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ALUMNI CONSULTATIVE GROUP
DRAFT ACTION PLAN 2014 – 2019
Introduction
At the first meeting of the newly elected Alumni Consultative Group (ACG) on 10th
September 2014 it was agreed that the priority task for the coming year was to develop a formal action plan for the Group. The ACG has been evolving since its establishment in 1993
(initially as the Alumni Development Group), and during the term of office of the previous
Group, considerable progress was made in adapting the constitution to current circumstances and in the adoption of specific responsibilities and tasks by some of the elected members. The latest draft of the Constitution and Terms of Reference of the Alumni
Consultative Group was reviewed at the ACG meeting in September. Some amendments were proposed to reflect the changes in the department’s structure and the final version will be presented at the next meeting on the 6 th December 2014.
The draft Action Plan put forward here is based on the ACG mission statement, and its terms of reference as given in items 3.1 to 3.6 of the Constitution and Terms of reference, on the continuation of ac tivities initiated during the previous ACG’s term, and on the need to ensure that the effectiveness of the Action Plan is measurable.
It is emphasised that this is a first draft and very much a work in progress which will be developed during the course of the coming year. This does not, however, preclude the continuation of ongoing ACG activities and initiation of new activities which are in conformity with the draft.
1.
Increase Alumni Engagement
There are various ways in which the University, and particularly the Alumni Relations Team
(ART), seeks to increase the number of alumni engaged with the University. What is proposed here as the prime driver of further increasing engagement is the strengthening and increase in the number of alumni branches. Newcastle University has one of the highest rates of student participation in societies with around 160 active societies affiliated to the
Newcastle University Students ’ Union (NUSU). Despite this large number of student societies only a few are represented by alumni branches. Currently, there are 18 active alumni branches, these are listed in Appendix 1; they comprise 8 Business school branches
(2 UK and 6 overseas), 4 other vocational branches, 3 UK branches and 3 overseas branches.
1.1 Strengthen Current Alumni Branches
It is important that the ACG liaises closely with the existing alumni branches in order to ensure that the University is affording a supportive engagement with them and is fostering ways to increase the membership. These existing branches also provide lessons to be learned for other potential alumni branches. During the previous term the ACG established direct ties with a number of these alumni branches in order to support the work done by ART in their relation-building with them, but the ACG needs to extend its direct involvement to the other branches. Document D lists ongoing ACG participation in existing branches, and
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Document C identifies those branches for which participation has been discussed with Group members, leaving, however, a significant number without at present a direct link with the ACG. This should be addressed as an early action for the ACG.
1.2 Support the Establishment of New Alumni Branches
While a proportion of students relate primarily to the University as a whole or to their specific
School or Department, for many, the societies to which they belonged constitute the strongest bond. A review of existing student societies is required to identify those with the most obvious potential for establishing alumni branches. This review should look at member numbers, activity of the society, and the length of time that the society has existed. ACG members should speak directly to current officers and recently graduated officers to encourage them to consider establishing alumni branches of their societies. In the first instance a pilot should be considered. The support of NUSU would be sought in this exercise which might inter alia organise a presentation to officers of student societies to initiate this review. Perceived benefits to the existence of an alumni branch will vary from society to society – social, career support, professional networking, and access to information. ACG members will ensure that there is a clear understanding of the aims and objectives of any new branch and help the University to be prepared to meet these.
On completion of the review, student societies and/or former officers of these who have expressed interest in setting up alumni branches should be supported in progressing this. It is recognised that this will place considerable demand on ART who will subsequently update the database.
1.3 Current Student Engagement
There should be a smooth continuum from student to alumnus, a process of which the student should be a part from earliest days. This will, to an extent, be provided by the increase in society alumni branches but there is a need to build a strategy for engaging students with graduates and the Alumni Association.
1.4 Develop the Alumni Contact Database
The database currently holds over 110,000 alumni contact details. ACG members will from time to time gain knowledge or information regarding alumni of the University whilst working as ACG ambassadors. To encourage database accuracy ACG members are invited to share any information they acquire with ART.
2. Assist the University to Provide a Supportive Environment to its Alumni
The ACG is mandated to represent the interests of all alumni. It should assist in identifying alumni needs and wants, and support the University in meeting its commitment to provide the best possible student and alumni experience to all who attend it. Increasing the engagement of alumni as described above is fundamental to achieving that but alongside this increase in the numbers of alumni engaged with the University there is the need to provide to the alumni a supportive environment, opportunities for career development, professional and social networking, access to knowledge and other support. Areas in which the ACG might play a role are summarised here and elaborated in Document D - the Action
Template.
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2.1 Alumni Volunteering
Volunteering provides opportunities for alumni to strengthen their links with the university, to repay a debt felt by many alumni for the experience afforded to them, to make new acquaintances, and to enhance their CVs. A wide range of volunteering activities already exists and there are opportunities for many more; all of these need ‘champions’.
2.2 Career Support
Members at the meeting in December will receive a presentation by the Director of Careers
Service, Marc Lintern, who will introduce the Careers Service and highlight areas where
ACG members can provide support. The following are areas ACG members can currently support: a. Graduate Connections - https://apps.ncl.ac.uk/graduateconnections/
Graduate Connections is an online networking tool which allows students to get in touch directly with graduates working in a diverse range of careers and organisations. Detailed profiles can be viewed to find out:
 What it's really like to work in a particular job or organisation.
 What skills, experience and tactics are needed to get into this career.
 What others have done with their degrees.
Graduate Connections is a joint initiative between the Careers Service and the Alumni
Association. b. Student Alumni LinkedIn Network - https://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=8178230&sharedKey=74435C67F21D&trk=an etsrch_name&goback=%2Eanh_43840_1416847374207_1
This group is a forum for the University’s students and graduates to network and share knowledge and information in a professional environment.
There are many other areas where graduates have and continue to support the Careers
Service, some are ad hoc and others will be formalised following the meeting with Marc
Lintern in future months.
2.3 Book Club and Book Reviews
With the major shift in the publication of books from the traditional publisher to selfpublication with a greater or lesser support from a self-publishing company, huge numbers of books are now published and there is enormous competition amongst authors for publicity for their books. It is anticipated that many alumni will have published books or plan to do so, and the Directorate’s database offers a massive publicity opportunity mainly through
AlumNews and Arches in the form of book reviews and interviews with authors. The
Bookmark section of Arches has supported this activity historically; however, in order to accommodate the rise in books that are submitted ART is in the early stages of planning a
University Alumni Book Club and would benefit from the support of ACG members.
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3. Increase ACG support to University Alumni-Related Activities
The elected members of the AGC have different amounts of time that they can offer in support of the University and in particular to ART. However, based on the previous Group there was generally a strong desire amongst its elected members to participate actively in a range of supportive functions. This is reflected in the participation already in place as shown in Document D. Some of the areas of participation are summarised here.
3.1 Support to Convocation Weekend
Convocation is the University’s annual alumni reunion which provides an opportunity to engage with its alumni. Numbers attending this weekend have risen steadily and at
Convocation Weekend 2014, 284 graduates and guests attended the reunion and 14 graduates travelled from 11 different overseas countries.
The Chair and Deputy Chair of Convocation and ART strive to increase attendance through a variety of different promotional approaches in order to capture the community’s attention and interest. Members of the ACG can provide support to ART and the Chair and Deputy
Chair of Convocation in developing the weekend’s programme of activities and participating in the statutory meeting.
3.2 Support to Alumni Events
Members of ACG can assist in hosting and stewarding alumni, students and other stakeholders at university events and provide feedback to the University.
3.3 Assist with Alumni Publications
Members of ACG can assist in building the ‘branches’ section of Arches and writing, or encouraging other alumni to write, articles for AlumNews.
3.4 Assist in the Ongoing Development of the Alumni Association Website
ART has just embarked on a major overhaul of its website. Plans are currently at a very early stage and completion is expected by April 2015. Members of the ACG can assist in this process if they have a keen interest in website communications.
3.5 Social Media Engagement
Members can extend the outreach of the ACG by building their presence on social media.
4. Support the University’s Civic Engagement
The mission statement of the ACG specifies that the work of the group should strengthen the work of Corporate Affairs in support of the University’s engagement in the economic, social and cultural development of the North East, and its strategic positioning as a civic university, nationally and internationally. Members of the ACG should identify ways in which this can be achieved and appoint from within there a champion and coordinator of this objective.
4.1 Carry Out a Review of ACG activities in the Context of the University’s Civic Role
To initiate this process the University will be requested to provide a briefing on how its role as a civic university is effected.
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5. Monitoring and Evaluation
Over a long period of time the University has been devoting resources to increasing its engagement with what is its largest community - its alumni – in order to ensure that the totality of the experience of every individual graduating from the University is of the highest order.
This Action Plan envisages a significant expansion in effort aimed at considerably increasing numerically and in quality the engagement of the alumni with the university. This effort can only be justified if the impact of the various interventions described can be measured in terms of effectiveness. This is no simple task and it is proposed that a high priority for the
ACG is to put in place a method of monitoring and evaluation of the activities of the ACG with a view to making recommendations.
5.1 Benchmarking and Analytics
ART is in dialogue with members of the Russell Group Alumni Relations Forum to discuss approaches that are taken to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions of alumni relations activity, the next meeting in on the 15 th January 2015. We hope to work with this group so that analytics gathered can be benchmarked. ART will report to the ACG on lessons that can be learned from the experiences of other universities at the meeting in March 2015.
5.2 Agree Impact-Measurable Parameters
This can be discussed and agreed in the March meeting.
Dr David Moffatt, Chair ACG
Ms Sue Bevan, Deputy Chair ACG
Ms Tania Angelopoulos, Alumni Relations Manager
28 November 2014
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APPENDIX 1
Alumni Consultative Group - Active Alumni Branches
Working document
116,315 Newcastle University alumni live and work in 161 countries worldwide, therefore it is vital the alumni association remains global in its approach.
The alumni branches play a key role in supporting our service aims, establishing international opportunities and widespread involvement and engagement within the
‘Newcastle Family.’
We have a number of regional networks and alumni contacts who help to represent
Newcastle University in cities around the world offering opportunities for socialising, networking, professional development, recruitment and may organise alumni gatherings.
The active branches are tabulated below:
COUNTRY /
CITIES
UK: Newcastle &
London
USA: New York
Singapore
Greece: Athens
China: Shanghai &
Beijing
BRANCH NAME
1. GOLD Network (Graduates of the Last Decade).
2. Newcastle University Business School, North East Alumni Branch.
3. Newcastle University Business School, London Alumni Branch.
4. University of Newcastle upon Tyne Graduates Society (North of
England).
5. University of Newcastle Agriculture Society (UNAS), Newcastle.
6. Durham and Newcastle Medical Graduates Association (DNMGA)
7. Newcastle University Dental Graduates Association, Newcastle.
8. Alumni Consultative Group (ACG)
1. The USA Friends of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
2. Newcastle University Business School, USA Alumni branch.
1. Newcastle Alumni Singapore Branch
2. Newcastle University Business School, Singapore Alumni Branch
1. The Greek Alumni Board
2. Newcastle University Business School Greek Alumni Branch
1. Newcastle University Business School, Shanghai Alumni Branch.
2. Newcastle University Business School, Beijing Alumni Branch.
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India: Mumbai
Hong Kong
International:
IDAA & IDS
1. Newcastle University Business School, Mumbai Alumni Branch.
Working to set up an alumni branch.
International Development Alumni Association to work with the
International Development Society.
Total alumni branches: 18
Tania Angelopoulos
Alumni Relations Manager
28 November 2014
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