Best Practices

How your peers are approaching Alumni Spotlights

How your peers are approaching Alumni Spotlights

By

Sandiep

|

January 21, 2020

Last modified: 

January 19, 2022

At present, the U.S. Department of Education lists more than 4000 degree-granting academic institutions. As a result of the US education landscape being largely populated, there is cut-throat competition among institutions with respect to student admissions. 

As universities largely depend on publicly visible rankings to attract students, there’s one weapon that they’ve consistently been using to boost their social proof: ALUMNI

In order to stand out and beat rising competition, institutions around the world are adopting creative approaches for highlighting outstanding alumni achievements. Here’s how our partners are leveraging the power of their alumni networks to boost their brand and draw more students. 


Alumni Spotlight

Universities play a critical role in shaping the lives of their students who then go on to become successful alumni with promising careers and the potential to impact local communities. 

The Alumni Spotlight program is a great approach for showcasing and recognizing some of these alumni leaders, who serve as outstanding role models for prospective students and young alumni. 

Here’s how our customer, Nicholls State University made Alumni Spotlight an integral part of its engagement program. Every week, the university chooses an alum and highlights their achievements. 

Alumni Spotlight
View the feature on Nicholls State University’s alumni network

Nicholls State University gathered information for alumni spotlights by asking alumni to fill out the following questions via emails and telephonic interviews. The institution doubled down on a specific set of key questions to bring out alumni experiences & achievements in the best possible way. Here's the questionnaire used to collect data from alumni:

  1. What are you doing currently?
  2. What did your time at the school mean to you?
  3. What do you do now and how did you get where you are?
  4. Why did you choose this school and how did it prepare you for your career?
  5. What would be your advice to current students?

The institution ensured to follow a clear chronology by showcasing alumni’s current work, their journey of growth, and finally concluding with a crucial takeaway. Alumni responses are then compiled in an easy-to-grasp infographic template and published on the university’s alumni platform and social media channels.


How Alumni Spotlights helps Nicholls State University


Alumni Couples Spotlight 

Alumni look up to their alma mater because of the values and education that they receive but, for a few lucky ones, love is another reason. Yes, we’re talking about alumni who found love on campus and went on to lead happy lives together. Alumni couples are one of the most important segments of your alumni population because of their shared knowledge about your institution and deep understanding of the culture which they can help reflect.

Here’s how Nicholls State University showcases stories about alumni couples, elaborating on how they met, their time at the university, and their careers and families.

alumni couples
See the full feature on Nicholls State University’s Couples Spotlight page


One interesting fact about Nicholls State University’s Couples Spotlights features is that it is done specifically during the month of February in honor of Valentine’s Day. 

Valentine’s Day Spotlights



Alumni Business Spotlight 

There are almost 28 million small businesses in the US that employ over 50% of the working population (120 million individuals). Recognizing the great service of these job providers (who also form a significant part of your alumni population) towards their country and community is an excellent approach towards boosting your university’s brand value. 

Here’s how ULM Alumni Association, the official alumni wing of the University of Louisiana, Monroe, identifies a business run by its alumni and recognizes its effort via the “Business of the Month” features. The association attracts alumni to enroll in its ‘Business of the Month’ features by providing the following incentives:

1. ‘Business of the Month’ sign to display on store-front

2. Feature story on the university’s Alumni page on Facebook. (See their latest feature on Facebook here.)

3. Feature story in the university’s e-newsletter "Good News" (which is sent out each month to over 20,000 alumni) 

4. Special showcase on Alumni web-site


Alumni Business Spotlight 

5. Special alumni gear

 Special alumni gear


ULM Alumni Association collects entries for its ‘Business of the Month’ features via calls and a simple form on their website.

At present, the U.S. Department of Education lists more than 4000 degree-granting academic institutions. As a result of the US education landscape being largely populated, there is cut-throat competition among institutions with respect to student admissions. 

As universities largely depend on publicly visible rankings to attract students, there’s one weapon that they’ve consistently been using to boost their social proof: ALUMNI

In order to stand out and beat rising competition, institutions around the world are adopting creative approaches for highlighting outstanding alumni achievements. Here’s how our partners are leveraging the power of their alumni networks to boost their brand and draw more students. 


Alumni Spotlight

Universities play a critical role in shaping the lives of their students who then go on to become successful alumni with promising careers and the potential to impact local communities. 

The Alumni Spotlight program is a great approach for showcasing and recognizing some of these alumni leaders, who serve as outstanding role models for prospective students and young alumni. 

Here’s how our customer, Nicholls State University made Alumni Spotlight an integral part of its engagement program. Every week, the university chooses an alum and highlights their achievements. 

Alumni Spotlight
View the feature on Nicholls State University’s alumni network

Nicholls State University gathered information for alumni spotlights by asking alumni to fill out the following questions via emails and telephonic interviews. The institution doubled down on a specific set of key questions to bring out alumni experiences & achievements in the best possible way. Here's the questionnaire used to collect data from alumni:

  1. What are you doing currently?
  2. What did your time at the school mean to you?
  3. What do you do now and how did you get where you are?
  4. Why did you choose this school and how did it prepare you for your career?
  5. What would be your advice to current students?

The institution ensured to follow a clear chronology by showcasing alumni’s current work, their journey of growth, and finally concluding with a crucial takeaway. Alumni responses are then compiled in an easy-to-grasp infographic template and published on the university’s alumni platform and social media channels.


How Alumni Spotlights helps Nicholls State University


Alumni Couples Spotlight 

Alumni look up to their alma mater because of the values and education that they receive but, for a few lucky ones, love is another reason. Yes, we’re talking about alumni who found love on campus and went on to lead happy lives together. Alumni couples are one of the most important segments of your alumni population because of their shared knowledge about your institution and deep understanding of the culture which they can help reflect.

Here’s how Nicholls State University showcases stories about alumni couples, elaborating on how they met, their time at the university, and their careers and families.

alumni couples
See the full feature on Nicholls State University’s Couples Spotlight page


One interesting fact about Nicholls State University’s Couples Spotlights features is that it is done specifically during the month of February in honor of Valentine’s Day. 

Valentine’s Day Spotlights



Alumni Business Spotlight 

There are almost 28 million small businesses in the US that employ over 50% of the working population (120 million individuals). Recognizing the great service of these job providers (who also form a significant part of your alumni population) towards their country and community is an excellent approach towards boosting your university’s brand value. 

Here’s how ULM Alumni Association, the official alumni wing of the University of Louisiana, Monroe, identifies a business run by its alumni and recognizes its effort via the “Business of the Month” features. The association attracts alumni to enroll in its ‘Business of the Month’ features by providing the following incentives:

1. ‘Business of the Month’ sign to display on store-front

2. Feature story on the university’s Alumni page on Facebook. (See their latest feature on Facebook here.)

3. Feature story in the university’s e-newsletter "Good News" (which is sent out each month to over 20,000 alumni) 

4. Special showcase on Alumni web-site


Alumni Business Spotlight 

5. Special alumni gear

 Special alumni gear


ULM Alumni Association collects entries for its ‘Business of the Month’ features via calls and a simple form on their website.

Blackbaud, the leading provider of software for powering social impact, and Almabase, the digital-first alumni engagement solution, have announced the expansion of their partnership to the education sectors of Canada and the United Kingdom. The partnership will provide institutions with a modern, digital-first solution to improve constituent data, drive self-serve engagement, and boost event participation.

A Unified Vision

The partnership aligns with Blackbaud’s commitment to customer-centric innovation across digital engagement, Advancement CRM, and financials.

“Partners bring integrated capabilities that extend capabilities and outcomes for Blackbaud customers. We are thrilled that Almabase’s offering, integrated with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® and leveraging Blackbaud’s best-in-class payment solution, Blackbaud Merchant Services™, is now available to even more of our customers around the world.”

- Liz Price, Sr. Director of Global Partners at Blackbaud

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