alumni futures

Alumni Relations and Fundraising: The View from Twitter

This is a short work week in the United States, thanks to the annual Thanksgiving Holiday. So instead of laying a heavy trip on Alumni Futures' readers, I'll just share a few of the occasional alumni-related postings seen on Twitter. This isn't about "how to use Twitter for fundraising and alumni relations." It's just a couple of simple observations.

The theme connecting the tweets I have collected here is this: 

Students and alumni have a preconceived idea about what alumni associations do, and our actions often don't match those preconceptions.

For example, we often include students in alumni communication before they graduate. Students don't always expect (or want) to be invited to interact with alumni:

We help alumni and friends connect by forwarding contact requests (but not giving out contact info!). Alumni don't necessarily expect us to do this:

 

We email alumni with news, invitations, information and sometimes gift solicitations. They don't all have a warm, fuzzy feeling about alma mater:

We assume that our humanities grads are just as generous as our business or medicine grads, and so we ask them for money...especially if we have a championship basketball team!

 

We make people opt out:

 

And we ask for donations from recent grads, to encourage the "habit of giving," but many alumni equate student debt with immunity from requests for donations:

 

Like it or not, we get painted with a broad brush. Students and alumni won't necessarily understand why we do what we do, and more to the point, even if they do understand, they won't automatically care. 

What we do must have value and relevance to their needs and to their interests. If we don't convey this clearly, they'll echo sentiments like this one:

Remember: perception matters.

Global Competitiveness Ten Years Out: Download the Report

Last week I quoted Daniel Guhr on changes to European higher education and implications for alumni relations. This week I am staying with the international theme.

In September I was an invited presenter at a day-long seminar in London (UK), co-sponsored by Dan's firm, Illuminate Consulting Group and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Imperial College London hosted the event, which was attended by some 45 higher education leaders from more than half a dozen countries around the world. The event was titled:

How the Global Economic Crisis is Shaping Competitiveness Ten Years Out: 
 International Recruiting, Research and Relationships

The proceedings of that meeting are now available and you can download them in PDF format via this link: 

Download ICG-Chronicle-Imperial London Proceedings 09 09 [2.4MB PDF] 

The seminar was moderated by David Wheeler, Managing Editor (International) at the Chronicle, and the other speakers joining Dr. Guhr and me were Mary Ritter (Pro-Rector, Imperial College London), Maurits van Rooijen (President, Compostela Group of Universities), and Madeleine Reeve (Pro-Vice Chancellor at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia). 

Presentation content from our talks is in the Proceedings. Anyone seriously interested in the future of international higher ed recruiting, research and relationships should find the contents provocative and useful, and I encourage you to download it and read it. It is free and doesn't require you to provide any contact information.

During 2010, similar invitation-only seminars will take place in conjunction with major international academic meetings, providing senior leaders with opportunities to

• focus on strategic issues,
• share intensive discussion of issues critical for professional success, and
• network with peers across international borders.

Note: I serve in a volunteer capacity on the Academic Advisory Board for ICG.

The Bologna Process and Alumni Relations, Part I

The Bologna Process is radically changing European higher education. According to the European Universities Association, this reform process is designed to create a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in which university degree levels (undergraduate and graduate) will be "harmonized" and "connected." The goal is to maintain diverse national education systems,

...while the European Higher Education Area improves transparency between higher education systems, as well as implements tools to facilitate recognition of degrees and academic qualifications, mobility, and exchanges between institutions....Most importantly, all participating countries have agreed on a comparable three cycle [bachelor's, master's, and doctoral] degree system.

The EHEA currently comprises 46 countries, and while the Bologna Process (like any multinational policy framework) is subject to criticism, it is here to stay for a while, and it is influencing higher ed policy across Europe.

I wondered how Bologna might affect the development of alumni relations across the countries involved? I asked two people who are very knowledgeable in this area: Dr. Daniel Guhr and Simon Lange of Illuminate Consulting Group. Through Illuminate's consulting practice (which focuses on international strategic development in higher ed) and their own diverse educational experiences, Dan and Simon have well-informed, high level perspectives. With their permission, I am sharing some of their basic thoughts on Bologna and alumni relations.

With the goal of keeping this post a readable length, I am presenting their answers to just two questions here. A future posting will look at additional aspects of this topic.

What will Bologna mean for international alumni relations?

Daniel Guhr: There are domestic and international aspects. The domestic outcome is unclear. In practice, many universities are encouraging bachelor's degree alumni to stay on for a master's degree. Since alumni relations in most of continental Europe is still in its infancy, there is not an established framework that Bologna can change in practical terms. Global brand leverage will be important, and Bologna can provide a more globally recognized degree. But there is a missing component in practical terms: a well-established framework for international alumni relations. Alumni themselves may increase the demand for this, but that doesn't require Bologna. It is happening already, albeit at modest levels.

Simon Lange: We can expect a modest increase in alumni demand for university support. Over time, Bologna's relative emphasis on more vocationally-oriented degrees (especially at the undergraduate level) will create a pool of alumni whose educational experience is essentially a targeted preparation for the job market, more so than in the past. Future alumni and their universities will gradually improve their understanding of brand leverage, and the potential impact of well-designed alumni programming.

Are there any examples yet of international educational brands adapting to the Bologna Process?

Daniel Guhr: The standardization of degree structures officially concludes this year, but some transitions will take years. It's a bit early to say how Bologna might affect the educational brands, although we should expect some impact eventually.

Simon Lange: One example is Berlin's Einstein Foundation, in part an early attempt to push brand differentiation (ironically, by creating an umbrella organization to promote the research excellence of several institutions). In addition to attracting research funding, the Foundation's goals include increasing the visibility of Berlin as a center for science and research. I have my doubts, but alumni could potentially benefit in terms of brand leverage.

A future posting here will look at 

• the prospects for alumni loyalty to a specific institution; 
• threats and challenges to alumni engagement under Bologna; and 
• the most likely time frame for changes to appear.