1. Student engagement and the
student experience
Clare Gordon, Alumni Events Officer
c.h.gordon@bham.ac.uk, +44 (0)121 414 8904

2. In the next 30 minutes….
 Why student experience is such a hot topic
 Why engage with students
 Why you shouldn’t be afraid to jump in!

3. Shaping our Future:
Birmingham 2015
 5 key strategic goals,
one of which is to:
– “Provide our students
with a distinctive, high
quality experience”

4. How can alumni relations help?
 Alumni have so much to offer students
 Broader themes of employability and global
impact give us an opportunity to be relevant
to other parts of the University
 Fundraising can enhance the student
experience
 Engaged students become engaged alumni

5. Why engage with students?
 Great opportunity
 Dispel myths
 Educate
 Promote students as ambassadors for your
institution
 Connect with campus life and issues
 Steward/cultivate alumni
 The beginning of a lifelong relationship

6. Staff resources
 Started in October 2007 as Alumni Projects
Officer
 Tasked with developing and implementing
DARO’s student engagement strategy
 Joined in 2008/09 by CARMs who help to
implement strategy at a College level
 My role now includes the delivery of the
alumni events programme (12-15 per year)

7. Student survey – December 2007
 Only 20.8% knew about DARO
 One third of respondents were aware of alumni
financial support
 71.6% wanted to know more about the career paths
of alumni from their departments
 57% wanted to know more about prominent alumni
who have reached the top of their professions
 70% of respondents wanted access to careers advice
after graduation

8. MBA research – Summer 2008
 Recommendations included:
1. Students need to be made more aware of
impact of alumni donations
2. Birmingham should be an early (UK)
adopter of a student alumni association

9. Where we started
 Increased presence at student events across
campus

10.  Increased involvement with careers events
 Poster campaign across campus
 Involved with HoneyPot
 Overhauled presence at graduations

11.  Established in September 2009
 51 members in 2009/10, 60 so far in 2010/11
 6 committee members
 Open to all students
 £5 membership fee – includes t-shirt and £1
donation to Circles of Influence campaign

12. Goals
 Raise the profile of DARO
 Transfer DARO-organised events to students,
providing them with skills
 Introduce students to the benefits offered to alumni
before they graduate
 Cultivate future alumni leadership
 Opportunities for students to network with alumni
 Encourage students to develop a lifelong relationship
with the University

13. Recruitment events

14. Table for Ten

15. Students v Alumni Pub Quiz

16. Networking Workshop

17. Fab ‘n’ Fresh nights

18. Attending alumni events

19. The 3 year plan
 80 members by the end of 2010-11.
 Annual Giving tag campaign this summer
 120 members by the end of 2011-12, with a 50%
retention rate of 2010-11 members.
 All 7 committee members elected by September
2011.
 By start of 2011-12, committee members to be
planning all aspects of BFL events
 Create more opportunities for student/alumni contact

20. Student Life Survey 2010/11
 16% have heard of DARO
– Higher for PGR and final year students
– Advertising/publications/emails
 7% have heard of Birmingham. For life.
 37% feel that DARO’s most important
function is fundraising (UG), 35% that it is
keeping in touch with alumni (PGR & PGT)
 51% would like the opportunity to network
with alumni

21. Where we are now
 Birmingham. For life.
 Student communications strategy
– Student e-newsletters
– Presence on student portal
– Welcome Week messages
– Annual Giving messages
 More focussed careers events including
Table for Ten

22.  Greater presence at graduations
– Graduation goodie bags and data
collection
– Arts & Law yearbook
– Good Luck email
– 2013 graduation gift
 Greater sense of identity among scholarship
recipients
 Greater understanding of the value alumni
can add to the student experience

23. Resources
 Student Alumni Association Forum
– Warwick Connective
– OxSAS
– Aberdeen Student Alumni Club
– Manchester and Southampton have initial
ideas
 CASE ASAP – www.case.org/asap

24. Now it’s over to you!
 Clare’s top tips:
– Start small but keep it broad
– Keep it fun - the less corporate the better!
– Let your students come up with the ideas
– Demonstrate that you are relevant to them
now

25. Student engagement and the
student experience
Clare Gordon, Alumni Events Officer
c.h.gordon@bham.ac.uk, +44 (0)121 414 8904