“Where will I continue my studies?”
“Which training institution offers the best career prospects?”
“What happened to the graduates of this course?”
Do you have any idea how many training offers have been created or developed in recent decades around the world? Prospective students who have just graduated from high school or graduates looking for continuing education opportunities are spoilt for choice! This is one of the reasons why the alumni network has become a strategic issue for any educational institution wishing to stand out from the national and international competition and recruit new students.
Below you will find a (non-exhaustive) list of 5 reasons why alumni networks are so important:
1. Recruit students
What educational background do the world’s wealthy have? According to the Wealth-X report “World Ultra Wealth Report”, 5% of billionaires who have attended higher education are all graduates of the 10 best American universities (University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, Columbia University, New York University, MIT, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Yale University and Cornell University).
If these are the universities in question, it is not by chance! Indeed, according to Wealth-X, “a large proportion of these billionaire graduates are not from the United States, which means that these universities – thanks to their excellent reputation – manage to attract and recruit students from all over the world. It is still these institutions that are successfully attracting the next generation of high net worth individuals.”
Develop an excellent education offer > Train future leaders and top executives > Raise awareness of your students to become ambassadors for your education > Enhance your reputation for excellence > Attract new students
2. Promote your training
If your institution is not one of the top 10 or 20 universities in the world, you can still use your alumni network to promote your course.
Many institutions use international accreditations, such as AMBA, Equis Standard or AACSB. However, whether an accreditation is obtained depends on whether the graduate network is integrated into the institution’s development strategy.
“It is expected that the institution has a well-structured, dynamic alumni association that provides its members with real networking and continuing education services.”
3. Supporting professional insertion and career ?
Are your students having difficulties finding their first job?
Involve experienced Alumni so that they direct their internship and job offers to students and graduates of their training. They share similar training, values and codes of conduct, so it is in their interest to recruit them first! The same applies to graduates looking for a career change.
You can also set up a mentoring system to help students/young graduates get in touch with experienced graduates so that they can exchange best practice and advice on the world of work. Learning is not exclusively a one-way street as your senior graduates may need to be trained in new technologies at any time! This allows you to highlight the mentor who brings his or her expertise, the mentee who has developed his or her skills and also your network which allows these meetings.
4. Fundraising
In February 2014, Kenneth C. Griffin (Harvard, class of ’89) donated $150 million to Harvard, the largest sum ever received by the prestigious American university.
This huge sum has certainly made many institutions dream. If it seems audacious to expect a similar sum, you can expect to raise a few thousand euros from your graduates, provided that they are solicited and informed of their institution’s development projects, and that they feel the need to express their gratitude to the institution that provided them with the education and network that made them who they are today.
5. Federate your community
Are your Alumni proud of the training they received? They should be! Developing a strong and federated Alumni network that provides adequate services will help you do that!
Be there when they need you, provide career and business opportunities, give access to your (qualified and updated!) database… You have a big role to play in bringing your students and graduates closer to their educational institution! The closer they feel, the more they will invest!
Today, many services exist that allow your community to live and strengthen the links between its members. Mentoring, as we have already seen, but also the career center, virtual company forums, etc.
Why create your Alumni Network? We give you all the good reasons and arguments to get started!
And find all the features of the AlumnForce platform, and accompany your students and alumni throughout their professional career.
