Group1 Sec1 MR Project

8/10/2019 Group1 Sec1 MR Project

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Factors that drives Alumni Engagement

Prepared for:

Mr. S. BharadhwajInstructor of Marketing Research

Great Lakes Institute of Management

Prepared by:

Group A11

FT NUMBER NAMEFT151019 TANMOY BOSE

FT151031 ANAGHA

FT151018 ANUJ

FT151035 ATRAYEE BHATTACHARYA

FT151065 NAVRAJ

FT151083 VIDIT

FT151046 RANJEET MATHEW

FT151042 MANIKANDAN


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Contents

Abstract: .................................................................................................................................................. 3

The Literature Review: ............................................................................................................................ 4

Research methodology: .......................................................................................................................... 5

Qualitative Research: .............................................................................................................................. 5

In-depth Interview .............................................................................................................................. 6

Focus Group Study ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Hypothesis............................................................................................................................................... 7

Quantitative Research: ........................................................................................................................... 7

Data Analysis ............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 19

Exhibits .................................................................................................................................................. 19


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Abstract:

They are volunteers and partners. Ambassadors, advocates, and donors. Mentors to current studentsand lifelong learners. They live in different parts of the globe and work in every field imaginable.

They embody the values, the knowledge, and the passion of the University, and its commitment toserve the world. They are the Alumni. The alumni plays the role of a former student, an Institutional

Ambassador, Mentor and coach to new incoming students, Community representative, fundraiser andat many a times Business partner.

Alumni are truly the most important asset to any B-School as the very essence of business starts withbuilding network into networth and alumni represents an important connecting link in this. The more

older a B-School, the more stronger is its alumni base and all this is possible because of alumniengagement activities devised by the School. All the efforts in alumni engagement should yield

success stories and in the process increase the spirit of the B-School. The approach to alumniengagement is to promote a sense of continuing education by facilitating conversations about thework world, B-School, and work/life balance. The goal is to build an engagement programme such

that the dual role : (i) Value to the institution and (ii) Value to the alumni/alumnus can be achieved.

It is worth noting that not every alum believes that his/her School helped in the best possible way andmight not connect well during all alumni engagement activities. Thus it becomes a prime importanceto plan the alumni engagement programmes in such a way so as to bring together all the alumnus andthe current students on a common platform. An impressive alumni engagement programme should beable to overcome few barriers such as : Time, Distance, Commitments to job and family, Not knowinganyone, Value proposition, Fear of solicitation and lack of interest in the Institution.

There are a number of ways in which the alumni engagement can be increased and which are followedin most of the B-Schools. Few of them are :

Organizing Alumni meets in the College Alumni interaction with the prospective B-School students through portals like pagalguy

Maintenance of an Alumni database to track all the alumni and their organization

Assigning alumnus as mentor to a group of students.

Seeking alumni networking skills to get information on career services related activities of theB-School.

Official Online portals such as Facebook and Linkedin where alumni can have both formal aswell as informal conversation.

Guest lectures by alumni.

Alumni invitations to important events organized in the B-School.

Continuous career services to the alumni to help them search for new job opportunities.

The purpose of this study is to find out the important factors which result into better alumniengagement and also to find the most important amongst them. The methodology to study this isthrough qualitative research in which alums of different B-Schools will be contacted to getinformation on the ways their alma mater still maintains the bond with them and ways which thealumnus thinks it can be improved further.


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The Literature Review:

The objectives of alumni engagement plan are to foster the network and connections of a B-School

across the globe. Alumni relation programs play a key role in getting the alumni engaged with their

Alma matter in a way that benefits both the alumni and the college.

There are specific drivers and motivators that cause alumni to become and/or not be engaged. By

closely identifying trends and attitudes towards these areas, institutions can be more targeted in their

outreach and better communicate the value of staying engaged and/or giving back to the institution.

Having data from the institutions most valuable stakeholders (alumni) can and should be important to

all departments on campus. Alumni professionals have the ability to enhance their relationship with

other departments across campus and create a more cooperative and unified effort to provide the best

possible outreach and communications to alumni.

The study explores factors affecting alumni relationship- its beginning, maturing and sustenance overtime in a positive engagement between alumni and the B-School

Alumni engagement with B-school could be attributed to the overall experiences of an individualduring his time with B-school. It is also observed that that a B-School which makes it a habit to valueits alumni from start sets up a trend for the upcoming batches to develop relationships with thestudents and campus.There is a mutual interest for both Alumni and B-schools for establishing a relationship. Looking

form B-Schools of the factors they perceive are important for alumni interactions could be thatan alumni doing well in his career may provide referrals for hiring students from Campus, donating

funds to institution. Similarly an alumni just passed out may vouch for B-schools contact in industry

for switching jobs.

Various issues highlighted in the studies are Equity of Degree matters, Career issues percolate to the

top, enhanced opportunities to branding association on campus , more effective communications

, underlying issues regarding alumni events.

These studies suggested that various factors on which affect engagement of Alumni with its Alma

Mater is due to the Career opportunities provided by B-schools i.e. information about new job

openings with the companies they are connected to or referring the Alumni to those companies. The

Networking Platform that B-schools provides to interact with the seniors and with the current batch

also is a major reason why Alumni wants to stay connected with their Alma Mater. Events/Reunions

organized and the location and timings of these meets also decide the participation of Alumni in

Alumni engagement activities. It is also observed that the interest of the alumni to participate is

enhanced by his emotional attachment with the college. Meeting with their friends, cherishing old

memories of their time in the college also trigger Alumni association with the B-school.

B-schools try to increase the interactions by inviting Alumni for the guest lecture of the individuals.

An Alumni of a B-school who goes on to become CEO/CFO of a company is also a good pick for

college to be the Chief guest or guest lecture of the B-Schools event. Such associations build

emotional relationships between Alumni and its Alma Mater.

These studies highlight the fact that Alumni are also interested in telling their success stories to theworld. B-schools judge the level of Alumni engagement by number of new students introduced to the


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B-school through alumni, number of alumni volunteers on campus, percentage of Alumni

supportingthe B-school for placement and referrals or providing career guidance to the new students,

percentage of bad addresses for alumni, annual survey measuring the impact of activities on alumni

attitudes.

Certain factors that prove bottlenecks in the Alumni engagement programs are Time and busyschedule of the Alumnis. Similarly location problem as to where the alumni activities are organizes is

also considered important for Alumni to attend those events. Similarly the subjectivity of the event is

also important for the Alumnis as some perceive Alumni events to have fun and enjoy while for

others learning opportunities and associations with peers or distinguished industry professionals is a

major factor.

Research methodology:

Data type : Primary Data

Research tool : Questionnaire, Literature Survey, Social network, people interactions (In

Depth Interview)

Sample Units : Individual, Friends and Family members

Sampling Method : Stratified Sampling

Assumptions:

Samples collected are a representative of the entire population


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Qualitative Research:

In-depth Interview

For Qualitative Analysis we implemented the method of In-depth interview. We got in touch witharound 7 Alumni across different B-Schools including IIM-A, Great lakes, Army Institute ofManagement, SCIT, SIMC. Each interview lasts around 15-30 minutes. Through these interviews wecould get insights on what could be the possible factors of which would drive the Alumni engagementin B-School

Based on the literature review and in-depth interview, our finding is that below are the reasons for the

alumni to participate:

1. Career opportunities

A lot of alumni respondents keep in touch with the b-school for career opportunities and

services, guidance and prospects to them.2. Networking platform

The events conducted by the alumni stakeholder group increase network opportunities with

and for the group. This creates solid platform for forming business partnership and mutually

beneficial relationship with each other.

3. Invitation to B-School Events

Alumni attending B-school events will increase the face-to-face networking opportunities

with and for this group, thereby creating a solid foundation for the implementation of a

relationship.

4. B-School reputation

It has been observed that alumni of reputed B-schools take pride in keeping in touch with

their B-schools.

5. Experience in college as a student

Those who had good memories about the B-school show tendency to engage more with the B-

school later.

6. Location and Timing of Alumni meets

Location and timing of alumni meet plays important role in alumni attending B-school alumni

events. It could be due to factors like work, family etc.

Independent Variable:

Certain factors that influence alumni engagement identified are-

Nostalgia

Career Opportunities

Networking

College Communication

Career Opportunities

Alumni meets

College Reputation


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Dependent Variable:

Alumni Engagement

Hypothesis:

Based on the above mentioned independent and dependent variables, we have formed the

following hypothesis which we would test in our scope of study:

Hypothesis 1: Relationship between Alumni engagement and career opportunities

H0: Alumni Engagement is not affected by career opportunities provided by the b-school

Ha: Alumni Engagement is affected by career opportunities provided by b-schools

Hypothesis 2: Relationship between Alumni engagement and Networking platform

H0: Alumni Engagement is not affected by career opportunities provided by b-schools

Ha: Alumni Engagement is affected by networking platform provided by the b-schools

Hypothesis 3: Relationship between Alumni engagement and Communication by college

H0: Alumni Engagement is not improved by quality of college communication

Ha: Alumni Engagement is improved by quality of college communication

Hypothesis 4: Relationship between Alumni engagement and reputation of the collegeH0: Alumni Engagement is not affected by the reputation of the college

Ha: Alumni Engagement is affected by the reputation of the college

Hypothesis 5: Relationship between Alumni engagement and college-life experience of

alumni(nostalgia)

H0: Alumnus are less engaged if they do not Have a good college life experience

Ha: Alumnus are more engaged if they Have a good college life experience

Hypothesis 6: Relationship between Alumni engagement and location and timing of alumni

meets

H0: Alumni engagements is not affected by the location and timing of alumni meets

Ha: Alumni engagements is affected by the location and timing of alumni meets


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Quantitative Research:

Methodology:

The factors identified based on the Qualitative research and the literature survey, was used as an

input to the quantitative research. We rolled out our questionnaire a week before we started our

analysis on the data. We had a total of 23 questions.

We have used the 5-point Likert scalefor the survey. The format of scale was from

Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5).

In a weeks time we could collect more than 150 responses. We used the survey data and SPSS tool

for further analysis. Also we performed the following steps in the below mentioned order to test the

data-

1. Test of reliability (Cronbach alpha)

To check the validity of internal consistency, that is, how closely related a set of items are as

a group we calculated Cronbach Alpha.The responses which required reverse scoring,

were reverse scored After collecting the first 40 responses the Cronbach alphas were

calculated for all constructs to check the reliability of the questions and scales.We

used the value of alpha at 0.6 as the threshold value and rejected any variable which had ascore below that.

2. Test of Multicollinearity

For further analysis of the data we performed a test of multi-collinearity was performed on

each of the variables using SPSS.

3. Factor Analysis

As we found multi-co linearity amongst the independent variables, we performed a Factor

analysis to extract components for further analysis

4. Regression Analysis

After extracting the factors we finally performed a regression analysis to test the

relationship between the DV and the IVs. We also calculated interaction terms between the

IVs and applied Mean-centring Theoremsremove co linearity between the interaction

terms


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Results:

1. Test of reliability (Cronbach alpha)

After performing the Cronbach alpha test we found the following results:

Dependent Variable-Amluni Engagement

Independent Variable 1- Nostalgia

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's

Alpha

N of Items

.745 4

Independent Variable 2- Career Opportunities


Cronbach's

Alpha

N of Items

.750 4

Independent Variable 3- Networking


Cronbach's

Alpha

N of Items

.713 3


Cronbach's

Alpha

N of Items

.714 4


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Independent Variable 4- Alumni Meets

Independent Variable 5- College Reputation


Cronbach's

Alpha

N of Items

.732 4

Independent Variable 6-Communication from College


Cronbach's

Alpha

N of Items

.879 3


Cronbach's

Alpha

N of Items

.696 4


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2. Test of multi collinearity

The final data for each construct was generated by taking the mean of the responses for

the questions of that construct.

Interaction among Network and Alumni Variables were supposedly assumed. An

interaction term AlumniNetworkis created.

The output of the bivariate- co-linearity test was the following:-

Correlations

Nostalgi

a-Var1

Carrer

Opportuniti

es- Var2

College

Reputatio

n- Var5

College

Communicati

on- Var6

Alum

ni

Meet

s-

Var4

Networkin

g- Var3

AlumniNetw

ork

Nostalgia-

Var1

Pearson

Correlati

on

1 .502** .608

** .329

** .470

** .431

** .484

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

Carrer

Opportunities

- Var2

Pearson

Correlati

on

.502** 1 .592

** .640

** .602

** .664

** .714

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

College

Reputation-

Var5

Pearson

Correlati

on

.608** .592

** 1 .560

** .636

** .633

** .682

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116


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College

Communicati

on- Var6

Pearson

Correlati

on

.329** .640

** .560

** 1 .641

** .579

** .681

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

Alumni

Meets-Var4

Pearson

Correlati

on

.470** .602

** .636

** .641

** 1 .623

** .881

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

Networking-

Var3

Pearson

Correlati

on

.431** .664

** .633

** .579

** .623

** 1 .900

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

AlumniNetwor

k

Pearson

Correlati

on

.484** .714

** .682

** .681

** .881

** .900

** 1

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).


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We find that there is significant correlation between interaction variable AlumniNetwork

and independent variables.

Thus we perform Mean Centering of the given data and we try to remove the multi

collinearity due to the interaction term. But even after performing Mean Centring of the

data for Alumni Network we find that the Correlation due to the interaction variable is still

significant.

Correlations

Nostalg

ia-Var1

Carrer

Opportuniti

es- Var2

College

Reputati

on- Var5

College

Communicat

ion- Var6

MCNetw

ork

MCAlu

mni

MCAlumniNet

work

Nostalgia-

Var1

Pearson

Correlati

on

1 .502** .608

** .329

** .430

** .470

** -.284

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .002

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

Carrer

Opportunities-

Var2

Pearson

Correlati

on

.502** 1 .592

** .640

** .664

** .602

** -.220

*

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .017

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

College

Reputation-

Var5

Pearson

Correlation

.608

**

.592

**

1 .560

**

.633

**

.636

**

-.411

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

College

Communicatio

n- Var6

Pearson

Correlati

on

.329** .640

** .560

** 1 .579

** .641

** -.229

*


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Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .013

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

MCNetwork

Pearson

Correlati

on

.430** .664

** .633

** .579

** 1 .623

** -.418

**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

MCAlumni

Pearson

Correlati

on

.470**

.602**

.636**

.641**

.623**

1 -.407**

Sig. (2-

tailed).000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

MCAlumniNet

work

Pearson

Correlati

on

-.284** -.220

* -.411

** -.229

* -.418

** -.407

** 1

Sig. (2-

tailed).002 .017 .000 .013 .000 .000

N 116 116 116 116 116 116 116

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

From above table we find Multi Collinearity due to interaction term and independent

variable still exists. Thus we avoid using the mean centred data and interaction terms for

factor and regression analysis


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3. Factor Analysis:

The result of the factor analysis as performed in SPSS was following:

Communalities

Initial Extraction

College Communication-

Var61.000 .795

Alumni Meets-Var4 1.000 .977

Networking- Var3 1.000 .732

Nostalgia-Var1 1.000 .922

Carrer Opportunities- Var2 1.000 .794

College Reputation- Var5 1.000 .746

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Total Variance Explained

Compon

ent

Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared

Loadings

Rotation Sums of Squared

Loadings

Total % of

Variance

Cumulativ

e %

Total % of

Variance

Cumulativ

e %

Total % of

Variance

Cumulativ

e %

1 3.730 58.172 58.172 3.730 58.172 58.172 2.323 38.722 38.722

2 1.727 14.119 72.291 1.727 14.119 72.291 1.527 25.447 64.168

3 1.508 10.461 82.752 1.508 10.461 82.752 1.115 18.583 82.752

4 .406 6.760 89.512

5 .370 6.162 95.674

6 .260 4.326 100.000


As seen in the component matrix a total of 3 factors (Principal components) wereextracted based on the criteria of Eigen value > 1. Based on the component matrix,

we identified the high loading (having magnitude of more than 0.6) and medium

loading (having magnitude between 0.45 and 0.59) variables for each factor:


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Component Matrixa

Component

1 2 3


Var6.769 -.451 .028

Alumni Meets-Var4 .760 .097 .625

Networking- Var3 .820 -.206 -.130

Nostalgia-Var1 .697 .638 -.172

Carrer Opportunities- Var2 .833 -.184 -.257

College Reputation- Var5 .842 .179 -.067


a. 3 components extracted.

Since the factor nostalgia was contributing to both the components we performed a factor rotation

which resulted in the following rotated matrix:

Rotated Component Matrixa

Component

1 2 3


Var6.829 .036 .327

Alumni Meets-Var4 .307 .278 .898

Networking- Var3 .766 .307 .225

Nostalgia-Var1 .178 .924 .192

Carrer Opportunities- Var2 .801 .371 .118College Reputation- Var5 .530 .603 .318


Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

a. Rotation converged in 5 iterations.

Based on these results, we named the 3 factors as follows:

1) to be filled

2) to be filled


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3) to be filled

4. Regression Analysis:


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Conclusion

Exhibits

Exhibit 1: Questionnaire for Survey

1) How often do you go to Alumni Meets?

Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never

2) How often do you refer alumni of your college to your organization?

Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never

3) Are you Updated with the Current Activities of your the Alma Matter?

Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree

4) Would you be willing or are already mentoring the current students of your college?


5) You highly rate your college experience?


6) When you think of your college you feel nostalgic?


7) If given a chance would you like revisit your college for reviving memories?



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8) Graduation ceremony conducted by your college was satisfactory?


9) Does college's alumni portal update you with the current events, job opportunities etc?


10) You are satisfied with your college's Placement office in providing you your desired job?


11) You find opportunities of getting referred by the Alumni of your college?


12) Your college facilitates entrepreneurship ventures that you wish to carry?


13) You agree that your college has contributed to your professional network?


14) Alumni groups on college Portals allow you to be in regular touch with friends and seniors?


15) Alumni groups on Social Networking sites(Facebook,linkedIn,etc) allows you to be in regular

touch with your batch-mates and Seniors/juniors?


16) College organizes alumni meets as per your convenience?



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17) Your college organizes enough alumni meets so as to result into higher engagement?


18) You agree there is any positive outcome from the alumni meets?


19) You agree the college takes enough steps to ensure that most of the alumni are present in the

meets?


20) You rate the reputation of your college highly?


21) You feel proud being associated to your college?


22) You will be more participative if your college was ranked higher?


23) Do you agree that your college hosts topnotch events(Cultural,technical,etc), which adds to your

college reputation?


24) You get regular mailer from your college?


25) You get timely invites from your college for guest lectures and events?

Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or disagree Disagree Strongly Disagre


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26) Your College regularly updates the contact details of the alumni?


Documents

Group1 Sec1 MR Project