Staying connected to your students post-graduation is critical for many reasons - including tracking their outcomes and job placement.  Many educational institutions struggle with participation in alumni surveys and other engagement, but some programs are having success that may inspire other schools. 

At Briar Cliff University, an alumni board is composed of at least 2 representatives from each graduating class.  They only have 5 graduating cohorts, so it is easy to maintain right now, but infrastructure will likely change in the future. 

The alumni board positions include:

• A person who maintains active & engaging social media outlets that alumni use & enjoy.  It's a great outlet for linking to surveys. 
  
  
• Other alumni are dedicated to class outreach.
   
• These individuals email, text, and call graduates of their respective cohorts and reinforce the importance of participating in the surveys.
• They also maintain a list of current contact information for their respective cohorts, using a simple Google doc link for individuals to update.
• The chair participates in an alumni board Zoom meeting about 4 times per year.  All contact information is collected during the students' exit survey & last advisement meeting with their academic advisor. The Assessment Chair contacts the Alumni Chair when assistance is needed to increase survey response rate.
  
  
• Representatives on the Alumni Board post reminders and links on their active social media site, and the representatives personally reach out to members of their respective cohorts in order to remind them to complete the surveys and participate in other ways.

Is your institution successfully surveying alumni?  Tell us about it at acapt@acapt.org.