Designing an Alumni Mentoring Program Designing an Alumni Mentoring Program
What research says about alumni as mentors for students and for each other.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
Alumni support beyond giving
Alumni give time, not only money
Alumni volunteering includes mentoring new graduates, recruiting students and joining events.
- Mentoring new alumni
- Recruiting students
- Special events
- Advocacy
Who volunteers to mentor
Recruit alumni who valued their studies
Alumni who rated their academic experience highly were more inclined to volunteer.
- A good academic experience they rated their studies highly
- A view of the alumni role they think alumni should help
- Civic engagement already active in their community
Benefits for both sides
Students and alumni mentors both gain
Across three programs and 197 participants, both sides reported distinct benefits.
Postgraduate mentees
Plan separately for postgraduate students
The same study found that mentoring postgraduates brought its own challenges.
- What does a postgraduate need? Ask at sign-up, before matching.
- Is the mentor further ahead? Match on career stage, not degree alone.
- How much time is there? Agree on fewer, focused meetings.
What pairs talk about
Expect life skills first, then careers
Alumni mentoring most often meant informal meetings and life skills, then career development.
- Informal meetings most often
- Life skills most often
- Career development next
Matching roles to motives
Fit each role to the mentor’s reasons
Volunteers whose experience matched their motives were more satisfied and meant to stay.
- Motive ask why they want to help
- Role offer one that fits
- Result satisfied, ready to stay
Identification with the university
Alumni who identify with you give back
Among 297 alumni, identification went with giving, recommending the college and attending events.
- Giving financial contributions
- Recommending advising others to attend
- Taking part school events
Support while studying
Support in college builds lasting attachment
Graduates who had caring professors and a mentor were far more attached to their college.
- Had all three kinds of support 48%48%
- Had none of them 2%2%
Tracks for students and graduates
Run tracks for students and new graduates
Experienced alumni can mentor current students, recent graduates and each other.
- Student track final-year students and alumni
- New graduate track the first years after graduation
- Peer track alumni circles by field
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Weerts, D. J., Cabrera, A. F. & Sanford, T. (2010) Beyond giving: Political advocacy and volunteer behaviors of public university alumni Research in Higher Education, 51(4), 346-365
- Weerts, D. J. & Ronca, J. M. (2008) Characteristics of alumni donors who volunteer at their alma mater Research in Higher Education, 49(3), 274-292
- Dollinger, M., Arkoudis, S. & Marangell, S. (2019) University alumni mentoring programs: A win-win? Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 41(4), 375-389
- Skrzypek, C., Diebold, J., Kim, W. & Krause, D. (2022) Formalizing alumni mentoring in social work education: Lessons learned from a three-year program evaluation Journal of Social Work Education, 58(2), 403-416
- Clary, E. G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R. D., Copeland, J., Stukas, A. A., Haugen, J. & Miene, P. (1998) Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1516-1530
- Mael, F. & Ashforth, B. E. (1992) Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13(2), 103-123
- Gallup (2014) Great Jobs, Great Lives: The 2014 Gallup-Purdue Index Report Gallup, Washington, DC
Ask alumni why they would help
Then give each one a role that fits that reason.