Advise on keeping in contact with students
I find it hard to stay in contact with our graduates. When do we know when its ENOUGH? I continously try and call, email, and send letter but no respond?
Bianca,
We think grads should graduate into being active Alumni. Keep these people involved and engaged in your school. Show them the continued value of being affiliated with your school so they will let you know when they move! This is not about homecomings or big events. It is about services and networking of interest to people who graduated MaxKnowledge has a great course about how to set up and benefit from an Alumni Community, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
Bianca I find that way good way for the career center department to reach out to those students who have lost contact for whatever reason. Its A graduate celebration we try and have one per quarter to reach those students we are having a hard time reaching, we send flyers to their homes and emails, we call their classmates to get the word out. A small celebration usually helps get a few lost students back in the Career Center Department
nicolas,
Parties and networking definitely gets the attention of everyone. The trick is to stay in touch with students and grads often and in a meaningful way. If a school loses touch it is because it hasn't been staying in contact sufficiently. This is particularly important at the end of training where surprisingly many drop out. The goal is to keep students and grads engaged. That's why Alumni Communities are so important. Details in another MaxKnowledge course. Tahnks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
Bianca Sometimes I find myself in the same boat, but believe it or not I think the best way is through text or facebook message. I don't know your policy on social media but because in this day in age it seems to work. They will always update a facebook page with recent information themselves before the school.
Erica,
It is always a challenge about how to stay in touch with students and grads. We don't think there is one right way. Social media is important. So is a phone call, texting, and even sending cards and information via old fashioned mail! The goal is to keep in touch with students and grads on a regular basis because they will move. Also a goal is to be seen as a resource for valuable information. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
I absolutely agree graduates are more likely to respond to a text or Facebook message. However, we have opted not to do this because we don't want messages coming from personal Facebook accounts. I'm curious to know who sends the text and Facebook messages.
Kimberly ,
Great question. Ask 10 people and you will probably get 10 different opinions. Bottom line is what your students and grads want and what works for you and is in line with your institution mission. Create some measurements. If it is communicating effectively with expectation of a quick response, it might have to be text and Facebook. Perhaps you can require that grads set up "professional" Facebook profiles or use LinkedIn, which is more about professional networking. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
As a school, we found that the use of the social networks is a good help to keep in contact with our graduates. We have sent blast emails and messages for events, so the student's do not feel pressure. We also have created an Alumni group on Facebook with special events that they can participate. Individual phone calls are made only to the graduates that have reply to the messages.
