Encl D - Alumni Engagement Survey Report DRAFT 05.11

Enclosure D
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
i
Plymouth University Alumni
Engagement Survey
Draft Report
November 2015

Enclosure D
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
ii
Plymouth University Alumni Engagement
Survey
Draft Report
November 2015
SERIO
A Plymouth University Centre of Expertise
Research and Innovation
Plymouth Science Park
9 Research Way
Derriford
Plymouth
PL6 8BT
t 01752 588942
f 01752 588987
e serio@plymouth.ac.uk
www.serio.ac.uk

Plymouth University Alumni Engagement Survey Report
SERIO
Plymouth University Alumni Engagement Survey
Research Report
Contents
Executive Summary i
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Background to the Research 1
1.2 Method 1
2. Respondent Profile 3
2.1 Introduction 3
2.2 Respondent Characteristics and Graduation Year 3
2.3 Previous Involvement as a Student 4
2.4 Current Circumstances 5
3. Previous Alumni Engagement 7
3.1 Introduction 7
3.2 Awareness of the University’s Aim, Reputation and External Work 7
3.3 Awareness of and Access to Alumni Services 8
3.4 Service Improvements 13
3.5 Previous Donations 14
3.6 Current forms of Communication with the University 16
3.7 The Alumni Service Generally 17
4. Plymouth University’s Future Offer 19
4.1 Introduction 19
4.2 New Alumni Services 19
4.3 Future Event Attendance 22
4.4 Careers Support 24
4.5 Future Communications 25
4.6 The Future of the Alumni Group 26
4.6.1 Naming the Group 26
4.6.2 Increasing Alumni Engagement 27
4.6.3 Tailoring the Alumni Offer 27
5. Future Contributions to the University 29
5.1 Introduction 29
5.2 Supporting the University 29
5.3 Barriers to Participation 32

SERIO
5.4 Financial Donations to the University 33
5.5 Future Priorities 35
6. Conclusion 36
6.1 Introduction 36
6.2 Key Findings 36
6.2.1 Previous Engagement 36
6.2.2 Satisfaction with and Improvements to Current Services 36
6.2.3 Future Needs 36
6.2.4 Attending Events 37
6.2.5 Donations 37
6.2.6 Supporting Students 37
6.2.7 Communications 38
6.3 Implications 38
Technical Annex 40

SERIO i
Plymouth University Alumni Engagement Survey
Executive Summary
1. Background to the Research
Strengthening alumni engagement is a key priority for Plymouth University. However in
order to do this it is important to understand how alumni currently access university
services and how they would like to see the university engage with them in the future. In
recognition of the importance of this, Plymouth University’s External Relations team asked
SERIO, an applied research unit based in the university’s Research and Innovation
Directorate, to undertake a survey of university alumni. The aim of the survey was to
establish the services and opportunities graduates would like to access through the
university’s alumni service.
2. Method
The research methods primarily consisted of a large-scale survey of former Plymouth
University graduates1
whose details were held on the university’s alumni database, and
who were contacted either through email or post. This was supplemented by a series of in-
depth interviews with a selection of graduates who had completed the survey. A total of
1,718 completed survey questionnaires were returned and 15 follow-up telephone
interviews were completed.
3. Respondent Profile
Survey respondents came from a variety of backgrounds although younger, more recent,
graduates tended to predominate. Over half the respondents (53%) were aged between 26
and 44 years of age, while over two-fifths of respondents (42%) graduated between 2010
and 2015. A large majority (82%) were based within the UK, of whom over half lived in the
South West. Sixty-seven percent of all respondents were in full-time employment at the
time of the survey, while 10% were self-employed and 8% were part-time.
4. Previous Alumni Engagement
Previous engagement and awareness of the services available to alumni was limited. Over
half the respondents (56%) knew of the alumni events, but only a minority were aware of
the careers support (42%) and library access (33%). Furthermore only 8% of respondents
(137) had accessed at least one of these three types of service.
Approximately three quarters of users were satisfied with the events they had attended and
the library access available to alumni. However less than half (46%) of the users were
satisfied with the careers support, although it should be noted that the service may have
changed considerably since some of the respondents had last used it. Nevertheless, both
survey respondents and interview participants highlighted that they would like more tailored
support to be provided. In addition a slight majority of respondents (52%) felt that careers
support should be offered to alumni for a longer period than three years after graduation.
1 This includes graduates of Plymouth University’s predecessors: Plymouth Polytechnic and Polytechnic
South West.

SERIO ii
A majority of respondents (60%) received the alumni newsletter, Evolve, and interview
participants rated the newsletter highly in comparison to communications from other alumni
networks they were members of. Encouragingly, over half the respondents were aware of
the university’s standing as one of the top 50 ‘modern universities’, although awareness of
its research specialisms and external work could potentially be improved.
5. Plymouth University’s Future Offer
Respondents expressed interest in a variety of possible support services, with those that
would enable them to update their knowledge and skills being particularly sort after. This
included access to online educational resources (72%) and discounted CPD and executive
courses (63%). The interest in these services amongst respondents who had graduated
over 10 years ago suggests that even alumni who have advanced further in their
professional life may still look to the university to help them progress and further develop
their careers.
The majority of respondents (85%) would like to receive the email newsletter, a higher
proportion than those who currently receive it. Overall respondents expressed a preference
for attending reunions (71%) and social or networking events (54%) in Plymouth. However
40% expressed a desire for social or networking events in another UK city, with London
being the most popular choice.
6. Future Contributions to the University
A large majority of alumni expressed interest in supporting the university and its students in
some way. More than half indicated they would be happy to provide a career profile (57%),
mentor a student online (55%) and speak to a student at an event or workshop (51%).
Those alumni who had graduated most recently tended to prefer to contribute through
online mentoring, while less recent graduates were more open to providing a career profile.
Factors which respondents highlighted would discourage them from closer engagement
included: time constraints (65%); distance from the university (64%) and family and job
commitments (60%). While less than half felt discouraged by the cost of participation this
was a key concern for those who had graduated in the last 10 years.
Just 10% of respondents indicated that they would consider donating money to the
university, with supporting students from underprivileged backgrounds being seen as the
most important priority for donations. The desire to give to other organisations was the main
reason alumni cited for not wanting to donate any money (40% of respondents), followed by
uncertainty over where the contributions would go and how they would be used (37%).
7. Conclusion and Implications
This survey, the first to seek the views of the university’s alumni community in general,
highlights how alumni have previously engaged with the university, as well as their future
support needs and how they might also contribute to supporting existing university activity.
Given the breadth of issues covered, we would recommend that External Relations study
the findings in detail with a view to informing the development of their engagement plan.
However some implications have emerged which could serve as a useful starting point:

SERIO iii
 The finding that only a minority of respondents were aware of careers support and
alumni access to the library, alongside qualitative feedback from interview participants
suggests that alumni engagement could be enhanced through further communication
of the services that are available. Consequently, it may be useful to review how
awareness of alumni services could be improved, for all groups of alumni, but
particularly recent graduates.
 Survey responses revealed an appetite for the provision of services to alumni related to
improving their educational and professional skills. The development of online learning,
particularly through open educational resources and open access journals, may be a
useful means by which the university could help support alumni with their continuing
professional development.
 The interview feedback suggests that there are grounds for targeting careers and
professional development support at more recent graduates. However it also suggests
an appetite for some support in this area later in a graduates’ career. Consequently it
would be useful to consider how the university might also support more experienced
alumni with re-training or help with career changes.
 The survey feedback regarding preferred alumni services found that alumni who had
graduated over 20 years ago were particularly keen on an online directory to search for
their old classmates. This suggests that finding old colleagues is an important priority
for this group. The university could consider how such a directory could be developed
and how they could provide further opportunities for alumni in this group to re-connect
with their old peers and with the university more generally.
 Careers support was also identified as a key priority area by both survey respondents
and interview participants, in terms of how alumni can contribute to the university. The
university has recently worked with alumni to develop career profiles in different subject
areas and it is clear that this is something which many alumni would be willing to do. In
addition, the university might consider how it could develop opportunities for both face-
to-face and online mentoring.
 Just over a third of respondents highlighted that they would not consider donating
money to the university as they were unsure as to where their contributions would go or
how they would be used. In light of this, further communications regarding how the
donations are spent and how they are helping the university could be circulated
amongst the alumni community. It is also important to note that the majority of
respondents who would consider donating money in the future would like it to support
students from underprivileged backgrounds.
 The low response rate for the postal element of the survey, and the interest alumni
expressed in online communications, such as the newsletter, highlights the importance
of ensuring alumni can be engaged through email. However acquiring email contact
details of alumni after they have already graduated, and are no longer able to access
their university accounts, can be challenging. One solution might be to provide a
permanent university account for all alumni, as was suggested in the survey. However,
the university might also consider requiring students to provide a secondary email
address when they join the university, which could potentially be used when they leave.

SERIO 1
Plymouth Alumni Engagement Survey
Main Report
1. Introduction
1.1 Background to the Research
Alumni engagement is a key priority for Plymouth University. In an increasingly competitive
higher education environment a graduate’s success in their career can reflect well on the
university’s reputation. Furthermore the university can benefit substantially from alumni
experience, expertise, and financial support. There is much that the university can do to
support its alumni and encourage them to maintain and develop their engagement.
However in order to further develop this work it is important to understand how alumni
currently access university services and how they would like to see the university engage
with them in the future.
In recognition of the importance of better understanding its alumni, External Relations at
Plymouth University asked SERIO, an applied research unit based in the university’s
Research and Innovation Directorate, to undertake a survey of university alumni. The aim of
the survey was to establish the services and opportunities alumni would like to access
through the university’s alumni service. In particular, the survey looked to explore whether
there were any differences in the preferences and requirements of alumni according to the
length of time since they graduated from Plymouth University. The findings discussed in this
report will go onto inform the university’s Alumni Engagement Plan which will provide a
framework for focusing the alumni activities and services.
1.2 Method
The research method primarily consisted of a large-scale survey of former Plymouth
University graduates2
who were on Plymouth University’s alumni database, supplemented
by a series of in-depth interviews with a selection of graduates who had completed the
survey.
The survey was emailed to all of the 35,490 contacts on the alumni database whose email
address was known, and was strongly promoted by External Relations through the alumni
social media channels. However for the majority of contacts on the database
(approximately 64,000) an email address was not available raising concerns regarding the
validity of the results. Consequently, in order to address this issue, the survey was
disseminated via post to a sample of these contacts for whom no email was available. The
sample that was initially drawn was based on 10% of the records (6,400), however given
the low numbers of alumni in the database who had graduated over 20 years ago, the
sample was increased to 6,7043
.
2 This includes graduates of Plymouth University’s predecessors: Plymouth Polytechnic and Polytechnic
South West.
3 This was based on 100% of all alumni who graduated over 30 years ago, 30% of alumni who had
graduated between 20 to 30 years ago and 10% of all other alumni in the database.

SERIO 2
Altogether a total of 42,194 people received an invitation to complete the alumni survey
either via email or through the post. Of these recipients, 1,718 completed and returned the
survey questionnaire, a response rate of 4%, which included 1,524 email responses and
194 postal responses.
A total of 15 follow-up interviews were conducted over the phone with graduates who had
completed the Alumni Survey. The following five graduation year groups were identified and
three interviews were undertaken with alumni from each group:
 0-5 years since graduation;
 5-10 years;
 10-20 years;
 20-30 years;
 30 years plus.
The aim of the interviews was to provide additional depth through qualitative data to
support the findings of the main survey and to probe in further detail the responses
collected. The 15 interviewees were targeted for recruitment on the basis of how long ago
they had graduated from Plymouth University.
Analysis of the survey data was completed using SPSS and Excel, while the semi-
structured interviews were analysed via NVivo. In order to capture any differences within
the alumni population the analysis was broken down by the five graduation year groups and
geographic location of the respondents. In addition cross-tabs were created, where
applicable by the subject area and type of degree (undergraduate or postgraduate) held by
the respondents.

SERIO 3
2. Respondent Profile
2.1 Introduction
This section provides an overview of the characteristics of the respondents. This includes
the respondents’ year of graduation, chosen subject area, and level of qualification
achieved.
2.2 Respondent Characteristics and Graduation Year
Of the 1718 respondents who completed the survey, 1712 specified their gender. Of these,
51% were male and 48% were female. As shown in Table 1 below, just over half the
respondents (53%) were between 26 and 44 years of age, and 24% were aged between 45
and 64.
Table 1: Age of Respondents
Age No. of Respondents Percentage
Under 25 328 19%
26-34 498 29%
35-44 401 23%
45-54 264 15%
55-64 151 9%
65+ 67 4%
Base: All respondents (n=1709, missing=9)
Summary of Key Points:
 Respondent Characteristics and Graduation Year: Over half the
respondents (53%) were aged between 26 and 44 years of age, whilst a
quarter were aged between 45 and 65. Over two-fifths of respondents
(42%) graduated between 2010 and 2015.
 Student History: 77% of respondents had studied at undergraduate level
only. The most commonly studied programmes were marine, earth,
geography and environment (22%) and business, law, logistics and
management (20%).
 Current Circumstances: A large majority of respondents (82%) were
based within the UK, of whom over half lived in the South West. Among
non-UK respondents a majority were based in either other EU countries or
in Asia. Sixty-seven percent of all respondents were in full-time employment
at the time of the survey, while 10% were self-employed and 8% were part-
time.

SERIO 4
All 1718 respondents were asked in which year they graduated from Plymouth University or
its predecessors. In the case where respondents had graduated on more than one
occasion, they were asked to identify the year in which they had most recently graduated.
As shown in Chart 1 42% of respondents graduated between 2010 and 2015, while 14%
had graduated over 20 years ago.
Chart 1: Length of Time since Graduating from Plymouth University
Base: All respondents (n= 1718)
2.3 Previous Involvement as a Student
Of the 1707 graduates who provided a response, a large majority (77%) indicated that they
had only studied at undergraduate level at the university. Of the remaining respondents 12%
studied at postgraduate level only and 11% studied at both postgraduate and
undergraduate level at the university.
Table 2 provides a breakdown of respondents by the area of study of their most recent
degree. As shown, the areas of ‘Marine, Earth, Geography’ and ‘Environment or Business,
Law, Logistics and Management’ were particularly well represented (with 42% of
respondents). In contrast only seven respondents had studied in medicine and dentistry.
5
9
25
18
42
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
30+
20 - 30
10 - 20
5 - 10
0 - 5
Percentage of Respondents
YearssinceGraduation

SERIO 5
Table 2: Area of Study for Most Recent Degree
Area of Study No. of Respondents Percentage
Marine, Earth, Geography and Environment 379 22%
Business, Law, Logistics and Management 338 20%
Computing, Mathematics and Statistics 147 9%
Psychology and Social Sciences 140 8%
Education and Teaching 136 8%
Art Design, Media and Performance 113 7%
Biological, Health, Chemical and Agricultural
Sciences
106 6%
Engineering and Robotics 81 5%
Humanities and Languages 79 5%
Health and Social Work 78 5%
Architecture, Design, Building and
Construction
56 3%
Hospitality, Tourism, Sport and Leisure 33 2%
Medicine and Dentistry 7 0%
Other 24 1%
Base: All respondents (n=1717; missing=1).
2.4 Current Circumstances
The majority of the 1717 graduates responding (82%) indicated that they were currently a
resident of the UK, whilst 18% indicated that they were not. Of those respondents who
currently live within the UK and who provided postcode details, just over half (57%) lived in
the South West.
Three hundred and four of the 310 respondents who currently live outside of the UK
provided the name of the country in which they currently live. As shown in Table 3, the
largest concentration of alumni was in other EU member states, followed by Asia.
Table 3: Country of Current Residence (non UK Based Graduates)
Area of the World No. of Respondents Percentage
EU 99 33%
Asia 68 22%
North America 57 19%
Oceania 40 13%
Other Europe 20 7%
South America 3 1%
Base: All respondents living outside of the UK (n=304; missing=6).
The survey then explored respondents’ current occupational status. As shown in Table 4
below, a large majority (85%) were employed or self-employed in some capacity.

SERIO 6
Table 4: Occupational Status
Occupational Status No. of Respondents Percentage
Employed full-time 1151 67%
Self-employed 170 10%
Employed part-time 133 8%
Retired 85 5%
In full-time education or training 73 4%
Unemployed 57 3%
Other 45 3%
Base: All respondents (n=1714, missing=4).
Other responses regarding current occupational status included: long term sickness/illness
(12); caring responsibilities (9); retired but continuing to work (5); part-time education (5);
voluntary work (3); maternity leave (3); housewife (3); casual employment (1); and
preparing for study (1).

SERIO 7
3. Previous Alumni Engagement
3.1 Introduction
This section outlines respondents’ previous engagement with the alumni services provided
by Plymouth University, as well as how informed they feel about developments at the
university.
3.2 Awareness of the University’s Aim, Reputation and External Work
Ensuring alumni are aware of the university’s mission, as well as new developments and
successes, may help to instil a sense of pride in the university which could be important for
encouraging future engagement. With this in mind, respondents were presented with a list
of statements about the university (Chart 2), through which they were asked how aware
they were of the university’s aims, reputation and external work. As can be seen from the
chart just over half the respondents (54%) were ‘very’ or ‘quite aware’ of the university’s
standing as one of the top 50 ‘modern universities’ in the world, whilst 46% were aware of
the university’s aim to be the ‘enterprise university’. However awareness of the university’s
work with external organisations was somewhat lower, with 40% being aware of the work
with businesses and 36% being aware of the work with local communities.
 Access and Awareness: Awareness of the university services available to
alumni was limited. Over half the respondents (56%) knew of the alumni
events, but only a minority were aware of the careers support (42%) and
library access (33%). In total only 8% of respondents (137) had accessed
at least one of the three types of service.
 Satisfaction Levels: Approximately three quarters of users were satisfied
with the services that they received when accessing the library and the
events, however users were less satisfied with the careers support (46%).
 Donations of Time or Money: A fifth of respondents had donated either
time and/or money to the university before. A higher proportion of those who
had graduated 30+ years ago donated money than other groups. Alumni
who donated were most commonly motivated by a desire to give something
back to the university.
 Communications: A majority of participants (60%) received the alumni
newsletter – Evolve, and interview participants rated the newsletter highly in
comparison to communications from other alumni networks they were
members of. However awareness of and access to the alumni network
social media communications was much lower.

SERIO 8
Chart 2: Awareness of the University’s Aims, Reputation and External Work
Respondents who graduated within the past 10 years were more aware of the university’s
aims, reputation and external work, compared with those who graduated less recently. For
example, of those students who graduated between 0-10 years ago 34% were aware of the
university’s aim to be the ‘enterprise university’ compared to 20% of other graduates.
Further details can be found in Tables A-C of the Technical Annex.
3.3 Awareness of and Access to Alumni Services
The survey explored how aware respondents were of the services offered by Plymouth
University to its alumni; including careers support which is available for three years
following graduation, access to the University library and networking and reunion events.
As can be seen from Chart 3 over half the respondents were aware of the events, while
awareness of the careers support (which is available for three years after graduation) and
library access was somewhat lower. Actual use of the three services was much lower, with
only 8% of all respondents (137) having accessed at least one of the services. This
equated to 11% of all respondents (1197) who were aware of at least one service.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
The university's work with local communities
(B: 1712; M:6)
The university's work with businesses (B:
1711; M: 7)
Plymouth University's standing as one of the
top 50 'modern universities' in the world (B:
1711; M: 7)
Plymouth University's research specialisms
(B: 1715; M: 3)
Plymouth University's aim to be the
'enterprise university' (Base: 1716; missing:
2)
Very aware Quite aware Neither/Nor Not very aware Not at all aware

SERIO 9
Chart 3: Awareness of Alumni Services and whether theyhave been Accessed
Base: All respondents (n=1718).
Further analysis revealed that:
 Respondents who graduated 0-5 years ago were more aware of the careers support
and access to the library, than those who graduated later. Sixty-five percent of
respondents who graduated over 30 years ago were aware of events compared to
59% of other graduates.
 Respondents living within the South West had a greater awareness of the careers
support and library access than those living outside the region. Despite this the
proportion of respondents in the South West who had accessed the library (4%) was
broadly the same as the proportion of those living outside the region (3%).
Interestingly, a slightly higher proportion of international students (8%) reported that
they had attended an event than those living within the UK (5%).
 Those respondents who studied only at undergraduate level were less aware of the
services available than those who had studied at postgraduate level or both. For
example, 42% of respondents who studied at undergraduate level only were aware
of the careers support, compared to 54% of other graduates.
Further information on the differences by date of graduation, region and type of study are
included in Tables D – F of the Technical Annex.
The survey investigated how recently graduates had accessed the services. As
demonstrated in Chart 4 below, of those respondents who accessed the library, 38% had
done so in the last 12 months. It is also shown that 84% (76 out of 90) of alumni who
attended an event did so within the last five years.
42%
33%
56%
5% 4% 5%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Careers support Alumni access to the
Plymouth University library
Events
%ofRespondents Aware of service Accessed service

SERIO 10
Chart 4: When Alumni Accessed the Services
Base: All respondents who reported that they had accessed the services (Library: n=63; missing=4;
Events: n=94; missing=4).
Of the respondents who had graduated in the last five years 61% had accessed an event in
the last year, while 57% had used the alumni access to the library. In contrast less than half
of all other graduation year groups had used these services in the last year. Further details
can be found in Table G of the Technical Annex4
.
As noted above, there was little overall difference in use of the library amongst respondents
depending on whether they lived within or outside the South West, while internationally
based alumni accessed events more than those in the UK. However analysis of those
respondents who used the library and attended events within the last year reveals that a
higher proportion were based within the South West (48% and 55% respectively) compared
to other graduates (36% and 25% respectively). It may be that some of the graduates who
had accessed these services over a year ago may have been in the South West region at
the time before moving elsewhere.
Of the 94 respondents who had attended an event, 58 provided the name of the city in
which the event/s they had attended were held. The majority of respondents (50, 86%)
indicated that they had attended events based in UK cities, including: Plymouth (32
respondents); London (13); Bristol (3); Isle of Wight (1); and Truro (1). The remaining
respondents had attended events which were held outside of the UK, including; Hong Kong
(5); Boston (2); Beijing (1); and Athens (1).
Most respondents were satisfied with the services that they received whilst accessing the
library (46 out of 61/ 75%) and events (70 out of 92/ 76%) as shown in Chart 5 below.
4 It should be noted that a higher proportion of respondents based in the South West (46%) graduated in the
last five years compared to respondents in the rest of the UK (40%) and those living abroad (33%).
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Alumni access to the Plymouth
University library
Events
No.ofRespondents In the last year Between one year and five years ago Over five years ago

SERIO 11
However just under half (41 out of 90/ 46%) were satisfied with the careers support that
they had received, compared to 22% (20) who were unsatisfied.
There was little difference in satisfaction levels according to the subject areas alumni had
studied, and the low sample sizes make it difficult to draw any conclusions. However further
data is included in Tables H – J of the Technical Annex.
Chart 5: Satisfaction with Accessed Services
Base: All respondents who reported that they had accessed the services (Social or networking
events or reunions: n=92; missing=2; Alumni access to the library: n=63; missing=2; Careers
support: n=92; missing=2).
A few respondents provided additional details about why they rated the services in this way.
Three respondents reported that the events they had attended were good, although another
respondent felt that more could be done to ensure that alumni from a wide variety of
backgrounds are invited and attend. One respondent indicated that they find the alumni
email interesting, while another wrote that they had found it easy to book and use private
study rooms.
Some of the respondents who had accessed the careers service provided details on why
they were not fully satisfied. Some of the concerns raised included: the support provided
being too generic in nature (4); the support being unhelpful (4); receiving no response after
asking for help (3); and cutbacks affecting the careers service (1).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%
Careers support
Alumni access to the university library
Social or networking events or reunions
Very satisfied Quite satisfied Neither/nor Not very satisfied Not at all satisfied

SERIO 12
In-depth interview participants were asked about the nature of their engagement with the
alumni services. Of the 15 respondents, 10 had not engaged with the alumni services at all
since graduating. Of the remainder, five respondents reported that they received the email
newsletter, three had attended reunion events in the past and two participants had used the
library as alumni.
‘The only thing that I do receive and read [is] the email newsletter. It’s always
interesting, but I graduated from Plymouth so long ago [that] I’m not up to date with
Plymouth as it is today’.
‘[I have attended] a Plymouth Nautical Degree Association event. When the
university was a polytechnic PYNDA was set up for people studying marine and
maritime degrees. Events are held for members every year, to meet up, network
etc’.
Participants liked event locations, complimentary drinks and reconnecting with old
colleagues but one participant suggested considering the scheduling of alumni events to
ensure that they don’t clash with other high-profile events.
‘[I] met up with an old colleague there entirely by coincidence and it was good to
reconnect after such a long time’.
‘Sometimes the level of attendance can be quite low which is quite disappointing.
Bristol can have 6 or 7 amazing events on any given night of the week. So when
they are scheduled against other big events they lose participants’.
Feedback on Services Available to Alumni
‘Really lovely people, friendly and [they] put me at ease, but I left with no further
insights into my options nor any idea about options that I’d not considered
previously. [It] left me feeling very disheartened and despondent’.
‘They have been patchy in previous years but [it now] appears much more joined
up and professional’.
‘I don’t feel they’re publicised nearly enough. We wouldn’t have known about the
Alumni Event in June if we hadn’t have arranged our own reunion to begin with’.
‘I have only attended one event and it was very good. The only room for
improvement I can think of was that it would have been interesting to have been
able to see what other graduates of my course have gone on to do (it was a large
event celebrating all 40 years of the course I was on, so I didn't know many
people there, and there wasn't time to talk to everyone)’.
Interview Participant Feedback

SERIO 13
3.4 Service Improvements
The survey then explored any other ways in which respondents felt that the alumni services
could be improved. Nineteen respondents suggested that a focus should be paid to
increasing the awareness amongst alumni that these services are available. Other cited
areas for improvement include:
 Providing more careers support (14 respondents): including careers advice and
guidance (12); showing the career paths of others who studied their subject (1); and
providing face-to-face mock interviews (1);
 Providing more reunions/ social networking opportunities (10): including reunions
which are targeted towards particular courses of study (4); and support to help
alumni set-up reunions (1);
 Improving accessibility to events, including (7): including hosting events in different
national locations and different venues (4); hosting events at a variety of times
during the week (2); and providing subsidised transport to events (1);
 Being able to access the services for a longer period of time following graduation
(3);
 Providing educational support for alumni (3) including: short courses/workshops in
subject areas (2); and providing more funding for continuing professional
development (1);
 Staying in touch via postal and electronic communication and social media (2);
 E-access to the library (2);
 Updates on developments at the university (2);
 Providing a way to search and find other alumni and their contact details (2).
Interestingly 22 respondents stated that there was nothing that could improve the
services that were already provided.
Improvements to Services Currently Available
‘The career postings that I usually see are all based round Devon and Plymouth.
Now I have moved away from Plymouth these are not particularly useful. I would
like to see national and even international job postings’.
‘Engaging more with students after they graduate’.
‘[Increasing] greater awareness of the offer before and after graduating [and]
ideas about how to get involved would be helpful’.
‘I am unsure how long I will be able to use the library – is it forever? I also think it
would be good to have career support for longer than 3 years after graduating
because I feel now it would be great to have the support but I am too late!’.

SERIO 14
Interview participants suggested a number of changes that could be made to Plymouth
University’s alumni offer. Prominent among the improvements listed was improved
promotion of the service to ensure that alumni were aware of what was available:
‘Keep ex-students in the loop and make them aware of the contact, services, events
that are available to them’.
‘Just raise awareness and generally make it easier for people to know what’s
available to them and how to access it’.
These comments were reinforced by some participants who were not aware, themselves,
of what was currently offered to alumni:
‘The university need to be more vocal about what they offer. They probably already
offer access to the library but I wouldn’t know how to do it’.
‘[The] key thing is that I don’t know what benefits there already are and it certainly
doesn’t come across very clearly’.
Other participants emphasised the need to maintain contact with alumni beyond the
immediate period after graduation. This included providing access to employment and
careers services for a longer period than the three years currently offered:
‘The city and the university will grow when alumni come back, pass on their
expertise and give back to [the] current students. Encourage recent graduates to
maintain contact’.
‘Alumni should have access to employment and career services for an unlimited
period of time once they have graduated… I wonder if it is more ethical and moral
for universities to have a lifelong commitment to alumni and graduates’.
3.5 Previous Donations
Respondents were asked whether they had previously donated any time and/or money to
the university.
As shown in Table 5 below, two thirds of respondents had neither donated time nor money
to the university. A total of 340 (20%) respondents had donated either time or money,
including 269 who had donated time only, 48 who had donated money only and just 23 who
had donated both money and time.

SERIO 15
Table 5: Donations of Time and/or Money
Donations to the University No. of Respondents Percentage
Not donated time or money 1126 66%
Donated time 292 17%
Donated money 71 4%
Don’t know 88 5%
Prefer not to say 146 9%
Please note: Findings may not sum to base due to multiple responses.
As Table 6 shows, a higher proportion of the respondents who reported previously donating
money to the university had graduated 30+ years ago. However of those who donated time
a higher proportion had graduated either 0-5 years ago or 30+ years ago.
Table 6: Donations by Graduation Year Group
Year Since Graduation
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 712 305 430 158 78
Donated time 22% 14% 13% 8% 22%
Donated money 3% 5% 5% 4% 9%
The factors motivating a respondent to donate time and/or money were then further
explored. Of the 340 respondents who donated either time and/or money, 332 indicated
which factors were most important in motivating them to do this (Chart 6). As the chart
shows, the desire ‘to give something back’ was by far the most important motivation
selected as ‘very’ or ‘quite important’ by 87% of respondents. However, other important
factors related more specifically to the university’s outlook and the quality of current alumni
engagement, with over two thirds (68%) indicating that support for the university’s mission
was an important motivation. Similarly just over half (54%) felt that being well informed
about university activities was important.
In contrast only 38% of respondents rated feeling ‘supported by the university after I
graduated’ as important. This lower rating might be explained by alumni regarding the
support they received while actually studying at the university as more important to the
decision to contribute than any help they may have received after graduating.

SERIO 16
Chart 6: Factors which Motivated Donations
The majority of respondents across all graduation years highlighted that ‘wanting to give
something back’ was the main motivating factor for donating time and/or money to the
university. However, feeling informed about the university activities and feeling supported
after graduation were particularly important factors amongst those who had graduated less
than 10 years ago. In contrast a higher proportion of those who’d graduated over 30 years
ago felt that supporting the university’s mission and values was an important factor.
Further details are included in Tables K - N of the Technical Annex.
3.6 Current forms of Communication with the University
Respondents were then asked about the forms of communication that are currently offered
to alumni. As shown in Chart 7 79% of respondents were aware of ‘Evolve’ the alumni
newsletter, which 60% of these respondents receive, while awareness and access to the
social network related communications was much lower. Overall, 45% of respondents (776)
reported being aware of at least one form of social media communication and 24% of total
respondents (410) received such communication.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
I wanted to give something back to the university
(B: 332; M: 8)
I felt well informed about university activities (B:
312; M: 28)
I felt supported by the university after I graduated
(B: 312; M: 28)
I support the university's mission and values
(Base: 324; missing: 16)
Very important Quite important Neither/Nor Not very important Not at all important

SERIO 17
Chart 7: Current Forms of Alumni Communication
Base: All respondents (n=1718)
Respondents who graduated between 0 and 5 years ago reported that they were more
aware of the updates from the LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter groups. A higher proportion
of those who graduated 0-5 years ago received updates from the Facebook page, whilst
those who graduated less than 20 years ago were more likely to receive Twitter updates
than alumni. Interestingly, a similar proportion of all graduation year groups accessed the
Alumni LinkedIn network. Further details are included in Table O of the Technical Annex.
3.7 The Alumni Service Generally
Interview participants were also asked some more general questions on the value of the
alumni service to them and how it compared to any other alumni networks they were
members of. The benefits that were reported tended to be of a non-tangible nature,
including being kept informed and having an emotional connection to the university:
‘I am aware of the services and I get the post and mail but I haven’t adopted any of
the benefits or adopted any further information. I haven’t benefitted in any other
way.’
‘I think I have benefitted in that I like to feel connected. I think once you graduate
from a university you will always be a graduate, you can never not be a graduate
from where you graduated. So you can never lose that relationship’.
‘I suppose it’s more of an emotional benefit rather than a physical benefit’.
79%
39%
28%
21%
11%
60%
19%
8%
4%
1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Evolve - The
Alumni newsletter
Updates from the
Plymouth Alumni
LinkedIn network
Updates from the
Plymouth
University Alumni
and Friends
Facebook group
Updates from the
Plymouth
University Alumni
Twitter feed
Updates from the
Plymouth
University We
Chat group
PercentageofRespondents
Aware of Receive

SERIO 18
Around half of the interview participants were members of other alumni networks, e.g. for
other universities or schools or colleges they had attended. When asked to draw
comparisons between their respective memberships, participants tended to rate Plymouth
University’s more favourably, with the newsletter in particular being cited as a key strength
for the Plymouth network:
‘If I had to offer any comparison I would say Plymouth’s newsletter is much better
than [other university’s]. It is more friendly, open and easier to engage with’.
‘If I had to compare their newsletter to yours I’d say theirs is not as good as yours.
It’s not sent as regularly and it’s not as informative’.
From their experiences of another alumni network one participant suggested an example of
good practice that could be applied by Plymouth University:
‘Obviously the scale of resources are better from [Plymouth], but the secondary
school does provide access to a network of students and encourages the passing
on of skills/ mentoring. For example I was invited to give a school assembly to pass
on my experiences and knowledge’.

SERIO 19
4. Plymouth University’s Future Offer
4.1 Introduction
This section outlines how respondents would like the university’s current offer to alumni to
develop in the future. This includes any new services they would like to see available, and
their preference for future events and communication. In addition this section explores how
alumni engagement can be developed in the future. The focus of the section is on what the
university can do for alumni rather than how alumni can contribute to the university which is
discussed in Section 5.
4.2 New Alumni Services
Respondents were asked to express their preference for new services that could improve
the offer currently provided by the university to their alumni. As shown in Chart 8 the
majority of respondents would like access to services that would enable them to keep up to
date with training and knowledge. Of the 1665 graduates responding to the question, 72%
highlighted that they would like to be able to access online educational resources, whilst
63% would like discounted continuing professional development (CPD) and executive
courses. Access to a variety of online services was also considered important, with 59%
indicating they would like an online director to search for classmates. Similarly, 50% of
respondents wanted online access to business magazines and journals, and the same
proportion desired the ability to update their details online.
 Alumni Support Services: The majority of respondents would like to access
information enabling them to keep training and knowledge up to date, such as
online educational resources (72%) and discounted continuing professional
development and executive courses (63%).
 Careers Support: Just over half the respondents (52%) felt that careers
support should be provided for alumni for a longer period than three years.
 Communications: The majority of respondents (85%) would like to receive
the email newsletter. In general alumni were keen to receive communications
on a monthly basis with the exception of those wanting a printed magazine
(every 3 months) and those interested in twitter updates (every week).
 Increasing Alumni Engagement: Increasing accessibility to events was seen
as the key priority for improving alumni engagement amongst interview
participants. In general participants felt that the alumni services could be
tailored so that those graduates new to the labour market received the most
support, however a need was also identified for career and retraining support
for alumni in a later stage of their career.

SERIO 20
5
21
27
31
42
50
50
59
63
72
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Other services
Mentoring from a fellow graduate
An alumni blog
Business start-up support
An email account for life
Online access to business magazines/ journals
The ability to update your details online
Online directory/ search for classmates
Discounted CPD and executive courses
Access to online educational resouces
Percentage of respondents
Chart 8: Interest in Possible New Alumni Services
Base: All respondents (n=1665, missing=53). Please note that figures may not total base due to
multiple responses.
Seventy eight respondents provided comments regarding the ‘Other’ forms of services that
they would like the university to provide to alumni. Of these, 21 respondents made
comments regarding services that were already currently offered by the university,
including: careers support and guidance (16); international meetings (2); reunions (2); and
providing an online newsletter (1). This suggests that more could perhaps be done to
publicise or expand these existing services.
Of the remaining respondents, six highlighted that they would like access to the knowledge
base within the university via lectures, workshops and courses as well as being able to buy
department time for assistance with specialist projects. In addition, five highlighted that they
would like access to practical services (e.g. technology, an ISP service and meeting rooms)
while another five would like access to networking opportunities and networking skills. This
need for continuing university support was also reflected by an additional four respondents
who highlighted that they would like on-going careers support and advice.
Additional analysis revealed that different year groups would prefer different services from
the university. Table 7 below provides an overview of the highest proportions for each year
group and what they would prefer. Some of the key points to note are:
 Those who graduated more recently (0-10 years) would like more access to
educational support than other graduates. Recent graduates were particularly keen
to access CPD courses and online educational resources (over 70% for both
groups) and to a lesser extent online access to business magazines and journals.
 While only a minority of these recent graduates wanted mentoring or business start-
up support, the level of interest in these services was also more notable amongst
this group than amongst other graduates.

SERIO 21
 In general respondents who had graduated over ten years ago tended to be more
interested in contacting their old classmates. A larger proportion of these who had
graduated over ten years ago (70% or over for all three groups) wanted access to
an online directly compared to around half of recent graduates.
Table 7: New Services that Different Groups Would Prefer to Use
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 707 299 423 146 73
Online directory/ search for classmates 49% 51% 70% 80% 85%
Mentoring from a fellow graduate 27% 20% 15% 13% 11%
The ability to update your details online 44% 53% 54% 58% 60%
Business start-up support 35% 36% 28% 19% 18%
An alumni blog 26% 29% 28% 30% 23%
Online access to business magazines and
journals
54% 53% 45% 45% 37%
Discounted continuing professional
development and executive courses
70% 73% 53% 51% 43%
Access to online educational resources 79% 74% 63% 64% 63%
An email account for life 55% 40% 29% 24% 29%
Please note: Percentages do not sum to base due to multiple responses.
Interview participants were asked what types of support they would like to receive from
Plymouth University in the future. The majority of respondents, irrespective of the time
passed since graduation, said that they did not know how the University could support them
in the future:
‘I don’t really need much support to be honest. I don’t really need the alumni service
for connecting with other alumni because Facebook is good for that’. (Graduated 0-5
years ago)
‘I’m not entirely sure how [Plymouth University] could support me … I don’t feel the
need to do get-together events’. (Graduated 30+ years ago)
Some participants suggested that the University could support them with an advisory service
including career guidance.
‘It would be nice if they still had that engagement with graduates, [and were] still
able to listen to any queries/ questions and provide that advisory service on a
lifelong basis’.
‘It would be handy if you could improve the careers assistance that’s provided. For
example providing C.V. help, keeping people in touch, putting you in touch with the
right people to help you out if you have a careers query, that sort of thing’.

SERIO 22
‘We never had much of a career talk. I just left at the end of my exams and then left
into the big wide world. There was no talk about the next steps, for example
postgraduate study’.
Other types of proposed support included increased alumni achievement recognition, more
opportunities to network, funding and financial support for further education and greater
involvement in events and business developments.
‘I think we should celebrate former graduates’ successes with some sort of hindsight
recognition process for alumni achievements’.
‘Intuitively it feels wrong to be locked [out] of higher education now just because I
don’t have money and cannot afford tuition costs’.
‘It would be nice to keep in contact and for me to be invited to end of year shows,
[and] be made aware of what’s going on’.
4.3 Future Event Attendance
Graduates were also asked whether they would consider attending any future alumni
events or reunions. As shown in Chart 9 below the majority of respondents would like to
attend an event that was happening within Plymouth. A large minority expressed a
preference for social or networking events and/or reunions in another UK city, while just
under a fifth indicated they would like a social or networking event or a reunion outside the
UK.
Chart 9: Events that Alumni Would Consider Attending
Base: All respondents (n=1423; missing=295). Please note that figures may not total base due to
multiple responses.
19
19
35
40
54
71
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Reunions outside of the UK
Social or networking events outside of
the UK
Reunions in another UK city
Social or networking events in another
UK city
Social or networking events in Plymouth
Reunions in Plymouth
% of Respondents

SERIO 23
Further analysis revealed that a higher proportion of respondents who graduated between 0
and 5 years ago wanted to attend events than other graduates. While 65% of this group
indicated they would attend an event in Plymouth, only 54% of those who graduated
between 5 and 10 years ago indicated the same, alongside less than half of those who
graduated over ten years ago. Similarly those who graduated between 0 to 5 years ago
were also more likely to attend event in other UK cities or outside the UK than the other
group. Further details are included in Table P of the Technical Annex.
The survey explored the cities in the UK that respondents would like the events to take
place in. Of the respondents who highlighted a city (648), 50% indicated that they would
like this to be London (326). Other less commonly cited cities included: Bristol (113);
Exeter (50); Birmingham (27); Southampton (17); Manchester (14); Truro (13); Cardiff (10);
and Oxford (9).
Respondents were asked about the countries and cities that they would attend events in
that were outside of the UK. As Table 8, shows a wide variety of countries were suggested
with the USA, Greece and China being the most commonly mentioned.
Table 8: Suggested Locations for Future Alumni Events Outside the UK
Country and Frequency City and Frequency
USA (47)
New York (15); Boston (6); Los Angeles (5); San Francisco (2);
Seattle (2); Chicago (2); San Diego (2); and Miami (2)
Greece (31) Athens (30); Thessaloniki (3); Piraeus (1) and Chania (1)
China (24)
Hong Kong (14); Shanghai (6); Beijing (4); Guangzhou (1);
Shenzhen (1); and Macau (1)
Germany (21)
Berlin (5); Frankfurt am Main (3); Hamburg (3); Munich (3);
Dusseldorf (2), Bonn (1); Stuttgart (1); and Colonge (1)
France (19) Paris (13); Nice (1) ; Marseille (1); and Rennes (1)
Australia (17) Perth (5); Sydney (5); Melbourne (4); and Adelaide (1)
Malaysia (16) Kuala Lumpar (7); Singapore (4); Kuching (1); and Penang (1)
New Zealand (9) Auckland (5); Wellington (2); Christchurch (2) and Dunedin (1)
Canada (9) Toronto (7); Ottawa (1); and Vancouver (1)
Italy (8) Rome (2); Naples (2); Milan (1); Venice (1); and Florence (1)
Spain (8)
Barcelona (2); Bilbao (1); Vigo (1); Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1); and
Madrid (1)
United Arab Emirates (8) Dubai (5); and Abu Dhabi (1)

SERIO 24
4.4 Careers Support
Currently alumni can access careers support for up to three years following their
graduation. As shown in Chart 10, just over half the respondents (52%) felt that the current
length of time was too short and should be extended either to ten years after graduation or
indefinitely, although over two-fifths of respondents (44%) felt the time was about right.
Chart 10: How Long Following Graduation Should Careers Support be Available
Of those who provided additional detail regarding their answer of ‘other timescale’ (68 out
of 78), the majority of respondents (48/ 71%) felt that it should be offered for up to 5 years
following graduation.
Additional analysis revealed some differences in the responses depending on how long ago
the alumni had graduated. While 60% of respondents who’d graduated over 30 years ago
felt the three year period was about right, only 44% of those who had graduated between 0-
5 years and 40% of those who’d graduated between 5 to 10 years agreed.
There was also some variation depending on which course the respondent studied. Less
than a third of those respondents who studied ‘art design, media and performance’ and
‘hospitality, tourism, sport and leisure’ felt that the three year period was about right
compared to 53% of ‘computing, mathematics and statistics’ graduates. Further details by
graduation year group and subject area can be found in Tables Q and R of the Technical
Annex.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Other timescale
Indefinitely
Ten years after graduation
Three years after graduation (the current
length of time offered)

SERIO 25
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Other
Plymouth University We Chat group
Plymouth University Alumni twitter feed
Plymouth University Alumni and Friends
facebook group
Email alerts
Printed alumni magazine
Plymouth Alumni LinkedIn network updates
Email newsletter
4.5 Future Communications
The survey explored the types of communication that alumni would like to receive from the
university and how often. As demonstrated in Chart 11 below the majority of respondents
(85%) would like to receive an email newsletter. Interest in social media was lower amongst
alumni, although over a third (36%) wanted to receive LinkedIn updates.
Chart 11: Future Communications from Plymouth University
There was generally little difference between graduation year groups with regards to
communication preferences. Over 80% of the respondents in each year group, indicated
they would like to receive the email newsletter.
Respondents were then asked to identify how frequently they would like to receive the
different forms of communication. As shown in Table 9 below, the majority of respondents
would like to receive their preferred communication monthly. The two exceptions were the
printed alumni magazine, which was preferred on a 3 monthly basis and the Plymouth
University Alumni twitter feed updates, which was preferred on a weekly basis.

SERIO 26
Table 9: Frequencyof Communication
Respondents were then asked which areas of the university’s expertise that they would like
to receive communication on in the future. As shown in Chart 12 below, there was
considerable interest in all seven subject areas. However, just over half the respondents
(51%) would like to receive information regarding technology and innovation, whilst 46%
would like to receive information from the area of marine and environment.
Chart 12: Areas of University Expertise for Future Communications
4.6 The Future of the Alumni Group
4.6.1 Naming the Group
All alumni completing the survey were asked to select from three options their preferred
name for the Plymouth University Alumni group. Just under half the respondents (59%)
indicated that they would like the group to be called the “Alumni Network”. This was closely
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Health and Medicine
Culture and Heritage
Arts
Enterprise
Sustainability
Marine and Environment
Technology and Innovation
Form of communication Base Weekly Monthly
Every 3
months
Every 6
months
Annually
Email newsletter 1323 3% 45% 36% 10% 5%
Printed alumni magazine 516 2% 18% 34% 23% 24%
Plymouth Alumni LinkedIn network
updates
547 23% 52% 19% 4% 2%
Email alerts 439 18% 56% 19% 5% 2%
Plymouth University Alumni and
Friends Facebook group updates
433 35% 44% 15% 4% 2%
Plymouth University Alumni Twitter
updates
200 60% 35% 3% 2% 1%
Plymouth University We Chat group 92 30% 48% 13% 4% 4%

SERIO 27
followed by “Alumni Community” which 47% of respondents preferred. In comparison only
4% highlighted that they would like the group to be called the “Alumni Programme”.
4.6.2 Increasing Alumni Engagement
Interview participants also suggested a range of ways to increase alumni engagement with
the network. The most commonly cited suggestions included hosting regional events and/or
events which are held outside of normal working hours:
‘I think that there should be more events held more frequently outside of Plymouth,
and more in England generally’.
‘The key is to look at where there are clusters of students and see if any events,
centres or services can be held in their local area. This applies to international
students as well’.
‘If events were held outside of normal working hours then more people might be
able to attend’.
Online engagement was also suggested, albeit in the context of alumni directly engaging
with students rather than each other:
‘There could be a role for online engagement, maybe mentoring over the phone or
video conferencing. We have so much technology these days there isn’t really a
barrier with that level of communication’.
Other proposed ideas included providing financial assistance to attend events, making the
engagement worthwhile, and promoting the service better:
‘I think you have to give alumni a reason to stay here and to keep being engaged.
Give them that reason and they will shout about it’.
‘I think that if alumni were to be provided with clear information about what career
services and university access they still have, this would increase alumni’s
engagement with the university’.
4.6.3 Tailoring the Alumni Offer
Around half the interview participants thought that the service should be tailored to alumni
at different stages of their career. Of these, many suggested that there should be more
support for early career graduates, including greater access to resources and facilities.
These comments were made primarily by respondents who had graduated more than 10

SERIO 28
years ago, and tended to emphasise the need to make it easy and straightforward for
recent graduates to make use of alumni support:
‘By the time people get to their mid-30s they are likely to be stable in their
career,…and have less need for university support. The key is to engage the early
years group – the recent graduates who are still trying to find their first job’.
‘I think new graduates should definitely be given more encouragement to contact
fellow graduates and staff at the university – just click and connect and have the
information/ contacts they need’.
‘More support in the early stages of a career would be hugely beneficial, for example
accessing materials that they’ve used a lot [in their degree]. Make it easier for ex-
students to stay within the university network by making them feel that they can
access resources without feeling a nuisance’.
Other suggestions included offering a more personalised service, based on subject area as
well as age:
‘People live with different degrees and backgrounds, they have different career
aspirations. [It would be good to provide] a tailor-made service for each different
type of graduate [so they] can access a more individualised service’.
‘You have got to have something to act as a basis for which everyone could take
part. Then there could be particular subgroups/ networks to students’ areas of study,
where help from alumni would be particularly pertinent’.
However some participants identified potential problems with a tailor-made approach. This
included concerns around the practicalities and costs involved of tailoring the service:
‘I think tailoring the service would be very hard and time consuming to organise’.
‘I would actually go the other way. I’d like to integrate everyone… I would make [the
service] bigger, better and broader’.
Other participants also cautioned against assuming that only recent graduates might benefit
from career support:
‘Later on when I had a career change I would have appreciated some help and
guidance transitioning. So the help shouldn’t be based entirely on the length of time
that has elapsed since leaving the university.’
‘Later on I think the alumni service should provide opportunities for retraining,
upskilling, continuing professional development, discounts to alumni wanting to
come back and retrain, or help for unemployed people commencing a new course’.

SERIO 29
5. Future Contributions to the University
5.1 Introduction
This section explores alumni preferences for contributing their time, energy and money to
the university. It explores the different means by which respondents would like to support
existing students and others as well as the barriers to engagement and the reasons why
some alumni do not wish to contribute.
5.2 Supporting the University
The survey explored different activities which respondents might be interested in
undertaking to support the university in the future. As shown in Chart 13 below just over
half the respondents (57%) indicated that they would be happy to provide a career profile
for careers support or marketing information; mentor a student online (55%), or speak to a
group of students at an event or workshop (51%). While mentoring students face-to-face
will be logistically problematic for some alumni, just over a quarter (27%) expressed interest
in supporting the university in this way.
The 35 who indicated ‘other’ suggested a variety of alternative ways they could contribute
to the university, with the most commonly suggested being that they could perform guest
lectures (4).
 Supporting the University: Over half the respondents identified they would
be happy to provide a career profile (57%), mentor a student online (55%) and
speak to a student at an event or workshop (51%). Those who had graduated
in the last five years were particularly keen on online mentoring while other
graduates preferred to provide career profiles.
 Barriers to Participation: Factors which respondents highlighted would
discourage them from closer engagement included: time constraints (65%);
distance from the university (64%) and family and job commitments (60%).
While less than half felt discouraged by the cost of participation this was a key
concern for those had graduated in the last 10 years.
 Donating to the University: 10% of respondents indicated that they would
be interested in donating money to the university in the future. Creating
opportunities for students form under-privileged backgrounds was seen as a
key priority for just under two-thirds of those interested in donating.

SERIO 30
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Other
Mentoring a student face-to-face
Providing a blog or contributing to
social media
Speaking to a prospective student
Speaking to a group of students at an
event or workshop
Mentoring a student online
Providing a career profile for career
support or marketing information
Chart 13: Future Contributions to the University
When considering each of the future contributions to the university a higher proportion of
respondents who graduated between 0 to 5 years ago would prefer to contribute by
mentoring a student online (59%) than alumni in other groups. In comparison all the other
year groups had a higher proportion of respondents indicate that they would prefer to
provide a career profile for career support or marketing information. Further details are
included in Table S in the Technical Annex.
Analysis of responses by geographical area revealed that:
 A higher proportion of those living in the South West were interested in face-to-face
mentoring (38%) than those in the rest of the UK (17%) and those living outside of
the UK (19%). A majority of respondents in all three year groups were interested in
online mentoring.
 A lower proportion of international alumni (36%) were interested in speaking to
prospective students than those living in the UK (44%).
 A slightly higher proportion of international alumni (30%) were interested in
providing a blog or contributing to social media than those living in the UK (27%).
Further details are included in Table T in the Technical Annex.
Interview participants were asked how they felt alumni could contribute to the university.
The responses included suggestions for supporting current and prospective students,
engaging with businesses or communities and helping other alumni.

SERIO 31
Supporting Current and Prospective Students
Interview respondents suggested various ways that alumni can support current or
prospective Plymouth University students. The most prominent means of support
concerned careers guidance:
‘Alumni can help provide guidance and information about a broad range of industries
and career paths’.
‘Alumni can play a brokering role between 18-20 year olds, who have less
knowledge/ experience, and the world of work. [Alumni can] introduce them to
different areas and help connect the two’.
Participants also suggested that alumni can share their experiences with students,
providing mentoring and reassurance. This also included broadening their horizons in terms
of the types of employment they could go into:
‘[Students] need to know that having a degree in a particular subject does not
necessarily mean that they have to go into that field of employment’.
‘I think it might be quite a frightening prospect going to work for possibly the first
time and experiencing the working world post-university. For us to give them some
experience or knowledge I think that that would be valuable’.
A more practical suggestion was that there could be ‘better integrating of alumni networks
into placement programmes’, while another respondent suggested incorporating careers
support ‘into the lecturing timetable, for example alumni come back to give talks to
students, share wisdom and experiences’.
One participant stressed the importance of students learning from alumni at different stages
of their career:
‘I might be able to provide some mentoring or share my experiences now and then
later be able to do more, like give a work experience student some time. I think it’s
about tapping into what different people can do at different points in their lives’.
Supporting Other Alumni
Interview respondents suggested several ways in which alumni can support other alumni
including post-graduation mentoring, networking and career progression.
‘When I left [university] I could have done with mentoring with a lecturer or alumni to
guide me through how to get the best of my degree. I think that would be a
beneficial service’.
‘More senior alumni could provide some sort of mentoring service to newer
members of the network/ working world’.

SERIO 32
‘I think that alumni can play a role in each other’s lives. Even if they have the right
qualifications they may still encounter problems accessing/ being in the world of
work. Alumni can help each other with this transition’.
Respondents who graduated more than 20 years ago tended to suggest that alumni can
support each other for social purposes rather than for employment or career progression.
‘I think it is worthwhile for alumni to keep in touch with each other, more for social
reasons and general networking rather than because they think it will lead to a job’.
It should be noted that 21% of survey respondents indicated they would like mentoring from
another graduate (see Chart 8).
How alumni can support university engagement with business or communities
In general participants were less certain of how alumni could help support the university’s
external work with businesses and communities. While some participants felt this could be
an important area of alumni engagement no tangible activities were suggested:
‘I do think alumni can help forge links for the university with the community’.
However some participants considered geographical constraints to impact upon their ability
to engage with the local community and another was wary of industry conflicts.
‘I do think maintaining relationships is affected by how physically close you are to
the university. I live near Essex now so my engagement with the local community is
somewhat non-existent’.
‘This might create difficulties/ conflicts on the basis that depending what subjects the
alumni have studied, once they are within the world or business they may not be
able to engage with certain industries, for example for sponsoring or funding’.
5.3 Barriers to Participation
Alumni were also asked to consider some of the factors which could discourage them from
closer engagement with the university. As shown in Chart 14 below, the main barriers to
further engagement: were time constraints (65%); and the distance of the alumni from the
university (64%), followed closely by family or job commitments (60%). Just under half
(49%) were concerned about the cost of participation, while over a quarter (29%) were
worried about the possibility of not knowing anyone.

SERIO 33
Chart 14: Factors which may Discourage Closer Engagement with the University
Additional analysis revealed that:
 Of those respondents who graduated more recently (0-10 years) a higher proportion
(0-5= 57%, 5-10=53%) highlighted that the cost of participation would discourage
them from closer engagement compared to less than 50% for all other groups.
 Family or job commitments were seen as a key barrier by a majority of all year
groups, with the exception of those who graduated over 30 years ago, where it was
selected by just 37% of respondents.
 Perhaps unsurprisingly a higher proportion of alumni living outside of the South
West (84%) saw the distance from the university as a barrier to engagement than
those based in the region (42%).
 Interestingly a lower proportion of international alumni felt that time constraints
(50%) and family or job commitments (42%) would discourage them from closer
engagement with the university than those living in the UK (68% and 64%
respectively).
 In addition to this, a higher proportion of respondents living in the South West
reported that the possibility of not knowing anyone (32%) was a barrier to
engagement than those living outside of the region (25%).
Further information on the views of alumni from different year groups is included within
Table U of the Technical Annex.
5.4 Financial Donations to the University
The survey then explored whether alumni would be interested in donating money to the
university in the future. Of the 1708 graduates who provided a response to this question,
54% indicated that this would not be something that they would be interested in doing whilst
10% indicated that they would. The remaining respondents (36%) preferred not to say.
Interestingly there was little discernible relationship between the year in which the alumni
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Possibility of not knowing anyone
Cost of participation
Family or job commitments
Distance from the university
Time constraints

SERIO 34
had graduated and their interest in donating money. See Table V in the Technical Annex for
more information.
As Table 10 below shows, of the 164 respondents who would consider donating money to
the university, nearly two thirds felt such donations should go towards helping students
from underprivileged backgrounds. In addition, approximately half the respondents felt it
should support the university’s world class research. Less than a third of the respondents
felt it should support the university’s engagement with business.
Table 10: Objectives that Donations Should Target
Objectives
No. of
Respondents
%
Creating opportunities for students from underprivileged
backgrounds
107 65
Supporting the university’s world class research 84 51
Assisting students to be job ready when they graduate 77 47
Providing careers support for newly graduated students 62 38
Enhancing the university’s contribution to the local community 43 26
Enhancing the university’s engagement with and support for
business
30 18
Other 9 6
Base: All respondents who would consider donating money in the future (n=164).
The reasons respondents did not wish to donate money were also explored. As shown in
Table 11 preferences for donating money elsewhere and concerns over how contributions
to the university would be used were the main reasons given.
Table 11: Reasons for Not Donating to the University
Reasons for not donating
No. of
Respondents
%
I prefer to give to other organisations which I am personally
involved in
364 40
I’m not sure where my contributions would go or how they would be
used
294 32
I’m not sure how donating a gift benefits me now 198 22
I object to certain policies or decisions the university has made 105 12
Other 289 32
Base: All respondents who would not consider donating money to the university (n=936).
Of those respondents who selected other (289), just under half (134 respondents/ 46%)
indicated that this was due to financial restrictions that they were currently facing. Other
less commonly cited reasons include: the view that student fees are enough (38); that they
were happy to donate time but not money (31); that the university feels like a business (10);
and that donations are not necessary (9). However, as demonstrated in the text box, some
of these respondents did clarify that they would not be adverse to donating time.

SERIO 35
Additional analysis revealed that concerns over where the contributions would go or how
they would be used were more important factors for alumni who had graduated in the last
10 years. In contrast for respondents who had graduated over 10 years ago the desire to
give money to other organisations they were personally involved with was more important.
Further details are included in Table W of the Technical Annex.
5.5 Future Priorities
Interview participants were asked what they think should be the priorities for alumni
engagement. Responses were mixed, with some thinking that current students should be
alumni’s primary focus whilst others felt that alternative priorities, such as supporting other
alumni and engaging with the community were also important:
‘The priority for alumni should definitely be supporting current students progressing
through their course’.
‘I think one of the biggest problems is keeping talented people down here in the
South West. I think people need to see that actually there are opportunities down
here and alumni should be the examples of that. People should see staying in
Plymouth as an option and they don’t have to move away to get a good job. Alumni
can promote that’.
Other Reasons for Not Donating Money
“I stated I would not consider donating money. This is because I do not have
oodles of cash to donate to Universities. However, I would always consider
donating time to the University.”
“I have paid for my degree and feel what I paid is more than sufficient, however I
would not object to donating my time.”
“The university is not a charity and receives fees from students to support it. I
donate money to charities close to my heart who are more in need of my
contribution.”

SERIO 36
6. Conclusion
6.1 Introduction
As mentioned in the introduction, supporting and developing alumni engagement is a key
priority for Plymouth University. This survey, the first to seek the views of the university’s
alumni community in general, highlights how alumni have previously engaged with the
university, as well as their future support needs and how they might also contribute to
supporting existing university activity. This section first summarises the key findings from
the previous sections, before highlighting some of the possible implications for the future
development of the university’s alumni services.
6.2 Key Findings
6.2.1 Previous Engagement
Ensuring alumni are well informed of developments at the university is an important aim of
alumni engagement and also a key pre-requisite to encourage them to become more fully
involved. Encouragingly, over half the respondents were aware of the university’s standing
as one of the top 50 ‘modern universities’ in the world, although awareness of the
university’s research specialisms could potentially be improved. While less than 40% of
respondents were aware of the university’s work with businesses and local communities,
this may partly reflect the higher priority alumni place on the traditional university activities
of supporting students and research, as demonstrated by their preferred priorities for future
donations.
Previous engagement and awareness of the services available to alumni was limited. Just
over half (56%) were aware of the alumni events, while 42% were aware of the careers
support and 33% were aware of access to the library. Furthermore, only 8% had actually
accessed at least one of these three services. While levels of use did not differ
considerably by geography, respondents from the South West were more likely to have
attended events and used the library in the last 12 months.
6.2.2 Satisfaction with and Improvements to Current Services
A large majority of respondents were satisfied with the service that they received whilst
accessing the library and the events, however less than half (46%) were satisfied with the
careers support they had received. It should be noted though that many of the respondents
will not have accessed the careers support for some time (due to it being limited to three
years after graduation) and the service may have changed considerably since they last did.
Nevertheless, both survey respondents and interview participants highlighted that they
would like more support to be provided, including: showing the career paths of others who
studied their subject and providing face-to-face mock interviews. In addition a slight majority
of respondents (52%) felt that careers support should be offered to alumni for a longer
period than three years after graduation.
6.2.3 Future Needs
A majority of respondents highlighted that they would like access to services that would
enable them to keep up to date with training and knowledge, including access to online
educational resources (72%) and discounted CPD and executive courses (63%). While

SERIO 37
interest in this form of support was most notable amongst more recent graduates, a large
proportion of those who had graduated over 10 years ago also expressed an interest in this
support. Taken together with the remarks about extending career support, this suggests
alumni who have advanced further in their professional life may still look to the university to
help them progress and further develop their careers.
6.2.4 Attending Events
Overall respondents expressed a preference for attending reunions (71%) and social or
networking events (54%) in Plymouth. However 40% expressed a desire for social or
networking events in another UK city, with London being the most popular choice. The main
barriers which respondents felt would discourage them from closer engagement included:
time constraints (65%); distance of the alumni from the university (64%) and; family and job
commitments (60%). However the perceived cost of participation was seen as a key barrier
by respondents who had graduated less than 10 years ago.
A higher proportion of respondents who graduated between 0 and 5 years ago wanted to
attend events than other alumni. This may be due to more recent graduates having higher
levels of demand due them being in an earlier stage of their career.
6.2.5 Donations
Two thirds of respondents had neither donated time or money to the university. However of
those respondents who had donated, the majority (79%) had donated time. Around 10%
indicated that they would consider donating money to the university in the future. Of these,
nearly two thirds felt that such donations should go towards helping students from an
underprivileged background, while approximately half felt it should support the university’s
world class research.
Of those who did not wish to donate money, 40% of respondents highlighted that this was
due to them supporting charities which were personally relevant, whilst 32% indicated that
they were unsure where their contributions would go or how they would be used.
6.2.6 Supporting Students
While only a small minority of alumni were willing to donate money to the university, a large
majority expressed interest in supporting the university in other ways. Alumni preferences
differed depending on when they had graduated with the most recent graduates preferring
to contribute by mentoring a student online. In contrast, providing a career profile was the
most preferred means of contributing amongst all other graduation year groups. This may
reflect differences in career stages, as recent graduates are possibly still in the process of
developing a career and feel closer to the immediate issues students will face. In contrast,
other alumni may feel more established in their career and so more confident in having their
experience used in a roadmap for others.
6.2.7 Communications
A large majority of respondents were aware of, and received, ‘Evolve’ the alumni
newsletter. While the sample is very small it is notable that interview participants identified
the newsletter as one of the university’s strengths in comparison to other alumni networks
they were members of. Awareness of and access to the university’s social media networks

SERIO 38
was much lower, although the findings did suggest that the newsletter was by far the most
popular form of communication.
6.3 Implications
The survey findings touch on a wide range of issues related to alumni engagement, and we
would recommend that External Relations study the findings in detail with a view to
informing the development of their engagement plan. However some implications have
emerged which could serve as a useful starting point:
 The finding that only a minority of respondents were aware of careers support and
alumni access to the library, alongside qualitative feedback from interview
participants suggests that alumni engagement could be enhanced through further
communication of the services that are available. Consequently, it may be useful to
review how awareness of alumni services could be improved, for all groups of
alumni, but particularly recent graduates.
 Survey responses revealed an appetite for the provision of services to alumni
related to improving their educational and professional skills. The development of
online learning, particularly through open educational resources and open access
journals, may be a useful means by which the university could help support alumni
with their continuing professional development.
 The interview feedback suggests that there are grounds for targeting careers and
professional development support at more recent graduates. However it also
suggests an appetite for some support in this area later in a graduates’ career.
Consequently it would be useful to consider how the university might also support
more experienced alumni with re-training or help with career changes.
 The survey feedback regarding preferred alumni services found that alumni who
had graduated over 20 years ago were particularly keen on an online directory to
search for their old classmates. This suggests that finding old colleagues is an
important priority for this group. The university could consider how such a directory
could be developed and how they could provide further opportunities for alumni in
this group to re-connect with their old peers and with the university more generally.
 Careers support was also identified as a key priority area by both survey
respondents and interview participants, in terms of how alumni can contribute to the
university. The university has recently worked with alumni to develop career profiles
in different subject areas and it is clear that this is something which many alumni
would be willing to do. In addition, the university might consider how it could develop
opportunities for both face-to-face and online mentoring.
 Just over a third of respondents highlighted that they would not consider donating
money to the university as they were unsure as to where their contributions would
go or how they would be used. In light of this, further communications regarding
how the donations are spent and how they are helping the university could be
circulated amongst the alumni community. It is also important to note that the
majority of respondents who would consider donating money in the future would like
it to support students from underprivileged backgrounds.

SERIO 39
 The low response rate for the postal element of the survey, and the interest alumni
expressed in online communications, such as the newsletter, highlights the
importance of ensuring alumni can be engaged through email. However acquiring
email contact details of alumni after they have already graduated, and are no longer
able to access their university accounts, can be challenging. One solution might be
to provide a permanent university account for all alumni, as was suggested in the
survey. However, the university might also consider requiring students to provide a
secondary email address when they join the university, which could potentially be
used when they leave.

SERIO 40
Technical Annex
Table A: Awareness of Plymouth University’s Aim to be the ‘Enterprise University’
Table B: Awareness of Plymouth University’s Research Specialisms
Table C: Awareness of Plymouth University’s Standing as One of the Top 50
‘Modern Universities’ in the World
Graduation Year Group
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 721 304 432 158 79
Very aware 25% 15% 11% 8% 13%
Quite aware 37% 27% 21% 16% 25%
Neither/nor 12% 14% 14% 14% 17%
Not very aware 15% 22% 26% 23% 22%
Not at all aware 12% 23% 28% 39% 24%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 720 305 431 158 79
Very aware 11% 8% 7% 1% 8%
Quite aware 37% 37% 32% 31% 30%
Neither/nor 19% 18% 16% 20% 18%
Not very aware 23% 25% 27% 24% 28%
Not at all aware 10% 13% 18% 24% 17%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 718 306 433 157 79
Very aware 28% 17% 13% 10% 18%
Quite aware 38% 35% 30% 27% 35%
Neither/nor 12% 11% 14% 17% 11%
Not very aware 14% 20% 23% 23% 10%
Not at all aware 8% 16% 20% 24% 25%

SERIO 41
Table D: Awareness of Alumni Services and whether they are Accessed by
Table E: Accessed Alumni Services by Residential Address
Table F: Awareness of Alumni Services and whether they are Accessed by Type of
Degree Level
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Aware of
Base: 722 307 434 158 79
Careers support 57% 43% 40% 29% 25%
Access to the library 40% 31% 35% 20% 29%
Events 60% 60% 59% 55% 65%
Accessed
Base: 409 131 160 45 20
Careers support 15% 11% 5% 13% 20%
Access to the library 13% 10% 5% 13% 26%
Events 6% 7% 11% 15% 29%
South West Other UK International
Base: 372 232 156
Careers support 13% 12% 10%
Access to the library 4% 3% 4%
Events 6% 4% 8%
Undergraduate
Only
Postgraduate
Only
Both
Aware of
Base: 1311 205 191
Events 58% 69% 64%
Accessed
Base: 554 114 101
Events 5% 4% 8%

SERIO 42
Table G: When Alumni Accessed the Services by Graduation
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Alumni access to
Plymouth University
library
Base: 35 9 7 4 4
In the last year 57% 11% 14% 25% 25%
Between one and five
years ago
37% 33% 14% 50% 25%
Over five years ago 6% 56% 71% 25% 50%
Attended alumni events
Base: 23 13 28 13 13
In the last year 61% 39% 39% 46% 0%
Between one and five
years ago
39% 39% 46% 46% 54%
Over five years ago 4% 23% 14% 8% 46%

SERIO 43
Table H: Satisfaction with the Careers Support Accessed by Subject of Study
Base Very satisfied Quite satisfied Neither/nor Not very satisfied Not at all satisfied
Architecture, Design,
Building and Construction
4 0% 25% 75% 0% 0%
Art design, Media and
Performance
7 0% 14% 57% 29% 0%
Biological, Health,
Chemical and Agricultural
sciences
5 0% 40% 40% 20% 0%
Business, Law, Logistics
and Management
20 5% 35% 35% 10% 15%
Computing, Mathematics
and Statistics
7 29% 14% 14% 14% 29%
Education and Teaching 6 33% 17% 33% 17% 0%
Engineering and Robotics 4 0% 75% 0% 25% 0%
Health and Social Work 3 33% 33% 0% 33% 0%
Hospitality, Tourism,
Leisure and Sport
1 0% 100% 0% 0% 0%
Humanities and
Languages
3 0% 100% 0% 0% 0%
Marine, Earth, Geography
and Environment
22 9% 32% 36% 23% 0%
Psychology and Social
sciences
6 17% 33% 33% 17% 0%
Other 2 50% 50% 0% 0% 0%

SERIO 44
Table I: Satisfaction with the Alumni Access to the Library by Subject of Study
2 50% 0% 50% 0% 0%
Performance
1 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Biological, Health,
sciences
7 57% 43% 0% 0% 0%
and Management
13 23% 46% 15% 8% 8%
and Statistics
7 29% 29% 14% 29% 0%
Leisure and Sport
1 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Humanities and
Languages
4 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%
and Environment
16 50% 19% 25% 6% 0%
sciences
2 0% 50% 0% 50% 0%
Other 1 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%

SERIO 45
Table J: Satisfaction with Events or Reunions by Subject Area of Study
3 33% 33% 33% 0% 0%
Performance
8 13% 25% 38% 13% 13%
Biological, Health,
sciences
5 20% 60% 0% 20% 0%
and Management
24 38% 42% 17% 4% 0%
and Statistics
5 20% 40% 40% 0% 0%
Engineering and Robotics 2 0% 100% 0% 0% 0%
Leisure and Sport
2 50% 50% 0% 0% 0%
Humanities and
Languages
1 100% 0% 0% 0% 0%
and Environment
30 50% 30% 17% 3% 0%
sciences
4 0% 75% 25% 0% 0%

SERIO 46
Table K: Factors which Motivated Donations of Time and/or Money: I wanted to give
something back to the university
Table L: Factors which Motivated Donations of time and/or Money: I felt well
informed about the university activities
Table M: Factors which Motivated Donations of Time and/or Money: I felt supported
by the university after I graduated
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 163 53 75 18 21
Very important 34% 42% 48% 67% 38%
Quite important 50% 47% 41% 28% 52%
Neither/nor 9% 9% 8% 0% 5%
Not very important 6% 2% 1% 6% 5%
Not at all important 1% 0% 1% 0% 0%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 161 50 65 15 19
Very important 22% 18% 12% 7% 11%
Neither/nor 29% 34% 42% 73% 37%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 162 52 62 16 18
Very important 15% 19% 8% 0% 6%
Neither/nor 35% 40% 52% 81% 72%

SERIO 47
Table N: Factors which Motivated Donations of Time and/or Money: I support the
university’s mission and values
Table O: Current Forms of Alumni Communication by Graduation Year Group
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 163 53 69 17 20
Very important 27% 36% 30% 12% 35%
Neither/nor 22% 23% 30% 35% 10%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Aware of
Base: 722 307 434 158 79
Evolve – the alumni
newsletter
76% 85% 79% 78% 84%
Updates from the Plymouth
alumni LinkedIn network
42% 38% 38% 35% 34%
University Alumni and
Friends Facebook group
34% 24% 24% 22% 25%
University Alumni Twitter
feed
28% 19% 17% 10% 15%
University We Chat group
14% 12% 9% 5% 5%
Accessed
Evolve – the alumni
newsletter
23% 12% 16% 6% 3%
alumni LinkedIn network
8% 3% 5% 2% 1%
University Alumni and
Friends Facebook group
4% 1% 2% 1% 0%
University Alumni Twitter
feed
2% 1% 1% 0% 0%
University We Chat group
0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

SERIO 48
Table P: Future Event Attendance by Residential Address
Base: 608 511 276
Social or networking
events in Plymouth
70% 47% 32%
events in another UK city
33% 60% 17%
events outside of the UK
7% 9% 62%
Reunions in Plymouth 73% 79% 54%
Reunions in another UK
city
27% 52% 18%
Reunions outside of the
UK
6% 9% 64%

SERIO 49
Table Q: How Long Following Graduation Should Careers Support be Available by Subject of Study
Base
Three years after
graduation
Ten years after
graduation
Indefinitely Other timescale
56 45% 16% 32% 7%
Performance
110 33% 21% 39% 7%
Biological, Health,
sciences
106 43% 19% 34% 4%
and Management
334 48% 16% 33% 4%
and Statistics
146 53% 14% 29% 4%
Education and Teaching 134 40% 19% 37% 4%
Engineering and Robotics 78 50% 26% 21% 4%
Health and Social Work 76 51% 24% 21% 4%
Leisure and Sport
33 30% 36% 27% 6%
Humanities and
Languages
79 35% 23% 35% 6%
and Environment
371 48% 18% 31% 4%
Medicine and Dentistry 7 57% 29% 14% 0%
sciences
138 43% 20% 33% 4%
Other 23 52% 17% 26% 4%

Plymouth University Alumni Engagement Survey Report – Technical Annex
SERIO 50
Table R: How Long Following Graduation Should Careers Support be Available by
Area by Graduation Year Group
Table S: Future Contributions to the University by Graduation Year Group
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 716 304 431 151 74
Three years after
graduation
44% 40% 47% 51% 60%
Ten years after graduation 21% 23% 14% 17% 16%
Indefinitely 31% 31% 36% 30% 22%
Other timescale 5% 6% 3% 2% 3%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 563 225 274 100 53
Providing a career profile
for career support or
marketing information
57% 56% 55% 62% 70%
Mentoring a student face-
to-face
32% 24% 23% 18% 19%
Mentoring a student online 59% 54% 51% 57% 47%
Speaking to a group of
students at an event or
workshop
54% 52% 47% 42% 57%
Speaking to a prospective
student
50% 44% 35% 28% 26%
Providing a blog or
contributing to social media
31% 28% 22% 26% 30%
Other 2% 4% 3% 7% 2%

SERIO 51
Table T: Future Contributions to the University by Residential Address
Table U: Factors which may Discourage Closer Engagement with the University by
Table V: Graduation Year Group and Interest in Monetary Donations
Base 525 422 258
Providing a career profile
for career support or
marketing information
53% 17% 19%
Mentoring a student face-
to-face
38% 17% 19%
Mentoring a student online 53% 59% 55%
Speaking to a group of
students at an event or
workshop
51% 51% 52%
Speaking to a prospective
student
46% 41% 36%
Providing a blog or
contributing to social media
27% 28% 31%
Other 4% 1% 3%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 710 302 425 154 74
Cost of participation 57% 53% 43% 34% 34%
Distance from the
university
62% 67% 62% 71% 73%
Time constraints 63% 67% 66% 68% 57%
Family or job commitments 60% 61% 65% 54% 37%
Possibility of not knowing
anyone
29% 28% 27% 31% 34%
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 717 305 432 158 79
Interested in donating
money
12% 11% 6% 9% 10%
Not interested in donating
money
77% 54% 56% 55% 47%

SERIO 52
Table W: Reasons for Not Donating Time and/or Money to the University by
0-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30+
Base 389 159 236 85 35
I’m not sure where my
contributions would go or
how they would be used
40% 34% 26% 20% 11%
I prefer to give to other
organisations which I am
personally involved with
34% 31% 50% 47% 49%
I’m not sure how donating
a gift benefits me now
23% 23% 22% 11% 17%
I object to certain policies
or decisions the university
has made
18% 6% 9% 6% 6%
Other 32% 33% 27% 38% 34%

Research and Innovation
Plymouth Science Park
9 Research Way
Derriford
Plymouth
PL6 8BT
t 01752 588942
f 01752 588987
e serio@plymouth.ac.uk
www.serio.ac.uk

Encl D - Alumni Engagement Survey Report DRAFT 05.11

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Encl D - Alumni Engagement Survey Report DRAFT 05.11