Dillon,
Career services is the number one draw for grads to come back to their institution. You may want to poll some of your alumni to see what other services may be of interest to them?
June
I would like to offer job placement and career advice, like in the form of practice job interviews or any additional help. We also have frequent changes to our certification processes so I would like to use our website to keep students updated on the new changes. In addition, I would like to offer more continuing education classes to keep them updated with all the changes so their skills don't become outdated.
Randy,
I'd like to encourage you to think as a graduate. What would "benefit" you? Continuing education is a great example. Think beyond that. What, for example, would draw you to an alumni website? What would make you want to be involved in an alumni association? We tend to think of things from the perspective of what would benefit our institution. Our "relationship" with our alumni needs to be a mutually benefiting relationship.
June
I believe that we will be able to offer continuing ed classes as we grow a program. If we offer a new course then we can offer this to the Alumn i. Also we can get a handle on retention with Alumni involvement
I was thinking the best way for students to list their information would be a phone number and email at most, that way it also protects their privacy.
Hi Shawnie,
It sounds like you have some good ideas and direction for your website. If your grads are willing to allow their information to be posted on the site, it would be a good way for clients to find them.
June
Justin,
Great idea! Our graduates make GREAT mentors. They've walked in those same "student shoes" and are able to make a connection to our current students.
June
At our school, we frequently have clients call and ask for graduates who live in their area. I would like to set up a database on the alumni website to list each alumni and their qualifications. I would also like to set up more continuing education through the website, in short videos of new procedures and tools.
The number one benefit for students I would like to offer is internships in the field so that they can gain more practical experience with graduates who have been working in the industry for some time. While most of our graduates are self-employed, they do need assistance and I think matching students with alumni could be very beneficial to both them and the school.
Hi Randy,
Career Services is the number one motivator in drawing alumni back to their institutions so your emphasis on that is right on.
June
I would really like to focus on career placement and education. In our industry, we constantly have new laws and regulations being implemented so I see the Alumni Association as a way to educate and inform our graduates. In addition, I like the idea of an alumni website to connect students for those who need assistance or advice with career matters.
I like the direction you're going, Gerry. Those are all really good incentives. Keep trying to keep think from your graduate's perspective.
June
The benefits that we can immediately offer are, lifetime placement assistance. We would inform graduates that are outside our accreditation measuring period that the level of service changes but that we will continue to assist them if they need it. This can be things like resume critique, access to job postings that are looking for a little more experience, as well as invitations to development seminars. Another benefit that we would like to offer our grads is a permanent alumni email that they can forward to their personal email account. This of course can help with their "buy-in," as well as be a tremendous marketing/branding opportunity for the College. In the future, we would love to be able to partner with community outfits and be able to offer our alumni discounts and specials on certain items.
