Online Alumni Research Articles

Virtual cardiovascular magnetic resonance training proves feasible and effective: survey data from international participants of the CMR Academy Berlin, Germany.

This study aims to evaluate the success of the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging Academy Berlin's transition from in-person to online CMR imaging training during the global pandemic 2020 and to gather recommendations for future courses. We conducted an online survey targeting CMR course participants from both the pre-pandemic, in-person era and the pandemic, online era of the CMR Academy Berlin. The survey primarily used Likert-type questions to assess participants' experiences and preferences.A total of 61 out of 158 invited participants (38.61%) completed the survey, with 31 (50.82%) being in-person alumni and 30 (49.18%) being online alumni. Both in-person [83.87% (26/31)] and online [83.33% (25/30)] participants rated the course as either 'very good' or 'excellent', and both groups found the course either 'extremely helpful' or 'very helpful'. However, a higher percentage of in-person participants [96.77% (30/31)] felt comfortable asking questions compared to online participants [83.33% (25/30); P = 0.025]. The majority in both groups preferred a written exam [total: 75.41% (46/61); in-person alumni: 77.42% (24/31); online alumni 73.33% (22/30)]. In terms of course format preferences, in-person courses were preferred by both in-person alumni [38.71% (12/31)] and online alumni [60% (18/30)], almost as much as a hybrid format combining in-person and online elements [in-person alumni: 41.94% (13/31), online alumni: 30% (9/30)]. The transition from in-person to online CMR training at the CMR Academy Berlin was successful in maintaining overall satisfaction. However, there is room for improvement in terms of increased interaction, particularly for online participants. Future CMR- and potentially also cardiac computer tomography-courses should consider adopting a hybrid format to accommodate participants' preferences and enhance their learning experience, especially to gain level II competency, whereas level I virtual only might be sufficient.

The Arts Alumni Have Spoken: The Impact of Training in Higher Education on Entrepreneurial Careers

Studies of alumni from arts-focused degree programs in American higher education have revealed the need for arts entrepreneurship training for self-reliant careers, resulting in the creation of at least 168 programs and course offerings for students in a range of arts disciplines. Using factor analysis of datasets from the 2015–2017 administrations of the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, a multi-institution online alumni survey, this paper divides the skills most relevant to arts entrepreneurship training into four latent categories: critical thinking, leadership, business management, and artistic specialty. A logistic regression revealed statistically significant associations between the latent variables with alumni’s propensity for freelancing and new venture creation. We also identified that race interacts with both student loan amount and family social and cultural capital. Arts-focused higher education programs should consider how they can offer training in these skill groups and complementary opportunities for financially challenged college students and those with fewer familial connections to the arts without creating additional barriers to careers in the arts.

An Alumni Portal and Tracking System

Alumni tracking is a difficult task for any institution that has been running for a long time. The Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering (DOECE), Pulchowk Campus, IOE, has been offering undergraduate programs since 1994 A.D. and masters programs since 2001 A.D. The existing information about the alumni of the department is unmanaged and out of date. This paper presents a web-based system to integrate data of alumni into a well-managed database, and to act as a portal where alumni can update their current status and view online alumni yearbooks. This work aims to make the task of alumni tracking easier and simpler for the department. The web-based portal has been accessed by many alumni of the department starting from the earliest batches to update their information and see the whereabouts of others. From the collected alumni responses, some preliminary insights observed were: (a) it was seen that alumni seem to be heterogeneous both in their job positions and employers, however, a large portion are employed in the software sector, (b) most alumni (60%) are currently residing in Nepal, and (c) for further education, the USA (39%) seems to be the favored choice, followed closely by Nepal (32.5%).

Assessing the impact of a partnership-based work/study nursing upgrade programme in a low- and middle-income setting.

To evaluate the 15-year impact of the work/study nursing upgrading programme in East Africa. Working nurses in Africa are often primary family income earners, with limited ability to leave jobs and upgrade qualifications. In 2001, the university established a work/study upgrade programme for enrolled- and diploma-level nurses, allowing them to upgrade their qualifications while continuing to work and support families. Donor partnerships provided scholarships to further increase programme access. A mixed-method design was used involving an online alumni survey and 24 interviews and 23 focus groups with 172 purposively selected representatives of nursing graduates, employers, regulatory bodies, professional associations and senior nursing officials. Quantitative data were analysed using frequencies and percentages. Inductive thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. Equator guidelines informed reporting of both qualitative and quantitative results. Of the 549 graduates who completed the survey, 81.2% (n=446) were female, 93.1% were currently employed and 98% worked within East Africa. They reported improved professional competence (69.4%), nursing practice (25.9%) and patient outcomes (4.6%) on graduation. Extracted themes included the following: flexible/accessible programme; friendly learning environment; effective teaching and learning strategies; acquisition of nursing knowledge, skills and competencies; stakeholders' role in the programme; career/professional advancement; and strengthened health systems. The work/study programme was an effective nursing workforce capacity development strategy. Programme access was strengthened via the supporting donor partnership. Positive outcomes were achieved with respect to the university's values of quality, access, relevance and impact. Long-term sustainable development of nurses and midwives is fundamental to achieving sustainable development goals. Work/study programmes and private-public partnerships are effective mechanisms to strengthen the development of nursing and the overall healthcare workforce in low-resource settings.

Nursing as a pathway to women's empowerment and intergenerational mobility.

To assess the impact of nursing education on the intergenerational mobility of graduates of nursing upskilling programmes. Challenges for low- and middle-income countries include poverty and limited access to health, education and social services compounded by workforce shortages, inequality and female disempowerment. Little is known about the impact of nursing education on women's empowerment and intergenerational mobility in such settings. A cross-sectional study using data collected through an online alumni survey. Data were collected March to May 2016 using an online questionnaire, as part of a larger nursing programme alumni survey. Intergenerational mobility was assessed by comparing the respondents' educational qualification with their fathers' and mothers' education levels. Descriptive statistics were analysed using frequencies and percentages. Associations between parental and respondents' education levels were assessed using chi-square tests. Out of 446 female respondents who completed the survey, 379 and 366 indicated their fathers' and mothers' education level, respectively. A third of the respondents' mothers had no formal schooling; lower levels of parental education are significantly associated with increase in respondents age (p<0.001) and associated shift from Uganda to Kenya and Tanzania (p<0.001). Respondents had a marked upward intergenerational education mobility with 76% (278/366) and 59% (223/379) of them achieving a qualification two levels above their mothers and fathers, respectively. Tanzanian respondents had significantly higher rates of upward mobility than Kenyan and Ugandan respondents. Nursing education positively impacted gender, economic factors and health outcomes. Further research is needed to confirm the "triple impact" of nursing education on improving health, gender equality and economic growth in low- and middle-income countries. Nurses are frontline providers of healthcare services. Provision of high-quality nursing upgrade programmes enhances nursing leadership ability, with aligned improvements in health outcomes while supporting gender empowerment and intergenerational mobility.

Exploring Alumni’s Intention to Engage in Nonmonetary Activities: A Cross-Generational Comparison Study

ABSTRACTA growing supportive and involved alumni group is one of the critical components of a quality hospitality management program. Universities increasingly count on their alumni to make monetary and nonmonetary contributions. Yet the intentions of different generations of alumni to make nonmonetary contributions, such as to participate in activities and social events, have not been thoroughly examined. Through an online alumni survey (N = 566, response rate = 7%), this research identified the intentions of different generations of alumni to get involved in activities and social events. Alumni have high intentions to become local chapter members, become school ambassadors, participate in class reunions, and participate in chapter events. Analyses of variance and Tukey’s tests showed significant generational differences in alumni’s intentions to get involved. These findings provide faculty and administrators with opportunities to benchmark and explore activities and social events to get alumni involved.

Improving Response Rates to an Alumni Survey in East Africa

Feedback from students and graduates is essential to inform ongoing quality improvement in higher education. However, African universities often face implementation issues in alumni surveys, including technological barriers and difficulties in tracking graduates, particularly those from earlier cohorts and rural alumni. Innovative strategies are needed to locate alumni and obtain a good response rate across widely dispersed, rural and remote areas. This paper reports on strategies used to increase response rates in an East African online alumni survey in a context of limited computer/Internet access. The survey aimed to assess the impact of nursing graduates over a 15 year period (2001–2016). Strategies focused on locating and communicating with graduates and providing solutions to barriers associated with computer/Internet access. Better engagement with alumni was achieved using mobile technologies and social media networks. Facilitating access to online surveys by taking technology to alumni or providing hubs for online access encouraged survey participation. The strategies discussed in this study are particularly relevant for clustered or networked alumni populations (e.g. nurses) in low income and limited resource settings.

Mobilising the alumni of a Master of Public Health degree to build research and development capacity in low- and middle-income settings: The Peoples-uni.

BackgroundPeoples-uni (People’s Open Access Education Initiative) was established to help build Public Health capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through postgraduate level online courses. Graduates are invited to join a virtual alumni group. We report the results of efforts to meet the need for health research capacity building by exploring how the course alumni could be mobilised to perform collaborative research into the health problems of their populations.MethodsTwo online surveys of Peoples-uni graduates were conducted with graduates from the first two and first four cohorts in 2013 and 2014, respectively, to explore the formation of an alumni group that would collaborate to further the research and development agenda in LMICs. This was followed by feedback on research-related activity and outcomes via the online alumni and tutors’ forum to estimate early indicators of alumni success in relation to capacity building in both the conduct and utilisation of research.ResultsResponses were received from 26 (87% response rate) graduates of the first survey and 42 (60% response rate) of the second survey. Overall, 92% of the respondents to the first survey supported the creation of an alumni group, especially if it helped to develop their own research skills and improve the health of their populations. Findings from the second survey showed that study with Peoples-uni was felt to have had a major or potential impact on the careers of the respondents, with 19% of graduates having progressed to a PhD programme to further their research skills, and a further 48% being in the process of applying or intending to apply for doctoral studies. Further feedback shows that at least one collaborative study has been completed and published by alumni members with other collaborative studies planned. Ongoing support has been provided to graduates to help them publish their work and apply for individual or collaborative research grants.ConclusionsHarnessing the alumni of a Masters level course to perform collaborative research has considerable potential to build research capacity in LMICs.

Online Alumni Information System Satisfies Alumni in an Educational Institution in Cebu City, Philippines

The internet is a powerful tool for connectivity. It has become the avenue for most people to exchange information, knowledge, and apparently, almost everyone is present on the web. The Online Alumni Information System aimed to evaluate the status of the existing alumni information system in the aspect of accessibility, reliability and timeliness. It also identified the problems encountered in the current alumni information system, determine the features of good online alumni information system, and design a prototype of online alumni information system. The study used the descriptive method of research using the researcher-made questionnaire to gather data. There were 116 respondents in the study using purposive sampling technique. To obtain the relevant data, the alumni provide their answers to the researcher-made questionnaire. The results revealed that the respondents were able to acquire accurate documents or alumni information from the school after graduation, and they were satisfied with those obtained documents. The common problems encountered include the absence of the programs/ activities organized by the alumni, no communication with the graduates, and outdated profiles of the graduates. The study concludes that an Online Alumni Information System should be designed and developed to provide easy access to information to all stakeholders.

Living with Smartphones: Does Completion Device Affect Survey Responses?

With the growing reliance on tablets and smartphones for internet access, understanding the effects of completion device on online survey responses becomes increasing important. This study uses data from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project, a multi-institution online alumni survey designed to obtain knowledge of arts education, to explore the effects of what type of device (PC, Mac, tablet, or smartphone) a respondent uses has on his/her responses. Differences by device type in the characteristics of survey respondents, survey completion, time spent responding, willingness to answer complex and open-ended questions, and lengths of open-ended responses are discussed.

Open-Ended Survey Questions: Item Nonresponse Nightmare or Qualitative Data Dream?

The purpose of this research was to explore whether those with certain demographic and personal characteristics, including gender, age, cohort, number of children, marital status, citizenship, race, current employment status, income, and institutional satisfaction level, are more or less likely to respond to open-ended questions placed at the beginning, middle, and end of an online alumni survey. Using data from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), a series of chi-squared and means comparisons analyses were done to compare whether or not respondents provided an answer to three different open-ended questions throughout the survey. Findings suggest that there are some group differences in likelihood of response, which could be explained by time burden, negativity bias, and self-identification as “other.”