Survey Reveals Alumni Attitudes, Perspectives

You can’t reach your desired destination unless you know where you are to begin with.

That realization is behind the UC Alumni Association’s participation in a recent survey conducted online, seeking a range of perspectives from alumni about their experience as a students and alumni and their overall attitudes toward UC.

About the Survey
The study was conducted in late 2003 by Performance Enhancement Group, Ltd., which surveyed alumni from more than 40 universities nationally to provide a comparative baseline. The UC Alumni Association distributed 5,000 surveys via e-mail and received 987 total responses. The number of younger alumni responding ran substantially lower than the rate from other universities.

Approximately half of the respondents reported living within 50 miles of the UC campus (more than twice the national average), and 21% live within 10 miles. Responses by gender were nearly even.

Key Findings
• Time is, by far, the most frequently cited barrier to UC alumni participation. Also, just over 40% of respondents cited geographical distance as a barrier (vs. the study average of 30%), and about 35% said that they “do not know anyone.” Just under 20% of respondents also cited their concern about being solicited as a barrier to their participation in alumni activities (vs. the study average of 9%).
• Alumni (especially recent grads) indicate an interest in networking and career-skills development, while alumni of all ages noted the need to identify job opportunities. It’s likely that even those alumni who are not currently seeking employment would appreciate active offers of such assistance.
• UC alums highlighted the importance of “giving back” to the university. Possible methods might include identifying job opportunities for graduates, providing feedback to the university regarding community perceptions, serving as ambassadors, and recruiting and mentoring students.
• There continues to be an ongoing challenge of communicating effectively with younger alumni while maintaining good communications with older alumni. The biggest area of concern is communication of benefits and services.
• Public recognition of UC’s academic excellence has great impact on how alums view the university. When alumni were asked what most affected their opinion of UC, they mentioned issues related to public recognition of UC’s academic status (including the value and respect for a UC degree; providing scholarships; and the accomplishments of faculty, students, and alumni).
• 95% of respondents said their decision to attend UC was “good” or “great” — the same percentage as the average — but, more than the norm, UC responses tilt more toward “good” than “great.”
• Career assistance/job opportunities are highly valued for alums.  People look to their university to further help them meet those life/education/professional challenges.
• Alumni want to be proud of UC and be ambassadors, but they don’t always know how to do that.
• As they look back at what was most important in their student experience, alumni rate  academics/classes, career/skills training, faculty relationships, and exposure to new things most highly.
• Electronic communications are more important and frequently used with younger alumni, but older alumni have adapted to fundamental uses of such communications.
• In the hierarchy of “what impacts my opinion of UC,” the highest-scoring responses included: Value of degree, alumni/student accomplishments, scholarship opportunities/assistance, history/tradition.

“It’s critical that we gather information and opinions from alumni, but obviously, it’s even more important to interpret what we learn and act on it,” said UC Alumni Association Executive Director David Macejko.

“We’ll be putting our available resources toward the areas that alumni consider most meaningful to them, we’ll continue to find ways to create a more positive experience for our current students, and we expect to communicate with alumni more frequently about the great things happening at UC.”