Sooner or later in their lives and careers, individuals pursuing further educational opportunities go through a decision-making process whether such move is worth their while and if so, which institution to select. Motivations behind the choice to continue studying vary, spanning from advancing existing knowledge in a certain field, gaining a new skill or simply buying a ticket into the networking opportunities a prestigious institution would potentially offer via its alumni. Many questions arise in this regard, such as: Should I select a more expensive study programme? Do I really need an MBA in addition to my existing educational achievements? Will I make the contacts that will make my effort and investment in a new degree worthwhile?
These are the issues that we all contemplate at some point.
Nowadays it is rather common for educational institutions to have established an alumni association. The reasoning behind this is both economic and societal: economic in terms of making revenues by offering different kinds of networking and fundraising events, and societal in terms of improving the institution’s perceived worth by featuring important individuals as their alumni and by increasing their reach via their networks.
There are approximately 160 alumni organisations in the UK and 8,700 in the US, many of them actively operating and promoting the value of their membership. This offer commonly entails an access to attractive events, get togethers, volunteering and fundraising opportunities as well as mentorship programmes for new members. It is a common practice to automatically opt in new students into the alumni organisations, with an embedded opt out option at a later stage. In order to achieve their goals each member would have to have an active engagement with such organisations which, in most cases, demands an investment either in terms of time or money or both. Alumni programme benefits and services vary due to the profiles and interests of its members but are rarely tailored to a specific individual’s requirements. They offer an opportunity to meet, greet and bond with the current, past or even future members, but although attractive, such opportunities might provide a false sense of association and fellowship. This is especially true for those individuals trying to gain access to highly desired circles or networks through expensive degree programmes. However, many alumni associations’ benefits, although appearing available to all members, remain reserved to the privileged few. While expensive degree programme at renowned educational institutions provide access to high-net-worth individuals or decision-makers in their respective industries, the networking mostly happens among the like-minded individuals with similar interests or affiliation with similar circles that are rarely open to new members or, especially, to outsiders with different backgrounds or social standing.
Another recent development has had a big influence on the way alumni associations operate. The expansion of various distant learning programmes recorded in recent years has significantly decreased the requirement for physical presence at educational institutions sponsoring the pursued study programmes. Even some of the most famous educational institutions offer such programmes, with their brands and standing playing a crucial role in a prospective student’s decision-making process when it comes to selecting the right and most valuable programme according to their personal goals and expectations. Although good for the resume, many prospective students also expect that enrolling in programmes at such institutions allows access to their valuable alumni networks. However, such programmes do not provide personal bonding opportunities due to lack of direct contact with peers. Moreover, most of the networking activity does not actually take place in classrooms, but outside an institution’s premises, during a casual drink or similar relaxing occasions, such as the night life. The boost in online engagement has additionally been instigated in the aftermath of the COVID19 pandemic through various social distancing measures and the redefinition of the in-person engagement. As a result, alumni associations report a significant decrease in in-person alumni event attendance over the past five years, while virtual engagement has been lagging.
Most of alumni associations decide not to offer their alumni any specific benefits, or experience limited interest in those they do offer. The latter has not been adapted to the expectations of a typical modern-day student. Moreover, many alumni organisations make no investments at all in enriching the benefits and services offered to their alumni. Consequently, the lack of value these organisations offer is the main obstacle to achieving a higher alumni engagement. Therefore, an overwhelming majority of alumni associations offer benefits and services having little or no value whatsoever. This has resulted in the fact that a lot of alumni organisations experience significant opt-out rates, even at accelerated rates. This trend can be explained by the lack of human resources dedicateed to fulfilling the required tasks and to achieving organisational goals. Furthermore, many associations admit to lacking a specific strategy to achieve their desired outcomes.
In conclusion, when assessing whether the benefits of alumni associations are overrated one should understand two major issues: the low quality of the benefits and services the alumni associations offer coupled with the disinterest to act on that and the wrong perception that memberships automatically allow access to important circles. Although networking opportunities at educational institutions exist in essence it is rather difficult to evaluate their potential material value. In order to gain access to the desired circles, prospective students contemplating enrolling in specific educational programmes should bear in mind that paying for prestigious and more expensive study programmes at institutions with seemingly large alumni associations featuring important representatives of the target fields is merely a foot in the door whereas establishing connections mostly depends on the individual’s engagement, their personality and the readiness to heavily invest in building such relationships. Although this might come as a surprise the process might turn out to be both time-consuming and capital-intensive and not as straightforward as one should expect. This has proven true time and time over and is a common conclusion of many graduates. Therefore, without a specific strategy or individual engagement the benefits of alumni associations would probably prove to be overrated.
These are the issues that we all contemplate at some point.
Nowadays it is rather common for educational institutions to have established an alumni association. The reasoning behind this is both economic and societal: economic in terms of making revenues by offering different kinds of networking and fundraising events, and societal in terms of improving the institution’s perceived worth by featuring important individuals as their alumni and by increasing their reach via their networks.
There are approximately 160 alumni organisations in the UK and 8,700 in the US, many of them actively operating and promoting the value of their membership. This offer commonly entails an access to attractive events, get togethers, volunteering and fundraising opportunities as well as mentorship programmes for new members. It is a common practice to automatically opt in new students into the alumni organisations, with an embedded opt out option at a later stage. In order to achieve their goals each member would have to have an active engagement with such organisations which, in most cases, demands an investment either in terms of time or money or both. Alumni programme benefits and services vary due to the profiles and interests of its members but are rarely tailored to a specific individual’s requirements. They offer an opportunity to meet, greet and bond with the current, past or even future members, but although attractive, such opportunities might provide a false sense of association and fellowship. This is especially true for those individuals trying to gain access to highly desired circles or networks through expensive degree programmes. However, many alumni associations’ benefits, although appearing available to all members, remain reserved to the privileged few. While expensive degree programme at renowned educational institutions provide access to high-net-worth individuals or decision-makers in their respective industries, the networking mostly happens among the like-minded individuals with similar interests or affiliation with similar circles that are rarely open to new members or, especially, to outsiders with different backgrounds or social standing.
Another recent development has had a big influence on the way alumni associations operate. The expansion of various distant learning programmes recorded in recent years has significantly decreased the requirement for physical presence at educational institutions sponsoring the pursued study programmes. Even some of the most famous educational institutions offer such programmes, with their brands and standing playing a crucial role in a prospective student’s decision-making process when it comes to selecting the right and most valuable programme according to their personal goals and expectations. Although good for the resume, many prospective students also expect that enrolling in programmes at such institutions allows access to their valuable alumni networks. However, such programmes do not provide personal bonding opportunities due to lack of direct contact with peers. Moreover, most of the networking activity does not actually take place in classrooms, but outside an institution’s premises, during a casual drink or similar relaxing occasions, such as the night life. The boost in online engagement has additionally been instigated in the aftermath of the COVID19 pandemic through various social distancing measures and the redefinition of the in-person engagement. As a result, alumni associations report a significant decrease in in-person alumni event attendance over the past five years, while virtual engagement has been lagging.
Most of alumni associations decide not to offer their alumni any specific benefits, or experience limited interest in those they do offer. The latter has not been adapted to the expectations of a typical modern-day student. Moreover, many alumni organisations make no investments at all in enriching the benefits and services offered to their alumni. Consequently, the lack of value these organisations offer is the main obstacle to achieving a higher alumni engagement. Therefore, an overwhelming majority of alumni associations offer benefits and services having little or no value whatsoever. This has resulted in the fact that a lot of alumni organisations experience significant opt-out rates, even at accelerated rates. This trend can be explained by the lack of human resources dedicateed to fulfilling the required tasks and to achieving organisational goals. Furthermore, many associations admit to lacking a specific strategy to achieve their desired outcomes.
In conclusion, when assessing whether the benefits of alumni associations are overrated one should understand two major issues: the low quality of the benefits and services the alumni associations offer coupled with the disinterest to act on that and the wrong perception that memberships automatically allow access to important circles. Although networking opportunities at educational institutions exist in essence it is rather difficult to evaluate their potential material value. In order to gain access to the desired circles, prospective students contemplating enrolling in specific educational programmes should bear in mind that paying for prestigious and more expensive study programmes at institutions with seemingly large alumni associations featuring important representatives of the target fields is merely a foot in the door whereas establishing connections mostly depends on the individual’s engagement, their personality and the readiness to heavily invest in building such relationships. Although this might come as a surprise the process might turn out to be both time-consuming and capital-intensive and not as straightforward as one should expect. This has proven true time and time over and is a common conclusion of many graduates. Therefore, without a specific strategy or individual engagement the benefits of alumni associations would probably prove to be overrated.