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A Playbook for Engaging Young Alumni & Current Students

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WHO & WHY

Setting the stage for today’s session

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Who we are.

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Tomitha Blake�ASSISTANT VICE PROVOST FOR ADVANCEMENT

Academic & Student Affairs, University of Washington

Matthew Brinton, Ph.D. �DIRECTOR FOR ADVANCEMENT, DIVISION OF STUDENT LIFE

Academic & Student Affairs, University of Washington

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Who you are.

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THINKING ABOUT YOUR UNDERGRAD ALMA MATER - this is relatable to grad students too, but for the purposes of this, it is UG. We’re only talking about UG experiences, but know many of you have multiple affinities based on multiple degrees, and where you work.

List out the different alumni engagement phases - also demographic information; ask participants to stand - get the blood flowing

What do you do professionally?

Work in development
Work in alumni relations
Work in marketing & communications
Work in another area or combination of the above

Potentially ask people to share here

Location in relationship to alma mater

If you live 500 miles/800 KM or less from your alma mater
250 miles/400 KM or less
100 miles/160 KM or less
1 hour or less
In the same city/town

Your experience as an alum

If you follow/engage your alma mater on social media
If you attend events
If you volunteer in some capacity/provide service
If you are a donor
If you serve on a institution board (alumni board, foundation board, board of trustees, board of governors, etc)

Audience Participation

We only have time for 2-3 of these, but we had talked about giving the audience the option of asking something related to the university/alumni experience

Talking point: Do you think you’d be as likely to be involved if you didn’t work in advancement? And if you’re not involved, and we know the importance of being involved, do you see how challenging/confusing it could be for people outside of our industry.

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Why we’re here.

… identify the components of the Alumni Engagement Timeline.

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Why we’re here.

… identify opportunities on their campuses to inclusively engage current students and young alumni by collaborating with units outside of advancement.

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Why we’re here.

… identify opportunities on their campuses to inclusively engage current students and young alumni by collaborating with units outside of advancement.

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Why it matters

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Why it matters.

Who are our alumni?
Opportunities for engagement
Engagement indicators
Identity & Role Saliency
Where is the gap?
How can we fix it?

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Why it matters.

Who are our alumni?
Opportunities for engagement
Engagement indicators
Identity & Role Saliency
Where is the gap?
How can we fix it?

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Students are students for a fraction of the time that they will be alumni yet so little work is done with current students to teach them what it means to be engaged and involved as an alum. Most students-alumni-donor pipeline best practices currently in use were designed for a now-outdated constituency. The world has changed. The demographics of students have shifted, including more first-generation and students from underrepresented backgrounds. We now live in a digital world where online and hybrid opportunities for engagement are no longer outliers, they are practically required. A consumerist approach to education points to a more transactional experience rather than an immersive, developmental one. We must find ways to demonstrate the value of engaged alumni and donors and acknowledge that the student-alumni-donor paradigm has shifted. One-size-fits-all approaches are no longer acceptable.

ALUMNI of OLD
-demographics
-campus-based
-multi-generational
-regional
-tradition
-financial (lower cost, no loans, etc.)
-physical reunions
-universal affinity
�NOTE HERE: some schools, especially those that are “elite” haven’t necessarily changed; but as access to higher education has expanded, so too has the experiences of our alumni in many ways
�ALUMNI TODAY
-demographics
-no longer only campus based
-first-generation students
-financial (high cost, high debt burden)
-facebook/socials (need no reunions)
-different kinds of affinity
-cohorts/programs vs. class year
�

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Why it matters.

Who are our alumni?
Opportunities for engagement
Engagement indicators
Identity & Role Saliency
Where is the gap?
How can we fix it?

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IN-Person: Classic, tried and true, wash, rinse, and repeat events that recur year over year with often repeating audiences and demographics.

VIRTUAL: The pandemic forced us into a position where we had to rethink everything. Now, these opportunities are here to stay.

�

MATTHEW: Beyond these only two factors how do we also look at traditional v. progressive; class years v. affinity group reunions; big “all-call” events vs. boutique events;

COVID has given us the opportunity to rethink what we do and how we do it; more focus on engagement and ROI

�CLICK = WHY stamp

�CORYNN: Pivot ... we’ve changed how we do things but has given us the opportunity to also re-evaluate why we do things. As we consider the ROI, we have typically looked only at giving numbers, but we all know first-hand (and there is lots of data to back it up) that our overall alumni giving numbers continue to decline…both the percentage of alumni and the raw number of alumni who give. The pandemic forced us to really think about which events and programs matter the most…rather than rinse and repeat. It made us stop and consider WHAT DO WE DO GOING FORWARD and WHY DO WE DO IT.

�The question I want us to consider today is…What if alumni engagement is as much about teaching students about what it means to be an alumnus as it is about donor cultivation? What are we doing NOW to prepare our students for a lifelong relationship with their alma mater?

�

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Why it matters.

Who are our alumni?
Opportunities for engagement
Engagement indicators
Identity & Role Saliency
Where is the gap?
How can we fix it?

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Why it matters.

Who are our alumni?
Opportunities for engagement
Engagement indicators
Identity & Role Saliency
Where is the gap?
How can we fix it?

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Why it matters.

Who are our alumni?
Opportunities for engagement
Engagement indicators
Identity & Role Saliency
Where is the gap?
How can we fix it?

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Why it matters.

Who are our alumni?
Opportunities for engagement
Engagement indicators
Identity & Role Saliency
Where is the gap?
How can we fix it?

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Alumni Engagement Timeline

The phases of student & alumni engagement

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Alumni Engagement Timeline

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This is a visual representation of the different phases an individual goes through in connection with a college or university from beginning to end and the ways in which alumni relations offices can get involved and be a part of the student experience before and after a student graduates (Brinton, 2013).

The timeline has into six phases: potential new student, first & second year student, junior & senior student, young alumni (those who have graduated within the last 10 years), professional career, and post-retirement (Brinton, 2013).

The timeline also consists of three milestones: convocation, commencement, and retirement (Brinton, 2013); the fourth milestone is death, but is not included in the graphic.

Potential/Prospective students
Depending on the connection the student’s family has with your institution, this can often be the shortest portion of the timeline

Students

Regardless of individual student situations, this is often where advancement offices have the most time to reach the largest cross section of students while they are students

Alumni/ae

By far, for most instances, the longest of the periods of this lifeline. But how do we teach/tell/demonstrate what the expectations of an engaged alumni status is

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Types of Students & Alumni

Highly Engaged
Moderately Engaged
Disengaged

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Types of Students & Alumni

Highly Engaged

Legacy Students/Alumni
Campus Leaders
Regular Event Attendees
Loyalists
Often easy to overlook

Moderately Engaged
Disengaged

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Highly engaged individuals are connected with the institution from the outset stay engaged with the institution throughout the entirety of their lives. Many in this category are legacy students (Farrell, 2007), and have been exposed to different facets of the university well before they began searching for college options. Other characteristics of students in this category include regular attendance to campus events and involvement in student clubs and organizations. These are the students who participate in student government, work as resident assistants, and find ways to get and stay connected with the institution beyond academics. This group of alumni regularly attend events, volunteer their time, and make financial contributions to the institution. They become fixtures on campus and in the community are known for their connection with the university. However, it can become easy for these alumni to get overlooked because alumni and development offices become complacent knowing that these alumni are likely to attend and make gifts. It is important for advancement professionals to not lose sight of this group and to plan programs and activities that recognize their contributions to campus. Utilize these alumni in different ways and provide different opportunities for them to get involved.

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Types of Students & Alumni

Highly Engaged
Moderately Engaged

Attend the Biggies
In and Out of Touch
Events Maybe … Likely Not Other Opportunities
One on One Engagement

Disengaged

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The second category of alumni and student engagement is those that are moderately engaged (Brinton, 2013). The dashed line in Figure 2 represents this group of students and alumni. Students in this category attend convocation and commencement exercises, but during their time as students are not involved with campus outside of their studies. They are not involved with clubs and organizations on campus and rarely attend campus events. This behavior can be due to several factors beyond just an unwillingness to be involved such as students who work to pay for school or support their family (Koening-Lewis, Asaad, Palmer, & Petersone, 2016). Moderately engaged alumni tend to slide in and out of touch with their alma mater. They will occasionally attend events, but are unlikely to make financial contributions or volunteer. Work for advancement officers here should focus on finding ways to connect the individual passions of these alumni with programs and funds on campus. This is tedious one-on-one work that requires constant attention.

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Types of Students & Alumni

Highly Engaged
Moderately Engaged
Disengaged

Classes and That’s It
Graduate and They’re Gone
Most Difficult Group to Engage

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Alumni Engagement Timeline

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This is a visual representation of the different phases an individual goes through in connection with a college or university from beginning to end and the ways in which alumni relations offices can get involved and be a part of the student experience before and after a student graduates (Brinton, 2013).

The timeline has into six phases: potential new student, first & second year student, junior & senior student, young alumni (those who have graduated within the last 10 years), professional career, and post-retirement (Brinton, 2013).

The timeline also consists of three milestones: convocation, commencement, and retirement (Brinton, 2013); the fourth milestone is death, but is not included in the graphic.

Potential/Prospective students
Depending on the connection the student’s family has with your institution, this can often be the shortest portion of the timeline

Students

Regardless of individual student situations, this is often where advancement offices have the most time to reach the largest cross section of students while they are students

Alumni/ae

By far, for most instances, the longest of the periods of this lifeline. But how do we teach/tell/demonstrate what the expectations of an engaged alumni status is

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Work Groups

Together in teams, you’ll be asked to take on a challenge

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The Scenario

As a component of your upcoming campaign, your president has set an ambitious alumni engagement goal with a high priority on engaging young alumni. You have been asked to present ideas for three potential ways to engage these alumni.

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What’s happening at the UW

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Resources

We’re in this work together

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Resource Library

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LinkedIn Group

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Questions?