This year I will be joining the CASE Asia-Pacific Institute in Alumni Relations (APIAR) again as a faculty member. I was privileged to be part of the inaugural event last year, and am honored to be invited back. It's a great introduction to alumni relations for those relatively new to the profession, and a strong networking and learning opportunity for new and experienced participants.
The full conference takes place over three days this year, from 7 to 9 August, at the Nanyang Executive Centre in Singapore. Full details are here:
Last year's was the first-ever alumni relations institute in Asia, and it received great reviews from participants. This year, we've updated the schedule and content to reflect attendees' needs. The Institute is more compact, so you'll spend less time away from the office. Among other topics, we'll explore
using digital tools for generating alumni engagement
the relationship between alumni relations and fundraising, and
working with students and alumni volunteers.
We'll also explore metrics and benchmarking, connecting with international alumni, branding for alumni associations, ethics, and how to keep in touch with recent alumni.
CASE is also providing a discount for 2 or more delegates from the same institution who register together.
As a bonus, the event ends just as Singapore gears up for its National Day celebrations (9 August), so if you're coming to Singapore, stay for the holiday weekend, and enjoy parades, concerts, and fireworks. A lot of fireworks.
Here's a short (< 2 minutes) video welcome from Institute chair Marie Earl (note that after the video was recorded, the end date for the conference was changed to 9 August):
The book consists of a hard copy (loose-leaf) physical edition, supplemented three times a year with digital updates that reflect new developments, best-practice examples from across Europe, and hands-on advice. The target audience is European education professionals navigating an increasingly international landscape.
Subscribers to the volume get online access to digital versions of all the Handbook's articles – useful for those who are constantly traveling because of the international role they play.
A description, full table of contents, and pricing information are available from the Handbook website:
I don't make any money from people purchasing the volume; but I'll gain great satisfaction if it helps a few Alumni Futures readers with their everyday professional challenges.
An advancement professional in Indonesia highlighted a problem in some developing countries: internet access in rural or remote areas is hard to come by, and even where it's available, few households or schools enjoy broadband connections. This limits access to media-rich social media websites and other communication tools that many of us take for granted.
How can you use social media when your audience is in a less developed low-bandwidth region?
I sent off some suggestions, five of which I've listed here (including some general ideas that are not limited to social media):
1. Use mobile websites
Mobile sites work in a regular web browser on a computer, but are designed to load quickly on devices with low bandwidth, slow connections, or weak processors. You can almost always find these sites by just putting "m." before the domain name in your mobile browser.
3. Use plain text (not HTML) for email invitations and e-newsletters
The plain text (or other "text only") option is generally available when subscribing to, and formatting emails and e-newsletters. And if you are blogging, use the "text only" option in Feedburner to send subscribers your new blog posts in plain text format instead of HTML.
[How can you use social media in a low-bandwidth region?]
4. Email your content to someone with higher-bandwidth
If you're publishing from a low bandwidth location, you can send your content to a higher bandwidth colleague or volunteer, and they can edit and post the information directly to social sites (e.g., from a shared institutional account).
As for voice communication, remember that text-based chat can replace low-quality telephone calls and high-bandwidth Skype calls. And if you are using Skype, have the lowest-bandwidth user initiate the call.
Do you have tips or resources for organizations or audiences lacking high-bandwidth access? Leave a comment.
Today is Alumni Futures' 5th birthday. Although I haven't been writing as often recently, I certainly plan to continue blogging, and I'm using this anniversary as an opportunity to shift gears.
In my first year of blogging (2007), I published about twice a week. Since then, I've maintained a weekly schedule, with more than 300 articles and upwards of 750 comments on the site to date. Here and across the internet, Alumni Futures reaches 2,160 subscribers, in addition to 1,625 Twitter followers and 488 "likes" on the Alumni Futures Facebook page.
I've tried to address "big" topics, issues, and trends, and to do so in depth. I have also tried to expand readers' ideas about what matters to advancement professionals, and how to evolve with changing influences.
Entering my sixth year of blogging, I plan to shift to shorter, more casual posts, some with a more personal tone. This might cost me a few readers, but as part of the site's evolution my choice is between loosening things up or hardly writing at all!
[I'm using this anniversary as an opportunity to shift gears]
My goal will be to touch on a slightly wider variety of topics in education, and to expand our idea of what is relevant to advancement.
Thank you to all the subscribers, readers, fans, commenters, followers, guest authors, clients, conference attendees, workshop members, and critics who have contributed to Alumni Futures during the last five years. I am truly grateful.
Some additional facts and stats Since I started tracking visits to the website in January, 2008, more than 88,300 unique visitors have stopped by, for almost a quarter of a million page views. The top countries sending people here are (in order) the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, India, Germany, Singapore, France and the Netherlands. And most astonishing to me is the number of countries represented by visitors to the site: about 175 (depending on how you count them, there are about 196 countries in the world). I think I'm blocked in North Korea...and I'm still waiting for the first visit from Bolivia.
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
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.
[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!
Here's a quick summary of some of the upcoming alumni relations professional education opportunities from CASE, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Note that some content on the CASE website is region-specific, so consider selecting América Latina, Asia-Pacific or Europe as a selection when looking at the site.
Of course there are non-CASE offerings as well, too numerous to list here. However, I will mention one specific opportunity in which I've participated in the past, and which will be of interest to some:
If you work on alumni travel programs and want to see other planners, international destination reps, and tour operators all in one giant place, this is a great conference to attend.
What are your professional development plans for the coming calendar year?
CASE-NAIS 2012 will be in San Francisco. Photo of Bay Bridge with rainbow by Andy Shaindlin.
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:
"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.
I recently noticed that the Thunderbird School of Global Management(Arizona, USA) was generating steady, relevant interaction and growth in its LinkedIn Alumni Group and its Twitter feed. I asked Thunderbird's alumni relations coordinator Katie Mayer for insight into their approach. She and Samantha Novick (T-bird's PR & new media specialist) generously provided the following tips:
Driving Engagement on LinkedIn
1. Don't wait for alumni to join your LinkedIn Group: go get them. Use your alumni database to target alumni to join, en masse. "We invite 200 alumni per day to join," says Mayer.
2. Try to understand graduates' needs. Then actively fulfill those needs. "Form a relationship with your Group and put your members' needs first."
3. Listen closely, respond only when necessary, and be brief.
4. Find and share valuable content, and develop a distinctive online voice for doing so.
5. Run interference for your Group. Set up clear rules for online channels. Don't just post press releases, and don't let a small number of Group members dominate the discussion.
6. Don't censor."We prohibit profanity, personal attacks and hate speech." Anything else is potentially in play.
7. Once you've earned members' trust and attention, you will start to see returns, and can ask for gifts and involvement.
8. When a group trusts and likes its manager, it brings a return on your time investment. "They'll support you, defend you and become your allies in return for your commitment to them."
["Alumni will support you, defend you and become your allies in return for your commitment to them."]
Driving Engagement with Twitter
9. Alumni expect immediate responses on Twitter.
10. Twitter puts you on people's radar frequently, so choose content carefully.
11. Retweet and favorite alumni followers' tweets regularly.
12. Build Twitter lists of alumni to help them find each other on Twitter.
13. If someone mentions T-bird by name, Thunderbird mentions them in return.
14. Diverse groups of stakeholders follow Thunderbird on Twitter. So "we diversify our content, and try to be inclusive."
15. "We're in the education business, so we regularly provide valuable educational content to followers."
16. Stay transparent and don't shy away from all controversy. "We post information even if we know it will generate negative comments."
Next Up: Real Life Examples Next week, we'll learn about six real-world outcomes from online engagement at Thunderbird. And Katie and Samantha will share some difficulties and success stories from the online world.