Alumni engagement through community participation

The alumni database of a college or university is loosely referred to as the alumni community. There’s a far deeper connotation to this reference. Many institutions have a alumni database and even do occasional outreach through email or phone to invite their alumni to an event for fundraising purposes, etc. But an alumni community finds it’s true meaning when actual alumni participate in online or virtual alumni community or communities created for the purpose of continuous networking, knowledge-sharing, mentoring, etc.

Needless to say, alumni are the most valuable constituents of any higher education institution. It is so important for the institution to track them meticulously, stay in close touch with them, engage them, and give them enough opportunities to partake in campus initiatives for the well-being of current students.

Several alumni communities these days are outside the purview of the institution being run on social media websites like Facebook, etc. The shortcoming here is that the institution does not have any insights into alumni participation and perhaps has no access to any data from those websites. As a result, while the alumni participating in those communities may derive some networking benefits, the institution cannot leverage those valuable relationships and encourage participation.

The incredible power of social networks-human ones, to disseminate valuable information, especially the kind of information that flows through the alumni networks, could be most effective. This is mainly because alumni from the same undergraduate and graduate programs naturally have closely aligned interests, generating both a higher level of interaction and longer-lived relationships.

The alumni database usually has a directory of every graduate’s career, residence, and contact information collected each year over the years. A robust Alumni CRM is needed to use that basic alumni data and create an assortment of communities on the platform beyond just plain communities for each graduation year. These communities can be either learning or leisure communities, often created by alumni community members or the advancement staff on their behalf. The alumni members who create communities usually continue to champion the community, rally around to invite members into the community who have shared interests. By actively staying in touch with your network, you can build professional connections, take part in the reunion activities, or simply maintain connections with people who have successfully completed the same educational journey that you have and embarked on similar careers at different points in time. You’ll know the skills and strengths of someone who holds your degree, and your fellow alumni will know to credit you with similar attributes. The subject-matter expertise and shared experiences you all have in common create a strong sense of purpose and a trusted bond, even if some of you have not yet met.

On the Alumni CRM platform, online alumni communities play a crucial role in fostering collaboration among individuals who function as a unified entity. These communities engage in various activities, such as disseminating campus news, making announcements, conducting polls, handling inquiries, and organizing events exclusively for community members.

Mobile applications for students, student engagement