n our previous article about the 7 DO’s and DON’Ts for successful Alumni relations, we discussed about your community’s needs and expectations and how you should consider these to design your services offer and to make sure you meet them.
Today we are going to approach another side of Alumni relations: the role of your University, School or College in students and Alumni engagement. What can a higher education institution do to boost students and Alumni engagement and revitalize Alumni relations?
Here is a 3-part article about students and Alumni engagement before, during and after their school years.
Before : It may sound obvious for some but not for everyone: it is never too soon to start involving your community! You should start even before they become part of it. When it comes to attracting and engaging new students, top schools, colleges and universities know how to use the right words and tools.
Let’s take the example of Stanford Law School, top 2 international University according to International Shanghai Ranking. It has launched a whole page dedicated to future students in order to give them insights about the Stanford community: career opportunities, student life, quality of education, campus tours, stats and facts, FAQs.
The Alumni community is of course around the corner. Start « educating » your community about the network and Alumni relations as soon as possible to boost engagement. They are more likely to adopt the same attitude in a couple of years when they will themselves become Alumni. Let future students know how are today’s Alumni involved in the network to make them feel like they want to join it as well.
The below interview of students and former students speaks a thousand words and conveys a strong sense of belonging.
Students Reflect On What Makes The Stanford Law School Community Unique
Future students are most probably eager to join current students for a campus tour and connect with future classmates. The California Institute of Technology’s campus tour video led by current students is a way to show to future students what are the main values of the campus (mutual help and trust, strong community, be responsible, etc.) and how are current students involved.
You could pair current students with future students for a one-day class visit to prepare them to become mentors and to boost mutual help. Current students will feel responsible for future students good integration, future students will be grateful for the time dedicated and willing to give some of their time back for the community. Make it become a natural instinct in order to get a stronger Alumni engagement on the long run.
And you, what does your University / School / College do to boost future students engagement?
Share your experience with us!
