PRESENTATION

Gretchen Dobson, EdD – Academic Assembly/ICEF Alumni

The Alumni Advantage: Leveraging this Powerful Resource to Enhance Agent Effectiveness

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Setting the Context

• Motivations for Engaging Alumni• Alumni as Brand Ambassadors• Networking and Opportunity for Existing

Students and Recent Graduates• Expanding the Definition of Alumni = More

Opportunities for Partnerships

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What are the motives for engaging international alumni? What value does global alumni relations bring to the agent-school/university relationship?

Reputation Management

Branding Recruitment

Employability Public DiplomacyFinancial Resources

to Sustain Internationalization

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Alumni as Brand Ambassadors

Key elements associated with brand management:

InclusiveValue-AddPartnerships and more…

How do agents and alumni communicate this with prospective students?

Core Messages of the Institutional Brand

Our members

Our mission

Our value

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Building brand early and often: student connections

Alumni Brand =

Institutional Brand

Prospective Student

Student

Final Year

New Graduate –

Part of Alumni Body!

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Expanding the Definition of Alumni: Transnational Alumni

New definition responds to the need for a more detailed understanding of alumni dynamics in an increasingly complex global mobility landscape.

Alumni that conduct their personal and professional lives within two or more countries.

Studied at an institution in their home country but reside abroad. Reside in the country where their alma mater is based, but who have had extensive experience abroad – including local diaspora.

Additionally, institutions may identify and track graduates of offshore, joint or double-degree programs as transnational alumni.

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2017: Global Alumni Management for U.S. Institutions

http://info.intead.com/global-alumni-management

2018: i-Graduate ICEF Agent Barometer

Global Alumni Relations Research

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We asked about:• Current practices• Rating of consistency -- and

effectiveness• Areas of frustration• How much the work is valued

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2017 - Global Alumni Management (USA)Key findings: Institutions are not alone in wanting their global alumni relations efforts to do more.

• 65% of our sample reported having no dedicated staff time devoted to international alumni management.

• Over 50% of respondents reported that it was “not at all true” that their institution’s international alumni management program was well-organized, well-resourced, well-planned, or consistent.

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2017 - Global Alumni Management (USA)Key findings (continued):

• Insufficient time (51%) and money (28%) were the most commonly reported impediments to expanding institutional international alumni efforts.

• Over 50% of respondents reported feeling that international alumni management was “very important” to increasing international student recruitment and brand awareness

• 67% did not feel that they receive sufficient internal leadership support.

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2017 – Global Alumni Management (USA)

Our recommendations:

• Pay attention to your data management. Systems matter.

• Start small. Begin with just a handful of international cities or regions and grow from there.

• Recognize the importance of senior leadership buy-in.

N E W Q U E S T I O N S AD D E D T O AG E N T B AR O M E T E R T O AS S E S S :

H O W O F T E N AG E N T S F O L L O W E D U P W I T H T H E I R S T U D E N T S , AL U M N I , AN D FAM I L I E S

W H Y AG E N T S F O L L O W U P W I T H AL U M N I

H O W O F T E N H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N I N S T I T U T I O N S C O L L AB O R AT E W I T H AG E N T S T O C O N TAC T AL U M N I ( B Y AG E N T L O C AT I O N )

2018 ICEF i-Graduate ICEF Agent Barometer

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Does Your Organization Keep a Contact Database for Alumni?

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Does Your Organization Keep a Contact Database for Alumni?

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Reasons Given for Declining Student Interest in the US and UK

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Primary Concerns/Questions of Students Before Departure (Dark Blue) and After Arrival (Light Blue)

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1. Understand how alumni engagement philosophies differ across countries and cultures. Offer to be a cultural broker!

2. Understand how priorities (e.g., development) for alumni engagement differ across institutions.

3. Work with international office and/or recruitment teams to develop relationships with institution’s alumni relations office.

4. Demonstrate your keen awareness about the institutional and alumni brand.

5. Start small and focus on what you know and who you know to demonstrate awareness about your local community, city, region and/or country.

Key Steps for Agents: How to Build Relationships with Alumni at Home and Abroad

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6. Partner with institution and become a source of alumni data and a valued partner in enhancing global alumni databases.

7. Develop systems for tracking alumni data.

8. Utilize locally accepted forms of social media to reach out to alumni and invite their participation in fairs, information sessions, school presentations.

9. Track progress and assess volunteer experience.

10. Offer information sessions for alumni officers.

11. Support the development of global alumni chapters.

Key Steps for Agents: How to Build Relationships with Alumni at Home and Abroad

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Open Discussion

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International Alumni Relations Publications & Courses

Dobson, G. (2011). Being Global: Making the Case for International Alumni Relations. www.case.org/store.

Dobson, G. (2014). International Travel Management: Engaging Constituents Abroad. http://www.academicimpressions.com/international-travel-handbook-engaging-constituents-abroad?qt-a_book_by_gretchen_dobson=0#qt-a_book_by_gretchen_dobson

Dobson, G. (Ed.). (2015). Staying Global: How International Alumni Relations Advances the Agenda. www.eaie.org.

Dobson, G. (2016). Global Alumni Relations E-Courseacademicassembly.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Global-Alumni-Flyer-2pgs-WEB.pdf

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ICEF Alumni – Getting Started

A package designed for institutions new to global alumni relations and/or those who want an outside assessment of current international alumni management practices. ICEF Alumni – Getting Started measures institutional perceptions about their ability to manage successful and sustainable international alumni relations programs due to the varying degrees of requisite resources: leadership support, dedicated staff, institutional resources and volunteers.

New Opportunities: ICEF Alumni Solutions

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ICEF Alumni: Discover Global Alumni

• Three-year remote or in-country service to create alumni communities that serve institution’s international objectives

• Clear deliverables offered each year, including database management, volunteer training and communications support.

• With engage alumni and families institutions gain time, boost resources and extend the word-of-mouth personal referral base.

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To find out more about how your institution can create a global alumni network

that works, contact: alumni@icef.com