The report examines how college offices of alumni affairs, advancement and career services conduct surveys of alumni, with data presented separately for colleges at different enrollment levels, tuition levels, Carnegie class, and for public and private institutions. In addition, data is presented separately for offices of career services and offices of alumni services/advancement.
The study helps its readers to answer questions such as: how often do colleges survey their alumni? What kind or types of alumni are surveyed? What are the response rates? Do response rates differ by type of alumni? If so, by how much have they changed? How are alumni reached? Through phone, mail, email or online survey vehicles? What measures are taken to increase response rates? How long are the surveys? What kinds of questions are asked? Have the surveys changed in recent years? Have particular topics become more or less popular? What has been the impact of consortia or partnership approaches to alumni surveying? What has been the impact on alumni surveying of the proposed Obama Administration measures to tie higher education funding to demonstrable career results for alumni? What is done with alumni survey data? Which departments at the college request it the most? Which departments do their own alumni surveying or contribute questions to the alumni surveys conducted by other departments?
Just a few of the report’s many findings are that:
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26.32% of the colleges sampled had employed a consultant or surveying organization within the past three years to assist in or to conduct alumni surveys for the college. No career services office in the sample used a consultant while 34.48% of the alumni services offices had done so.
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Only 21.43% of public colleges sampled publish a report based on the findings of alumni surveys while 41.67% of private colleges did so.
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Public colleges and those with tuition of less than $10,500 were somewhat more likely than others to use the mail for alumni surveys.