June Gudeman

Leticia, Yes that's what your curriculum suggests, the mission statement should wrap both the concept of the school's mission as well as the focus of the alumni. So, give it a shot - what would a rough draft mission statement look like for your alumni association? June Gudeman

Elizabeth, It's a good idea to include the basic premise of the school's mission statement and then enhance with the direction of your alumni statement. Would you be willing to share your school's mission and your alumni's? June Gudeman

Karen, Good thoughts. I'd encourage you to think about some ways to gather your alumni success stories and then some ideas about how to share them. Your graduate stories are VERY powerful tools! June Gudeman

Milagros, You've clearly articulated some tough barriers that are not easy to overcome. But, naming them is the start and now your challenge is to think creatively and, possibly, out of the box to make your way around the roadblocks. I like your idea of finding grads via other grads. Facebook is certainly a free option to finding your alumni. I know that some organizations who can't afford a designated alumni website create a Facebook Alumni page. You may be surprised how many of your grads "find you" rather than you looking for them. June Gudeman

Milagros, I like the idea of bringing your students back to your campus. Alumni appreciate opportunities to come back and it give you an opportunity to showcase new/updated facilities or programs. It's important to determine what exactly will be a DRAW to your graduates. It may be worth talking with or surveying some alumni to see what that is. Sometimes what we think will be a draw, isn't really. June Gudeman

Karen, It sounds like you have a good feel for what will be of benefit for your graduates. You have mentioned several very valuable options that will continue to bring them back to you and that's the goal. Be sure to set up your systems so you continue to gather their updated contact information each time they come to you looking for something you're offering. June Gudeman

Milagros, Some of the newer content management systems (like Wordpress) are pretty easy to set up and your IT person could probably help you. I agree that having someone designated to maintain and update the website is critical. If your website gets stagnant, your grads will quit coming back to visit. June Gudeman

Karen, I think you've come up with a creative solution and certainly your Alumni Department would fit nicely with Marketing. June Gudeman

Milagros, Your institution's mission statement sounds like it does speak to your alumni as well, possibly just with some wording changes. I like your idea of challenging your graduates to development and community service. I'd challenge you to attempt to wrap all of your Alumni Mission Statement into one sentence. That will be a challenge. June Gudeman

Karen, It sounds like you have a nice variety of contributors. I like your idea of including current students. I agree they might have some good input and it would help get the word out to your current students that you have a program for them after they graduate! June Gudeman