutional Governance

"Should former students be involved in running a university?"

That's the question posed by a headline in the Guardian (UK) today.

At first, I didn't understand the question, because it seemed so obvious to me that the answer is "Yes." Sure, guidance and input from non-institutional representatives is critical to a university's governance. But there are many benefits to having alumni voices heard around the table when strategy and direction are on the agenda.

The article (which one commenter calls "under-researched") focuses extensively on one oddly specific example: Canada's Dalhousie University in the 19th century. It's not a bad example: alumni became "an integral part of university finance" when Dal hit hard budgetary times, about 50 years after the school's 1818 founding. Furthermore, says author Tamson Pietsch, alumni later received tangible benefits from their affiliation, such as library and gym access and of course, invitations to university-hosted reunions. And before 1900, Dalhousie alumni were represented on the university's governing board.

Fast-forward to the early 21st century. Around the globe, but especially in North America, it has long been standard to include graduates in governance. Not only boards of trustees, but visiting committees and a diverse assortment of Deans' councils, advisory panels, assemblies, groups of overseers, and alumni convocations, all provide alumni input.

[Why would alumni be less concerned than complete outsiders
with their alma mater's 'genuine interests'?]

Why this is beneficial? The following reasons come to mind instantly:

• Alumni are the largest institutional constituency in almost every case. As such their potential influence outside the institution is disproportionate to the influence of current "insiders" such as faculty, students, and staff.
• Alumni are the only permanent stakeholders in the success of the institution; one cannot shed alumni status.
• Alumni benefit from the institution's ongoing success and reputation; the value of your diploma increases when your alma mater's prominence rises through its achievements in research and teaching, and its graduates' accomplishments. This is "degree equity."
• Alumni are most likely to argue for rigorous admission standards, disciplined financial management, and high academic quality. 
• Alumni have almost always been the first and most effective fundraisers for universities, and have pursued all these goals as volunteers. 

In fact, alumni associations and university fundraising offices preceded by more than a century the creation of the corresponding modern professions.

Pietsch quotes London Metropolitan University's vice chancellor Gillies as saying that alumni are

exactly the kind of people universities should seek to fill their boards, because they have the "greatest lifelong stake in the institution's reputation and its protection".

[Alumni argue for rigorous admission standards, 
disciplined financial management,and high academic quality]

There are contrary arguments. In the first reader comment about this topic on the Guardian's site, an anonymous naysayer describes alumni involvement as "difficult to achieve." The commenter's views are off-base, and therefore entertaining to quote here. Alumni, s/he says, will be

more concerned with their own standing than any real desire to help. Alumni governance would not be able to avoid this issue and the danger of passing decision making powers to those with agendas outside of the institution's genuine interests would be too great. Alumni participation in HE governance is misleading. It sounds good, but is nothing more than another example of the 'big society' trying to get something for nothing, at the expense of already hard pressed graduates. Instead universities should be looking closely at their own finances and questioning why they exist in the first place

It's hard to know where to begin critiquing this diatribe, but my immediate thought was, "Why would alumni be less concerned than complete outsiders with their alma mater's 'genuine interests'?" In fact, I left a longer version of that comment on the site.

It's not all kittens and unicorns, of course. There are instances of alumni undermining their alma mater's image (usually unintentionally). Baylor and Dartmouth a few years ago, for example. But they come to mind so readily because they are prominent exceptions to the many cases where alumni input has kept institutions stable and secure over time. A 2010 report [login required] called into question the conventional wisdom behind alumni representation, but provided the somewhat paradoxical suggestion that "the best preparation for trustees is having served on another college board." 

§

What do you think?

Should alumni contribute to institutional governance? Are the risks too great? Or is the situation different at each institution? 

Please share your views in the comments. 

Photo of a skylight reflecting concrete on the Dalhousie campus, by Walter A. Aue via Creative Commons

Related articles

• Should former students be involved in running a university? (guardian.co.uk)
• Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (agb.org)

How Do You Build and Sustain a Professional Network?

Recently, in the EAIE Group on LinkedIn, group member Martin Tillman asked a simple question:

How do you build and sustain an effective professional network?

Specifically, he asked to hear from

...those who have been in the field [of international education] at least 5 to 10 years re: successful approaches...to building and sustaining your professional connections. Has it become easier or more difficult over time? Do you think the focus and context of our work creates unique opportunities to build professional connections?

This made me think about my own practice in this area over the past decade or so, and here's my answer:

I don't think there's anything unique about my profession's opportunities for building professional connections.

[This made me think about how to build – and sustain –  
an effective professional network]

For me, network-building and maintenance come mostly from the following channels, methods and sources:

1. Speaking at conferences

Presenting ideas and experiences attracts input and collaboration from people with similar problems and interests. 

2. Publishing in the profession

Writing for my peers in journals, magazines, websites, and blogs (such as Alumni Futures) generates global interaction, brainstorming, and debate around shared interests and challenges.

3. Using tools to connect with others

LinkedIn is a perfect example of a tool that accomplishes a traditional function (professional networking) in a new way (online).

4. Serving the profession

As a volunteer leader or as a contributor via professional organizations such as CASE, EAIE and other groups, on organizing committees for conferences, and in other capacities, I have met countless others who share my interest in developing deeper connections and a broader network.

How do you build and sustain your professional network?

Leave a comment.  

Image: Visual representation of my current LinkedIn network, from LinkedIn Labs. Click to view larger.

Profile: Krista Slade and the Rhodes Trust

[Updated 25 November, 2011 with link to "Networking" article from Toronto Globe and Mail.]

Alumni communities serve critical roles in many kinds of organizations – not only in schools, colleges or universities.

This article is the third in a series of short interviews with professionals from non-traditional alumni programs.

Profile: Krista Slade
Director of Advancement 
The Rhodes Trust
Oxford, UK 

Krista Slade oversees alumni, development, and communications supporting the Rhodes Scholarships at Oxford University in the UK. Krista joined the Trust in 2010, after three years as the first executive director of the Singapore-based Asia-Pacific office of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). With more than 20 years' experience in global advancement, she's worked in Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, her native Canada and now the UK. In 2010 she was honored with CASE's Crystal Apple award for outstanding teaching.

¶¶¶

Alumni Futures: Krista, what is the Rhodes Trust, and how does institutional advancement fit with its mission?

Krista Slade: The Rhodes Trust administers the Rhodes Scholarships, established in 1903 from the estate of Cecil Rhodes, who had the vision to create the first international scholarship program. His generosity has educated more than 7,000 Rhodes Scholars to date. Alumni include Nobel Laureates, Olympians, government leaders, judges, teachers, and business people. Scholars come from all corners of the globe, and share exceptional intellect and a commitment to service. We have about 4,400 living Scholars in more than 70 countries. 

[Rhodes was funded by a remarkably visionary act of philanthropy,
yet doesn't have a tradition of fundraising]

Our core mission is to operate the world's preeminent scholarship program, and ensure that we have the resources to do this in perpetuity. Our office is responsible for communicating our values, attracting the best scholarship applicants, and supporting our volunteer and fundraising infrastructure. Connecting the global Rhodes community and keeping them involved is the cornerstone of all we do. 

AF: Your educational advancement background is extensive. Which aspects of your current work are most similar to traditional alumni and development, and in what ways are your current roles different?

KS: Rhodes was funded by a remarkably visionary act of philanthropy, yet it doesn't have a tradition of fundraising. So my role is all about building a sustainable, integrated development effort from scratch. This means establishing a database, understanding different countries' tax laws, hiring, writing – what you would find in any start-up operation. We have outstanding support from leadership and a great development board. We don't have a problem identifying prospective donors; the challenge is building the infrastructure to follow up on the opportunities. It's a nice problem to have.

AF: In the future, will Rhodes benefit from following traditional advancement models, or will you need to invent new ways of engaging your audience in order to succeed? 

KS: Most of what we do follows practices used in other institutions. One aspect that differentiates Rhodes is the global and mobile nature of our alumni community. Fortunately, Scholars have an established tradition of keeping in touch with Rhodes House, dating back to the earliest days. We have a great opportunity to connect with our constituents at the grassroots level. The Warden of Rhodes House, our CEO, has met with more than half of the living Rhodes Scholars in the last two years – a remarkable, empowering feat. It also requires a huge amount of follow-up and responsiveness.

This broad consultation process is fundamental to future success, and has already created tangible outcomes. For example, we have started distributing the bios of our Scholars when they leave Oxford. This is the most-clicked item in our electronic communications. Interest in the current and future generations drives much of our philanthropy.

AF: What are you doing now that shows promise for future success? What additional resources will you need for the program to reach its full potential?

KS: Two Scholars from the class of 2009 approached me about starting a graduating class gift campaign. They secured 85% participation from the global class. The gifts were modest, but the enthusiastic response was heartening for our Trustees and alumni. Our message about why support matters is filtering out to all segments of our community. Creating this culture of asking and giving is a long-term project, but it will pay big dividends in coming years.

[Our CEO has met with more than half of the living Rhodes Scholars
in the last two years]

Another unique aspect of Rhodes is that we have a strong reputation in some markets (especially the U.S. and Canada), but are less well-known elsewhere, even in the U.K. Building a domestic donor base for the Scholarships is an area with strong potential.

The biggest operational challenge right now is recruiting and training staff members to deliver the support and infrastructure our volunteers need and deserve. We have the budget, but not the bodies. Watch this space!

Photo of Rhodes House by The Reith Lectures, via Creative Commons. Click it to view full-size.

Related resources

• Rhodes Alumni Video Interviews (rhodeshouse.ax.ac.uk)
• Video: Rhodes Warden/CEO Donald Markwell & NY Times writer Nick Kristof (vimeo.com)
• 11 Famous Rhodes Scholars (huffingtonpost.com)
• Consider These Rhodes Scholarship Tips (usnews.com)
• Networking key to survival of...Rhodes Scholarships (theglobeandmail.com)
   
  Past Alumni Futures profiles: 
• Profile: Brant Ust, USA Baseball (alumnifutures.com)
• Profile: Dean Dwigans, Marshall European Center (alumnifutures.com)  

6 Online Outcomes & 3 Case Studies: Thunderbird, Part II

In our last article we saw a few of the guidelines the Thunderbird Global School of Management (Arizona, USA) uses to shape its interaction with alumni via Twitter and LinkedIn.

This week they share some specific outcomes from these efforts, as well as a few challenges and success stories.

 

Key Outcomes from LinkedIn
Thunderbird counts 25% of its 40,000 alumni among its LinkedIn Group. Here are key results, with "how to" tips:

Outcome 1: Countered the impression that Thunderbird didn't do enough to help alumni obtain jobs
Katie Mayer, alumni relations coordinator, says: "Complaints about this issue have decreased from several per week to virtually none." How did they do it?

• Posting jobs and career tips regularly
• Giving real-time access to Career Management Center staff
• Encouraging alumni to post job openings
• Actively matching alumni with one another for networking

Outcome 2: Identified and tested a new giving opportunity
How did they do it?

• A Campaign appeal via LinkedIn, through a Group notification (which hits e-mail boxes and posts automatically as a "Discussion"). The appeal was a direct ask from Mayer, their community manager. 
• "This was the second-most successful appeal of any kind all year, resulting in more than 100 gifts in a few days, plus numerous comments – all positive." 
• Not over-reaching. Mayer: "This tool is powerful, so we’ve decided to use it only once per year. There was something about asking as a person, instead of as the institution, that touched this group."

Outcome 3: Created a closer relationship with alumni
Thunderbird now communicates with alumni more via LinkedIn than via e-mail. Mayer: "There's a more personal connection because of the profile photo and bio. Alumni feel that they already know us when we meet in person."

Outcome 4: Generated more balanced Group conversations
A larger number of members means more diverse viewpoints, instead of a handful of vocal alumni.

 

[Thunderbird communicates with alumni more via LinkedIn than via e-mail]

 

Key Outcomes from Twitter
Half of Thunderbird's content is purely informative and focused on international business – it is a global management school after all. Thunderbird's Mayer and colleague Samantha Novick subscribe to various digital news outlets to get timely content to share with followers. 

For fun sometimes they'll post trivia questions from The Economist Book of Facts. Novick: "Since more than half our students are international, we Tweet holidays around the world. We schedule Tweets for certain times to take care of our alumni who are in time zones throughout Europe and Asia."

Outcome 5: Positioned Thunderbird on Twitter as a source of insight on relevant, important issues
"It bolsters our credibility and fosters lifelong learning," says Novick.

Outcome 6: Increased alumni engagement
Fast responses, retweets, favoriting their tweets, lists, mentioning them when they mention Thunderbird, and remaining transparent – even in controversial issues – all these factors increase interaction.

 

But what about Facebook?
Mayer: "We are focusing our Facebook presence toward prospective students, and haven’t generated as much interest with our alumni via Facebook." In other words, they have chosen specific channels and are pursuing an intentional strategy that fits their communication and engagement goals. 

["It was an honest – and at times upsetting – discussion"]

Case Studies: Experiments Good and Bad

Mayer mentions two controversial experiments that generated mixed responses.

• A rap video (with student callers and Thunderbird's president dancing) generated negative student comments on YouTube. "They felt it looked unprofessional for an MBA school. Alumni mostly found it humorous, but the project was time-consuming and we couldn't measure its impact, beyond a brief increase in web traffic."
• Thunderbird's Director of Annual Giving asked the LinkedIn Alumni Group, “Why wouldn’t you give?” This generated more than 100 comments, some criticizing the school and others defending it. Mayer says it was "an honest – and at times upsetting – discussion that resulted in institutional changes as well as some online gifts."

Finally, Mayer tells a cross-platform success story:

• Thunderbird launched a Global Giving Competition during the last months of its Campaign:

"We divided alumni globally into geographic regions and pitted them against one another. Some regions were very competitive – there was a buzz about it across platforms. The best aspect is that it allowed us to discuss giving every day without angering or upsetting anyone. A tweet might say, “D.C. knocked New York out of first place this week! Who will win it in the end?” We updated a leaderboard every week and the winning region's donors' names were published in Thunderbird Magazine, they got a letter signed by the school’s president, and formal recognition at Homecoming. And little prizes along the way kept it fun."

These tangible examples show that online channels can drive meaningful, measurable engagement with alumni around the world. I found the lessons useful – did you?

Add to these ideas, or react to them, by leaving a comment.

Photo: Thunderbird campus (Glendale, AZ, USA) by Kristen Jarchow. Used with permission.

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September 11 and Alumni Relations: Guest Author Kevin Wesley

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This article is written by guest author Kevin Wesley, executive director of alumni relations at the University of Rochester (New York State, USA).

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Like so many on that day 10 years ago, I wanted to do something. The day unfolded for many alumni offices the same way it did for me at Bowdoin College: our research office circulated reports of alumni and parents working at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon. We attended a campus meeting where our president tried to calm and reassure.

And then the calls and emails began – from alumni, faculty, and staff. 

“Have you heard from him?”

“She works in the South Tower.”

“I just heard some sad news.”

We were inundated with requests for information. Alumni needed us to do something. Checking in with each other and with their college was vitally important, a touchstone that comforted and connected. In those pre-Facebook days when status updates and tweets weren’t options, when phone lines and web sites were jammed, there were fewer outlets for sharing information.

News of the first alumnus lost came, and we grappled with how to announce then-unconfirmed deaths. Like others, we created a page where alumni in Boston, New York, and Washington could check in and report their safety. We announced somber news of deceased alumni. Hundreds sent us emails saying they were OK and scrolled through the list of “safe” names. In the days to come, I helped arrange a funeral for an alumnus killed in the attacks who had deep family roots at the college.

[Alumni needed us to do something.]

September 11 changed the way colleges and universities, and alumni relations specifically, respond to tragedies. Today, whether those incidents happen on campus or affect large numbers of alumni elsewhere, staff must be ready to respond proactively. Sadly, the past decade has required nimble and thoughtful response to a number of tragedies, including the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the Virginia Tech massacre (2007) and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.

Charlotte Travieso, executive director of the Tulane Alumni Association, knows first-hand the profound impact of tragedy on a community, a campus, and her alumni. Following Hurricane Katrina, she learned how powerful those alumni connections can be. After Katrina’s waters subsided, a Tulane Phi Beta Kappa key, engraved with initials, was found in a driveway. Travieso was able to return the keepsake to the alumna. “It meant everything to her,” Travieso said. Tulane has an excellent website dedicated to reflections of that time and how it has shaped the institution.

After subsequent tragedies, Travieso would email alumni in affected areas, offering to help. Following Hurricane Ike, she found herself posting spreadsheets listing sites of nearby still-open convenience stores. After the March 2011 Japanese quake, she reunited roommates living in Tokyo and New Orleans who had lost touch with each other.

"We’ve really become a center of information. And I don’t think we ever felt that way before,” Travieso said of her staff. “I think we’ve personalized these disasters in a way to help people.”

[We’ve really become a center of information.
And I don’t think we ever felt that way before.]

Institutions took a variety of approaches to the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami. Many offered comforting words of support and news on institutional impact. Salem State University reported they had heard from all alumni living in the country while Alfred University asked alumni to email the office to check in. MIT’s great site Slice of MIT featured ways to help, and an invitation to a community forum on nuclear energy issues. These responses swiftly conveyed information and available resources.

Harvard’s response is particularly notable. Both the Harvard Alumni Association and the Harvard Business School created sites allowing alumni to receive news and to comment. The responses, mostly from alumni living in Japan, are touching and profound, reflections on the catastrophe, gratitude for the outpouring of support, and calls to action.

In the future, when these incidents occur, we need to ask the following questions:

What institutional messages must we convey?

What is our role in providing support, programming, and outreach?

How do we remain genuine in our message?

This week, many are reflecting on the events of a decade ago. In the tragedies that will inevitably follow in the future, alumni relations professionals can play an invaluable role in providing outreach and comfort in trying times. We can, truly, do something.

photo credit: 9/11 Tribute from the Heights by George Estreich via Creative Commons.