Alumni Engagement Research Articles

Attributes of Alumni Engagement Practices in Universities in Uganda

This paper explores alumni engagement practices in three universities in Uganda. Despite the fact that university alumni in Uganda are often well-educated, successful and uniquely strengthened by vast intergenerational social capital networks, a lot still leaves to be desired to inspire their alumni to give back their time wealth and talent. Universities’ alumni engagement programs are largely characterized by money donated and attendance at alumni events. This apparent detachment raises concerns about fundraising and long-term financial sustainability. The study used a multiple case design which relied primarily upon qualitative methods with purposive sampling. Data was collected using interviews and document analysis. The findings of the study identified that reunion events, endowment funds, infrastructure development, fundraising, creation of alumni chapters and giving awards to the best students are the main alumni engagement practices in universities in Uganda. Two major themes were identified from the categorizations and they were discussed as communication and networking. It was concluded that reunion events such as annual alumni dinners, annual general meetings, annual sports days and homecoming events are held to foster or build alumni relationships and to form the goodwill that translates into monetary donations. The endowment fund is aimed at mobilizing funds to invest for the benefit of the university. Such funds are realized from students' contributions and fundraising done on different occasions while alumni chapters are established as networks of alumni in different geographical locations to simplify communication among the alumni living in the same area, they also ease the facilitation of periodical regional alumni meetings for social activities, professional networking and promotion of their universities

College Campus Tour using AR/VR

This project focuses on developing an immersive 360° virtual campus tour using augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies to enhance accessibility and engagement for prospective students, alumni, and visitors. Integrated into the college's official website, this virtual tour enables users to explore key campus locations, view event-based images and information by selecting specific dates, and experience campus life from a remote setting. By leveraging high-definition 360° video and interactive elements, the project addresses challenges in accessibility, engagement, and marketing faced by traditional static campus presentations. The system architecture includes modules for video capture, interactive feature integration, and seamless website embedding, utilizing advanced technologies like WebGL, A-Frame, and machine learning algorithms for content retrieval and event-based data integration. The project aims to increase the institution's digital presence and support recruitment and alumni engagement

Impact of integrated marketing communication strategies on choice of higher education institutions

In today’s fiercely competitive realm of higher education, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) have emerged as a crucial approach for institutions to effectively connect with prospective students. This study examines the influence of IMC strategies on students’ choices of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Bangalore, India. Using a descriptive research design, data were gathered via a structured questionnaire from a sample of 384 students. The findings reveal notable disparities in perceptions of IMC based on gender, academic discipline preference, and institution type. Interestingly, age does not yield significant differences in IMC perceptions. A positive correlation (0.632) between IMC perceptions and choice of HEIs underscores the importance of customized strategies in attracting and engaging students. IMC strategies such as digital marketing, social media engagement, content marketing, alumni engagement, and student ambassadors significantly influence the choice of HEIs with the variance of 0.315, 0.523, 0.394, 0.619, and 0.298, respectively. Further, IMC strategies such as digital marketing, social media engagement, alumni engagement, partnership with influencers, and student ambassadors significantly influence the selection of disciplines with the variance of 0.298, 0.642, 0.497, 0.421, and 0.234, respectively. In essence, this study emphasizes the pivotal role of effective IMC strategies in higher education choice decision-making and provides actionable insights for institutions seeking to refine their marketing approaches.

Enhancing Alumni Data Management through a Website-Based Tracer Study Application: A Case Study of Vocational High School

This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of website-based tracer studies in collecting data on educational institutions and their alumni. The research methodology employed is A quasi- experimental design, specifically a Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design, was employed to establish cause-and-effect relationship. The result indicates that 20% of teachers met the minimum completeness criteria using the web-based application, while 80% did not. The experimental group showed improvement form pre-test to post test, meeting the minimal criteria for completeness. Challenges included difficulties in contacting alumni, which impacted data collection. The study concludes that while the web-based tracer study application is effective, challenges in alumni engagement need to be addressed for better data collection.

Alumni Engagement and Ordinary-Level Students' Academic Performance in Government-Aided Secondary Schools in Sheema Municipality

Alumni Engagement and Ordinary-Level Students' Academic Performance in Government-Aided Secondary Schools in Sheema Municipality

Innovations, Best Practices, and Distinctiveness in Higher Education Administration – A Case of Srinivas University

Purpose: Research in "Innovations, Best Practices, and Distinctiveness in Higher Education Administration" through case studies of universities aims to identify novel approaches, successful strategies, and unique initiatives implemented by higher education institutions. By analyzing these case studies, researchers can uncover innovative practices that contribute to institutional excellence and effectiveness in administration. Ultimately, the research seeks to disseminate valuable insights and lessons learned to improve higher education administration and foster continuous improvement across universities. Methodology: Exploratory research methodology is used where required information are collected through keyword-based search using Srinivas University website, Google search engine, Google scholar search engine, and AI-driven GPT MLM search engines. Analysis & Interpretation: Ther information collected from relevant sources are analysed, compared, evaluated, and interpreted using various frameworks. This includes innovations and best practices in infrastructure administration, Innovations and best practices in Library Administration, Innovations and best practices in Maintenance of Campus Infrastructure, Innovations and best practices in Alumni Engagement, Innovations in Vison and Leadership, Innovations in the development of Institutional Strategic Plan, Innovations in Effectiveness of Administration, Innovations in Faculty Empowerment Strategies, Innovations in Financial Management and Resource Mobilization, and Innovations, best practices, and institutional distinctiveness in Internal Quality Assurance System. Originality/Value addition: Based on the analysis some Suggestions on Innovations, Best Practices and Distinctiveness in Administrative related Activities are provided. By implementing the suggestions systematically, the university can realise its dream to become one among many world-class universities. Type of Paper: Case study based scholarly research analysis

A preliminary characterization of and call for benchmarking pharmacy alumni engagement

IntroductionAlumni are essential but often overlooked stakeholders for pharmacy programs, and engaging alumni in philanthropy, volunteerism, events, and communication may have important implications for the growth and success of pharmacy programs. This research aims to preliminarily characterize pharmacy alumni engagement across four metrics and provide a call to action for standardized tracking and reporting of alumni engagement efforts across the Academy. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was sent to alumni relations and advancement personnel at United States schools and colleges of pharmacy. The survey gathered information on the accuracy of pharmacy alumni records, alumni engagement within four categories (philanthropy, communication, events, and volunteering), alumni relations personnel, and barriers to alumni engagement efforts. ResultsRespondents reported using various database systems to track and measure alumni engagement, and 41% noted having accurate pharmacy alumni records. Opportunities for alumni engagement within the four categories varied across institutions. Fifty percent of respondents indicated that one full-time equivalent position is allocated to pharmacy alumni engagement efforts at their institution. Barriers to alumni engagement efforts included limited budgets, and staff, engaging alumni via in-person events, and maintaining accurate alumni records. ConclusionsThe Academy may benefit from expanding the annual alumni survey and developing a consistent tracking mechanism to capture and report alumni engagement activities. Additionally, education on alumni engagement metrics and potential collaborative efforts with institutional alumni relations personnel would be of value. This is vital in developing and optimizing alumni relations efforts and engaging pharmacy alumni bases.

The Gambia’s Higher Education Reform Requirements: Sub-Systemic Interrogation

The study extracted data from experts, one from each of the higher education systems in The Gambia, Nigeria and Kenya, and two from two universities in England. The data was analysed qualitatively through coding and the identification of themes. These themes are the requirements for higher education reform, extracted through an empirical literature review. Besides other activities and structures, the expert interviews identified the need to establish specialised offices in the identified Gambian institutions to ensure the system's readiness for the reform process. These offices will include research and consultancy, shared financing through loan schemes, alumni engagement, internship and placements, quality assurance and enhancement of staff capacity, among other initiatives.

Supporting the sustainable development goals: The role of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a global plan to fight poverty, to establish equality and justice, and to achieve sustainable development for all countries. To enhance graduate's global competitiveness, the Chinese University of Hong Kong has been promoting the wide understanding of the SDGs within the university community. In 2021, the Chinese University of Hong Kong Library (CUHK Library) launched its Strategic Plan 2021–2025 to align with the University's Strategic Plan 2021–2025 in education, research and Innovation, resources, global and alumni engagement, and infrastructure. CUHK Library embraces social responsibility and sustainable development when upgrading its infrastructure to support the University developments. In this paper, the authors review the strategic implementation of SDGs in CUHK Library and conclude that academic library can contribute to the global plan for sustainable development. The findings in this paper can contribute to the discussions of SDGs in academic libraries from regional as well as international perspectives.

Alumni Engagement and Financial Sustainability of Higher Education Institutions: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to describe the various attitudes of alumni towards engagement in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of Pakistan, based on a phenomenological study of their lived experiences. Empirical data was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with 26 alumni from eight selected public HEIs of Pakistan, which was later analysed through employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). This paper highlights six superordinate themes which indicated that alumni held strong determination to engage with institutions to meet the financial sustainability challenge, provided that institutions observed adequate communication and engagement efforts with them. Theoretically, this paper extended the use of S-O-R framework in the higher education philanthropic domain where institutional engagement efforts and personal connection, coupled with emotional bonding, led to alumni engagement with institutions. In addition, this study also contextually extended the use of social exchange theory where the inclination of alumni to engage with institutions is driven by their sense of indebtedness and serving the community.

The youth HIV policy advisors programme: Creating change agents and policy leaders

Background: In 2018, Georgia ranked fourth in the USA for the number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and first for rate of new HIV diagnoses. Structural barriers to HIV prevention and care include homelessness, inadequate access to healthcare, insufficient sexual health education, HIV criminalisation and incarceration. Objective: Georgia Equality created the Youth HIV Policy Advisors (YHPA) Programme in 2015 to increase the meaningful involvement of young PLWHA in health policy and leadership. Design, setting and method: The YHPA Programme trains young PLWHA in the structural and social determinants of HIV risk and imparts HIV policy advocacy knowledge and skills. The programme typically involves weekend training events held between June and December, the creation of a policy agenda, and facilitation of a culminating World AIDS Day event. We conducted a mixed-methods survey of 29 alumni (91%) to understand programme engagement, benefits and skills gained. Results: Quantitative results showed average gains of 1.4 in HIV-related skills and 2.4 in policy-related skills (6-point scales). Qualitative analysis revealed important increases in knowledge and skills, self-awareness, social capital, political connections and social support that equipped youth to become change agents. Conclusion: Policy advocacy and leadership programmes are a unique and important mechanism to promote the meaningful involvement of young PLWHA in critical decisions about the structural changes necessary to end the epidemic. YHPA alumni engagement in future integrated strategies to address HIV prevention and care is essential.

Amateurism, Professionalism and the Value of College Sports

The value of college sport can be measured in many ways. Most people measure it in dollars, others point to less-tangible benefits such as alumni engagement and campus morale, only a few focus on its educational value. Yet this, as Myles Brand repeatedly recognized, is the value that really counts. Brand’s was something of a voice in the wilderness on this issue—a voice sorely missed in this age of debate about limits on compensation for student-athletes. As a philosophy professor, Brand’s insistence on the educational value of sport follows a tradition begun in ancient Greece by Pythagoras, Socrates, and especially Plato. In this essay, I honor Brand and that ancient tradition by exploring the value of college sport from a philosophical perspective. I interrogate the oppositions of amateurism vs. professionalism, academics vs. athletics, and employment vs. exploitation to arrive at the paradoxical conclusion that ideals of excellence and professionalism are at the heart of “amateurism” in the context of college sport. Education, meanwhile, is the value in college sport that needs to guide all the others—including those that involve dollar signs.

Customized Rule-Based Model to Identify At-Risk Students and Propose Rational Remedial Actions

Detecting at-risk students provides advanced benefits for improving student retention rates, effective enrollment management, alumni engagement, targeted marketing improvement, and institutional effectiveness advancement. One of the success factors of educational institutes is based on accurate and timely identification and prioritization of the students requiring assistance. The main objective of this paper is to detect at-risk students as early as possible in order to take appropriate correction measures taking into consideration the most important and influential attributes in students’ data. This paper emphasizes the use of a customized rule-based system (RBS) to identify and visualize at-risk students in early stages throughout the course delivery using the Risk Flag (RF). Moreover, it can serve as a warning tool for instructors to identify those students that may struggle to grasp learning outcomes. The module allows the instructor to have a dashboard that graphically depicts the students’ performance in different coursework components. The at-risk student will be distinguished (flagged), and remedial actions will be communicated to the student, instructor, and stakeholders. The system suggests remedial actions based on the severity of the case and the time the student is flagged. It is expected to improve students’ achievement and success, and it could also have positive impacts on under-performing students, educators, and academic institutions in general.

A cross-national investigation of psychological factors of donor behavior: the case of university endowment funds

PurposeState funding is being reduced for higher education institutes (HEIs) is linked to several checks such as performance-based incentives (Hagood, 2019). This forces HEIs to look for other options for funding. Endowment funds are now becoming the main source of revenue for HEIs (Sörlin, 2007), largely provided by alumni. Thus, this study aims to examine the factors that lead to donor behavior in terms of university endowment funds.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 627 participants in the survey from public universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and 625 from public/private universities of the United States of America (USA), the authors conducted a cross-sectional survey-based analysis. Hypotheses were tested with regression analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that in the USA, donors with substantial prestige within the institution are more likely to contribute to the endowment fund; however, in the KSA, this relationship was insignificant. Additionally, this study found that participation, brand interpretation and satisfaction positively impact identification with an organization, leading to donor behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has successfully identified psychological factors for endowment funding; however, mediating or moderating variables affecting donor behavior should also be considered. Further, this study considers only two countries, the KSA and the USA; therefore, a larger cross-cultural context warrants more investigation.Practical implicationsOverall results revealed several means through which the administrators and practitioners may efficiently manage and increase university endowment funds flow. This study's novelty is to conduct a cross-national investigation and identify the psychological factors of donation behavior toward university endowment funds, providing an opportunity for HEIs to understand the psychological factors in detail and motivate their alumni to be one of the important sources of funding even in developing countries.Originality/valueMany psychological factors underlie alumni's engagement in volunteerism and donation activities, especially in cross-national settings. Following social identity theory, this study explored identity-based donor behavior in terms of supporting universities through endowment funding.

Alumni Engagement and Identity: A Case Study on Beliefs and Behaviors

Alumni Engagement and Identity: A Case Study on Beliefs and Behaviors

I Belong, Therefore, I Give? The Impact of Sense of Belonging on Graduate Student Alumni Engagement

Although Sense of Belonging has long been an important construct in understanding student success in higher education, it has not been examined in the alumni context. In this article, we explore the association between graduate students’ Sense of Belonging and alumni engagement. We draw on an original data set ( n = 1,601) that combines administrative records on alumni giving and data from a 2017 survey. Using multivariate analyses, we show that alumni with a stronger Sense of Belonging are more likely to give to their alma mater and to hold pro-philanthropic attitudes. Furthermore, Sense of Belonging is positively associated with other forms of alumni engagement and participation, including volunteering. Our findings highlight the need to examine the link between unintentional social interactions and alumni engagement and giving.

Engaging your diverse alumni: Designing a new approach

What makes alumni want to engage with their alma mater? Despite negative experiences and sordid histories, how can colleges and universities re-engage with their diverse alumni? William & Mary has identified several key ways to re-engage alumni and keep them engaged. For the purposes of this paper, alumni engagement will be defined in three ways; going, giving and serving. Going includes attending events regionally, virtually and on-campus. Giving is specific to financial gifts to the university — through pledges, gifts-in-kind or through alumni membership in a giving society. Serving includes but is not limited to activity on an alumni board or in other volunteer leadership capacities. The Alumni Association is in various stages of supporting identity-based alumni communities; which include Asian-Pacific Islander—Middle Eastern, Black/African American, LatinX, LGBTQ+ and the alumnae giving society, the Society of 1918. Throughout the development of programming for the aforementioned identity-based alumni comunities, the Alumni Engagement department has worked to overcome a number of challenges, most specifically, the general feeling of disenchantment with university experiences. As a practice, the Alumni Engagement and Inclusion Initiatives department works to keep intersectionality at the forefront of all alumni experiences. In this context, intersectionality is defined as the intricate composition of an individual’s identity; to include but not limited to age, race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. With these demographics in mind, a focus on intersectionality captures the complexity of an individual’s identity, culture, values and life experiences. This paper utilises William & Mary as a case study for other colleges and universities to develop re-engagement efforts.

Alumni gratitude and academics: implications for engagement

ABSTRACT Gratitude may help Universities to sustain relationships with alumni and stimulate valuable input into current students’ learning experiences. This small-scale, qualitative study draws from the voices of alumni associated with a UK University. The study explores gratitude’s role within alumni’s reflections on Higher Education. We find that alumni’s feelings of gratitude appear to resonate most clearly towards academic teaching staff. Despite these feelings of gratitude, there are few verbal expressions of gratitude from alumni towards academics. Indeed, alumni have a variety of concerns about saying thank-you to academics including feeling awkward and may even see saying thank-you as a sign of weakness. However, hidden expressions of gratitude are evident. Alumni engage in behaviour which benefits the institution and are prepared to do more if asked, especially by key academic staff. We suggest that it is useful to think of expressions of gratitude as known and unknown. The inequity between feelings of gratitude and known expressions of gratitude may mean that Universities and academics remain less alert to the evidence and potency of gratitude within Higher Education than reality would merit. Indeed, we argue that gratitude is a central idea with the ability to inform HEIs’ alumni engagement strategies.

Conceptualizing and operationalizing alumni engagement: When conversational voice matters more than openness and assurances of legitimacy

The question of how organizations engage with their stakeholders has seen increasing investigation in recent years, with public relations researchers examining the concept of engagement from cognitive, affective, and behavioral perspectives (e.g., Dhanesh, 2017; Jelen-Sanchez, 2017). This study examined the engagement of university alumni with their alma mater, with data collected from qualitative interviews, a pilot survey, and a main survey. Results identified three dimensions of alumni engagement: instrumental, communicative and affective, and confirmatory factor analysis supported this three-dimensional structure. Structural equation modeling showed that, while conversational voice was conducive to alumni engagement, openness and assurances of legitimacy did not exert any significant impacts. The findings offer concrete ways in which universities can better engage with alumni, as well as conceptual and methodological ways in which public relations scholars might continue to refine the notion of engagement between organizations and their publics.

International Alumni Engagement: Operations, Leadership, and Policy at U.S Research Universities

International Alumni Engagement: Operations, Leadership, and Policy at U.S Research Universities