Alumni Survey Analysis 2009 Alumni Survey Analysis The Alumni survey was emailed to 5400 alumni (a mixture of UK and overseas). 1011 questionnaires were completed. A link to the survey was also placed in the Braduate. The survey was completed by 66.9% males and 33.1% females. The majority of the students were from the UK (64.1%) followed by International (27.8%) and EU (8.2%). A summary of all the responses with percentages and numbers is provided in Appendix 4. What Existing Services/Activities are important to you? The idea of using Alumni services to keep in touch with other graduates, through reunions and networking opportunities were the only suggestions to be rated highly and important. All other suggestions were not generally considered important to respondents. The idea of access to careers advice was considered unimportant. The following table shows the suggestions in order of their perceived importance to respondents. Very Fairly Somewhat Not very Not at all important Important important important important Networking opportunities/contact with other Alumni in your area 32.7 29.4 20.6 10 7.4 Reunions Online Social Networking (Facebook; LinkedIn etc) 25.5 29.6 27.8 11.3 5.7 21 26.3 21.5 16.3 14.9 Access to careers advice University events e.g. public lectures, talks, exhibitions 21.4 14.4 11.7 19.2 33.3 15.3 24.8 25.8 15 19.1 Access to fitness/sports centre facilities Access to Arts on Campus (theatre/music/gallery) 9.1 15.3 18.1 16.3 41.2 7.5 17.9 23.8 17.2 33.5 October 2009 Page 2 45 41.2 40 33.5 33.3 35 32.7 30 25 25.5 21.4 14.9 15.3 15 10 21 19.1 20 9.1 7.5 7.4 5.7 5 0 Very important Fairly Important Somewhat important Not very important Not at all important October 2009 Page 3 How important would the following new services be to you? Lifelong email address Not at all important 12% Not very important 13% Very important 33% Somewhat important 18% Fairly Important 24% Access to library computer facilities Not at all important 12% Not very important 14% Somewhat important 20% October 2009 Very important 31% Fairly Important 23% Page 4 What communications would you like to receive from the university? Respondents were asked what communications they would like to receive from the university, and were given the following suggestions: Printed Alumni Newsletter/Magazine An E-newsletter Information about further study opportunities The idea of receiving an e-newsletter from the university was the most popular suggestion amongst respondents. 44.4% would like an e-newsletter more than twice a year. Only 4.1% of respondents would not like to receive an e-newsletter from the university. Around 25% of respondents would not like to receive information on opportunities for further study, although still welcomed by 75.7%. October 2009 Page 5 45 40 40.5 35 36.5 30 25 44.4 32.4 Once a year 27.8 Twice yearly 24.3 20 24.2 19.5 15 10 More frequently Do not want to receive 23.7 11.7 11.1 5 4.1 0 Printed Alumni Newsletter/Magazine An e-newsletter Information about further study opportunities Other communications frequently stated are: Department specific updates Departmental news and opportunities Contact information for specific academic year University graduation dates and a timetable of upcoming Alumni events A full list of communications stated are shown in appendix 1 October 2009 Page 6 Fundraising Would you consider making a financial gift to your university to support: Students in hardship Scholarships Facilities Your department 100 90 80 86.5 70 81.2 74 60 75.8 50 Yes 40 No 30 20 26 18.8 10 24.2 13.5 0 Students in hardship Scholarships Facilities Your department Other financial gifts alumni would consider have been listed in appendix 2. Alumni would prefer to make a one-off gift rather than a monthly annual donation: 90.0% 80.0% 82.1% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 51.0% Yes 49.0% No 30.0% 20.0% 17.9% 10.0% 0.0% A one-off gift October 2009 A monthly / annual donation Page 7 Only 7% (#65) would consider leaving a gift in their Will for the university, 40.4% wouldn’t consider leaving a gift in their Will whereas 52.6% were undecided. 51.8% of alumni were aware that any gift to the university could be worth significantly more than the amount donated. Acting as a Bradford Ambassador Alumni were asked if they would be interested in: Talking to prospective students about studying at Bradford at Open Days/Recruitment Fairs Talking to prospective students about studying at Bradford by telephone/email contact Giving career information to present/prospective students on your area of work Attending events appropriate to your study/occupation If you are in a Higher Education Institute - would you be interested in opening up potential collaboration with the University of Bradford If you are in a business, would you be interested in providing hospitality/facilities for events The majority of alumni were interested in attending events appropriate to their study/occupation (60.7%) followed present/prospective students (57.8%). by giving careers information to Alumni were least interested in providing hospitality facilities for events (19.2%). As to be expected, the more involvement the suggestion included, the lower the percentage of respondents who were interested in the activity. As some alumni may be further away in age from prospective students than current undergraduate students would be, prospective mentors should be chosen wisely. However, this initial research demonstrates a reasonable willingness amongst our alumni to perform this role, especially in relation to career opportunities and paths. October 2009 Page 8 120 100 80 69.1 60 57.7 42.2 39.3 76.5 80.8 23.5 19.2 If you are in a Higher Education Institute would you be interested in opening up potential collaboration with the University of… If you are in a business, would you be interested in providing hospitality/facil ities for events 40 20 30.9 42.3 57.8 60.7 0 Talking to Talking to prospective Giving career Attending prospective students about information to events students about studying at present/prospe appropriate to studying at Bradford at ctive students your Bradford by Open on your area of study/occupati telephone/ema Days/Recruitme work on il contact nt Fairs No 69.1 57.7 42.2 39.3 76.5 80.8 Yes 30.9 42.3 57.8 60.7 23.5 19.2 When alumni were asked to make any general comments, these were mainly around the following areas: Networking events to meet students from the same academic year Country specific events Regular contact between Alumni office UK and overseas Alumni A full list of general comments can be seen in appendix 3 October 2009 Page 9 Appendices Appendix 1 Are there any other communications you would like to receive from the University, - Updated info of the school - The school 's ranking 1. More face to face networking/ unions by organizing events/activities. This is especially so in Singapore. Very limited in which an alumini ambassador can do. 1.)Addresses of/contacts to former class mates 2.) Career-Info of graduates Academic secretary Alumni Email Directory Alumni Liaison Office in different countries, e.g., Hong Kong of China an e-mail of any upcoming public events or lectures of interest to me. ANy information about get togethers at bradford - chance to catch up with ex colleagues and old friends Any research areas can also be published in the maagazine and contact details of other members which are interested in, too. As an alumni who no longer lives in Bradford there should be some opportunities to remain in contact with the department and university. Also to receive updates from the dept to be able to follow achievements & developments of staff and students Business opportunities. Any Business opportunities that can provide to us and assit us venturing international, and locally. By post can the Alumni office facilitate at least an annual reunion of Bradford Alumni in Singapore, around a graduation event? can't think of any, except time travel back to the 60s........ Cant think of any right now. Change of headship in the former dept of training e.g. as for me Biomedical Sciences. Contact up-dates of class mates from the same region? (Singapore and Hong Kong) Creating a network for Bradford graduates to interact and share their experiences. This would allow the graduates an opportunity to have a wider networking and have chances of getting employ or increase their business contacts. Department-specific update e.g. as an archaeology graduate what are other archaeologists doing Departmental developments departmental news & opportunities, say for past graduates to work on projects with their old Dept emails Establish oversea alumni office [a laision group attached to British Council], if possible. General news on changes: effects of gov policy, new courses defunt courses, challenges General updates on overall campus events Having someone who can take care of the Malaysian Alumni - hope to hear more about get togethers, etc. How to access a lot of the above - I'm generaly of the opinion that all of the facilities may be specific to those still living in the Bradford area Human interest stories I am an alumni of Leeds University and Harvard Business School. Bradford is silent compared to both of October 2009 Page 10 these. What I get from Harvard is unbelievable, maybe too much. I didn't know we already had access to the sports centre - please can you lwet me know how to do this? I graduated in 1986 (Manufacturing Systems Engineering), but I think this department no longer existed. World like to be able to know where are my classmates and list of their names. I have provided details several times with the promise that you will compile an alumni directory but this has never appeared. There should be no data protection issues if each entry agrees. This would be more useful than all the other services you provide. Also, more proactive help with arranging reunions; we have had 3 reunions at 25 yrs, 35 years and 40 years with very little help from Alumni office despite requests for help. I remember in the careers department they had a record of jobs and salaries for each course which would be very useful to have online. even now for me to give advice to others as i am a teacher now. I would like to be able to contact say "Optics students graduating 1992", or "University Halls 1985". The university could act as an intermediary to contact the students on their records. At the moment it seems that no current web service records easily the course that people were on. I cannot remember peoples names, it would be nice to prompt some communication via an intermediary that holds the necessary email/addresses. I would like to find/contact my classmates who graduated from Pharmacy Scholl in 1982. i would like to get some information about the courses, especially the MA courses. I would like to get the alumni list of all graduates since 20 years at least to see my name and to show it to our dean for record. I would like to get updated with the current status of my former professors (where they are now, etc). I'd like to find out where several friends are but they dont seem to appear on any social net pages.Do you have any "public" lists? I'd like to know more about the alumni in my area. Info about other students from my year/course - where are they now etc Information about other alumni in Kenya. Information directly from my former department (Archaeological Sciences) Information on alumni members in my Faculty and department from 1981-1986. Information on how the Modern Languages Department is progressing Information on Theatre productions Is there a picture course and year listing of Alumni? It is possible to contribute in terms of teaching MBA students under distance learning programme It would be nice to have a bradford email address forever. Although not important. Job Services Know where my colleagues from my year are hanging out. Library Aquisitions in area of study Links with current and/or former international students Membership List, Regional Split, Short Bio and Contact Details mobile updates through sms More email or internet communications, less paper. More targeted communication/magazine from the business school only n/a need to know about technology, patents or programs from Bradford that we can use in our business life, its all about connections! new case studies and research done in my field with in bradford university (or elsewhere) October 2009 Page 11 news about the university News about what the university is upto generally. How it is doing in the world and what good news is coming out of Bradford. News for classmates, teachers etc. NEWS OF CURRENT AND FORMER SENIOR LECTURERS news of ex students. Deaths emigration etc News updates on other graduates in my course year. Not really, but it will be good to know how our faculty is doing. Not that I can think of right now. Online Forum Online short courses especially for the overseas graduates: language courses, self-improvement courses etc. Opportunities for networking and knowing how graduates are doing in the careerworld Outline of campus development Particularly interested in hearing about people i know/knew and how they are doing. I understand that it is dificult to get people to tell you about themselves and i have found a few via social networking sites - but if you could collect together everything from all social networking sites and pool under a Bradford thing - i wouldn't have to search individuals in each of them! Especially as Facebook seem to have changed my password and keep failing to sen me a new one so i canot get in! Also - i have little time to look at FR and Facebook and have no interest in joining any others! Perhaps access to a directory of consenting graduates and their contact details online password protected. Perhaps an occasional copy of current student literature - just for a trip down memory lane... I seem to remember a daily sheet of paper detailing campus goings on. Perhaps business matching opportunitites where graduates can help each other in business and other areas. With such a reputation, business graduates can rely not only on their knowledge gained from studying but also have a solid network to fall back on. Personal telephone calls to active alumni possible re union events that concern the societies i joined e.g the catholic society postdoctoral opportunities for former students. posters by airmail Progression and access to professional institutions such as I mech E, mentoring etc Recent Job Postings in University of Bradford which international alumni I can apply for. There should be information available on how University can help get work permits etc. Reunion e-summaries school's special news and publications. short courses linked to the graduates current employment services. SMS Updates Some way of knowing if fellow students are in a particular organisation that we might ne applying for a position to get some insoder info onthe issues redaing that organisation. Staff movements The Alumni org comes and goes like the seasons - provides little/no funcitonal use as far as I can tell (and I sat on the Board back in the late 80's and it was the case then which was why I left it). From my perspective the University does NOT use it's global alumni base to its best advantage. There are a number of us who occupy senior positions in industry and are not used. This later statement is aimed at the Uni itself - not the alumni office - as it should be a function of the Uni to utilize its graduate base effectively. October 2009 Page 12 the most important is to have some way to know who is leaving around my place. How about showing places on a Goggle map ? THE PERFORMANCE OF THE UNIVERSITY ON YEARLY AND ON ANY RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGH. the specific alumni contacts list of the graduates. To be invited to give a talk on the Area of your field. To give chance to those who got their Ph.D. from Bradford university and worked a certain period of time as university staff members in their own countries or somewhere else to participate in doing research snd giving lectures, i.e. to work in the University of Bradford. I agree that there should be a limited number for those who can get such a portunity each year. University graduation dates and timetable of important University events. Updates about the university academic progress and achievements Updates on my old course, information about alumni from my course visits by university staff to alumni associations Way to contact other members of my course. who were in my year BSC Hons Psychology, 1st cohort What about the Henley form of instant poll among alumni on the issues of the day which then gets them more media attention? what's happening in departments appointments/retirements, projects, new cources, lectures from: archaeology, computer science, media where abouts of other students that where in the same year and what they have got up to. Within limits of maintaining privacy re:personal information, it would be nice to know what is currently happening in departmant of studies that i graduated from and also any info re:fellow students from that department. Would like to contact friends maiden names would be helpful October 2009 Page 13 Appendix 2 Are there any other financial gifts you would consider making to the university which are not mentioned above? A fund for exchange visits to our supervisors and our self to visit the university frequently. A legacy. A Will donation but only if I thought the University was really interested in a long term relationship with its alumni accommodation Accommodation for Bradford graduate finding their feet Actually, I am looking for financial assistance for postgraduate studies myself, therefore, I would not be able to contribute. Art from the overseas alumni BY WILL. Can't afford to! Dependant on the subject - yes. But as i am not yet earning - would have to wait a while. WOuld rather help specific projects for activities and/or facilities at the University donations of books for the library establishing alumni clubs in local areas in order to make distance learning programs establishing new courses I already provide aid to PLAN I am a retiree. I am on a very low income and cant afford to donate. I am sports journalist can send copy of magazine which i write for. I can help the department by guiding/helping present students by e-mail in their studies/research. I do not live in the Uk and so would not benefit from the tax programme. i have not been working since my graduation. Only did temp non-degree level jobs. I have paid full tuition for my Masters course. In addition, I had to buy all small equipment for the droms room (duvet, pans, pots, dishes...) which I donated to a chairty upon departure. That has costed me enough and I don't see why I would donate. i m starting up new business so i have it in mind in he future to help financialy. I might donate to specific activies or events, on an adhoc basis. I went to university before fees, I do not approve of fees and would not support the system which i disagree with and which is now failing. Less and better quality candidates at university is better than university for all then low final grades and graduate unemployment. I would be glad to do that by the time I have statrted work I would favour company sponsored gifts rather than individual ones. So I can promote my company. I'd take it on a case by case basis If I had answered the same question a few years ago I would have said yes. Now, divorced, I am going through harder financial times. Fingers crossed to keep my job. If I had any money I would love to give some for students in hardship! October 2009 Page 14 if i had money then yes to above If I were better off I might consider a donation, probably to a specific project rather than an ongoing gift in kind, such as equipment etc.. in order to give a gift to a university one should be a very wealthy person. Thta is not too likely looking at current European tax rates In principle a contribution to an Alumni backed Scholarship, depending on financial Circumstances. legacy legacy Living overseas, not really sure what options are available. Maybe Maybe in the future but this is not a viable economic option for me at the moment Maybe to the Union more support for the societies New buildings Facilities for students Arts investment (new builds or upgrades) No, only technical support ! No. You even made me pay more than UK candidates NONE FOR NOW BECAUSE I AM FROM A DEVELOPING COUNTRY WITH VERY LOW INCOME IN TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT. none. i believe you earn enough in fees. Not at the moment but if I was earning a good salary yes Not at this point but maybe in the future Not just at the moment but hopefully a little later in life. Not that I can think of right now. Perhaps in the future when my financial position allows it. possiblity exists that we may be setting up a foundation involving Spain, but it is early days, so no commitments can be finalised. School information Since I live outside the UK a financial gift is difficult for me. Sorry I'm a graduate who is now working in a minimum wage job in a non related field... Careers help would therefore be required first!!! Sorry, I am not in the position to make financial gifts to anyone... sorry, i am very much willing to share for the scholarship fund of the University because i am also a product of a good scholarship program but as of now i cannot still afford to do so. Student opportunities - study abroad etc Supporting research programmes Training attachment unfortunately we are not able to consider making any financial gifts at the moment. In theory I am very much in favour of the idea! Visiting Students Programme we just about get paid enough to survive¬¬¬ We would like to make a financial gift to "Facilities" but I am momentanely out of job I would not affordt ir wright now. October 2009 Page 15 When my finances improve i would want to contribute once yearly to the department of Biomedical Sciences. will legacy would consider contribution towards alumni services if there were tangible benefits from the service Would like to when financial climate improves Would prefer to gift to be targeted at scholarships for overseas PhD studentships following the scrapping of the ORS scheme by Universities UK You closed my department... You need to consider the gifting capabilites for those who do not live inthe UK anymore - whatsthe tx incentive for us as, I believe, we are not affected by Gift Aid etc. October 2009 Page 16 Appendix 3 11. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have regarding the Alumni service that the University of Bradford offers. 15 years after leaving Bradford I doubt that I could offer much in the way of advice or information to prospective students. All of the above (Q10) topics are interesting but (a) it's almost 20 years since I studied in Bradford (b) I now work far away from Bradford. Therefore my ability to make any useful contribution sppears to be limited. All these if I had made a successful career from my degree. almuni services should open communication chanels to those living with local people in their countries Already member alumni board but it is not very active and needs a lot more support from the University Just look at University Alumni in USA. Also involved in School of Management Alumni. Alumni should be part of the University 5 year plan to make any real progress (just like any other senior management measurement in a large company) alumni events in Singapore As I live in South Orange County, California my answers should be qualified by the distance from Bradford and by the 40 year gap from my graduation. I don't know enough about the present set-up to speak to interested candidates, other than to recommend to those from the south to give the north a try as I did in '66. I suspect however that the north south divide is less marked than it was in '66 (at least I hope it is!) so my experience may be untypical. As I live in Wilts (some way from Yorkshire!) most of the above questions are somewhat irrelavent to me At Reunions would be good if people had badges showing the year they graduated - so you could spot your peers! Basically living in Texas prevents general access to the events Bradford seems to have changed a lot in the 25 years since I was there> I'm not sure if I know enough about the Uni to speak about it, and its courses. Bradford should offer more sounvier for our alumni to purchase (e.g. cufflink, tie) Careers advice for archaeologists at bradford is dire despite good department - i would be willing to help with this Could talk to Greek prospective students and liaise them Currently hear things rarely - so far have not really felt part of an ALumni organsiation. Do you have any other registered 1980-84 Chemistry graduates listed? dont feel a great connection to Bradford as my department does not seem to make any effort to keep links with its graduates. Like to get the newsletters with details of other graduates. Full library access would predispose me to financial donations to Bradford Uni !! Given that I live in Preston my contact with the University is limited - I would gladly be more involved and use the facilities if I was local. have more reunions Have not been able to put responses in some areas - also, for others, where have put no, is due to the fact tat I am in HE and have similar foci for my own institution Have you established an alumni database which can be accessed by all alumni? Having graduated in 1963 I am too out-of-touch with current university thinking to take on any "ambassadorial role". HELP LINK INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FROM AFRIKCA TO POTENTIAL POST GRADUATE TRAINING FUNDING Honorarium fees for specialised seminar talks and workshops October 2009 Page 17 Hope to include job opportunities column. How about a purple club for the retired and disgraceful? How about a reunion in London? I would help. I already advice students to do postgraduate studeis at University of Bradford. I am already an Ambassador for Bradford School of Management I am already the Alumni Ambassador for School of Mannagmeent in China, and in the process to apply and discuss the possibilities of setting up a representative office in China to help school to recruit and branding. I would be very interested in having your advice and support as well I am coming towards the end of my working career, so I am mostly interested in the progress of Bradford Univerity. I could only assist potential students in the most general way I am interested in collaborating with the University in my place of work. I run a non profit maiking voluntary organisation which does development and conflict transformation and peace building, psychosocial counselling and entrepreneurship training. I am mostly retired!!! I am now retired and I don't live within easy reach of the University otherwise I would have supported all of the above in q10 I am sorry that I am not able to offer much help as I am not stationed in England. Furthermore, I graduated almost 30 years ago, and the information about the university would be outdated. Thus I feel I am not able to provide good advices to others. I am very greatful that graduates can get service from careers. i am willing to help out for Careers/Education Exhibitions in Singapore on behalf of the varsity. I apologise for so many negative responses, but it is extremely difficult to provide support from Germany where I am a permanent resident. Regrettably, the undergraduate course I attended is no longer offered at Bradford. I can't do very much because I live in Jerusalem, Israel. I could only be involved in the above when I am not at work (full time) I enjoy reading the magazine and keeping in touch! I feel that the alumni service could be more proactive. Sometime ago I contacted it to try to find out other ex-Bradford people in Brussels and eventually saw in an alumni magazine that there was one Bradford person listed here. Speaking with friends who studied at other unis I know their ex-unis were much more forthcoming about putting alumni in a single location in contact. It would help the alumni and also by having a network of people in Brussels it might be a useful resource for the current students/lecturers to draw on for political issues. I graduated in 1983 and live in london so I cant be of any help. Also the BSc psychology moved to Leeds university I had never heard of the alumini service before this communication. I happy to be asked the above questions in the future as my circumstances may change, but at the present time I need to answer no to the requests above. I hope I dont seem negative-I'd like to collaborate but having finished in 1979 and as I live abroad,I con't really do a great deal to help. I left Bradford in 1969 and am now retired - hence the negativity I left Bradford in 1982 so feel somewhat remote from what is going on today - particularly as I now live near Reading and my original career opportunities on leaving Bradford (Textiles) is decimated in this country. So I was delighted that the Alumni service was set-up (ressurcted?) a few years ago, not just to keep me in touch, but more so, for newer graduates who will probably be able to use the services more readily. When I left I had very little contact with the university, except with fellow students. Technology has changed all that, and things like Linkedin (didn't know or even think about that connection) will definately be of use to me. I just need to work out now how to get Linkedin with Bradford Alumni! October 2009 Page 18 I like the idea of the services and the ambassador activities, but they are not viable if do not live near Bradford. Could more consideration be given to how those who do not live near Bradford can still do similar. (I recognise there is some attempts but it is limited) I like to keep in touch but as a single parent with a full time job, and not based near Bradford, there's a limit to how far I feel able to participate. Also, the department where I studied no longer exists in a form I would recognise which makes me feel less close to the university. But I'm still interested to hear news. I live and work in the USA. No local (to Bradford)events or services are feasible for me. I live in Canada and sorry so many 'no's - just that a lot is n/a I live in Canada so limited ability to be involved with some of the areas above. At present moment do not feel able to make a financial donation. I probably graduated too long ago to give useful advice to prospective students. I seem to have given very negative answers to your questions. As I am approaching retirement I feel unqualified to act as an ambassador for a University which has changed considerably from the place I attended in th 60's.In the past I was a careers advisor for my local branch of th Pharmaceutical Society and often promoted the Bradford course. I wish the University every sucess but am not in a position to help financially or otherwise. i think i have left too long ago to add value in talking to students about Bradford,i would have done this earlier I think that attending events for a person like me who lives outside the UK is practically not possible unless the university participate in the accomodation and/or travel cost. I work for a research company and we do work with bradford researchers from time to time. mostly Phil and Hadj. i work for the nhs so collaboartive working would i believe be of mutual benefit I would prefer a more collaboration with the field related activities with other development related organisation that relevant to the subject learned at the University to make student with the practical information especially with the developing countries I would want to form an association of all former Bradford graduates residing/working in Kenya. Can the University help with their e-mail contacts or addresses? I'm a little uncertain aboput the status of Alumni from the CAT period. I'm happy to receive e mail up dates and for info about myself to be added but at this time I don't want to participate further. I'm wondering if the University has developed any internship programme for students with the EU institutions in Brussels? I work in the Representation of the City of London (financial centre) to the EU and it strikes me there are a lot of intern opportunities, especially for politics/economics students as part of a year out. To the extent I could help, I'd be willing to assist with any initiatives you already have. I've probably left Bradford University too long ago to act as an Ambassdor In my opinion Alumni office is the first place one would look for old friends. For this reason, an on-line plan of all departments listing students per year (and maybe their information if they approve) would be ideal. In regards to the above I always talk about Bradford very highly but as I graduated 10 years ago I dont feel in a position to talk to prospective students about studying at the university now. It is always good to hear from you. It is very important to keep all alumni informed about events in the University perioically. It would be good if there was a way to find classmates from your years of study. It's good to hear whats going on in particular things relating to my old department, who sadly I never hear from at all. its good keep it up Just to let you know. Due to my technical support over the years (since 2000) to the University Automotive Engineering Department and on the yearly "Braking of Road Vehicles Short Course" with Prof. A.Day. I'm October 2009 Page 19 since 1st December 1998 nominated on behalf of the Bradford University's School of Engineering, Design & Technology an appointment as an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow. I please if you point this out in your e-newsletter. In case of you need a picture. Please don't hesitate to contact me on jos.klaps@scarlet.be and jklaps@bradford.ac.uk. For datail information, please contact Prof. A.Day and Prof. Alastair S. Wood, Dean of School. Thanks ! Linking to existing students provides a common base for all alumni, otherwise alumni may have little in common across different subjects etc. live to far away! May appear negative but do advise anyone going to uni to consider Bardford Maybe an international directory to provide team members for international colaboration, research etc Modern languages has been phased out at Bradford, so the above does not really apply. more personal contact My dept--Chem Eng is sadly closed My knowledge of Bradford as a place to study is now out of date (left 1979!) Not being in the locality, it would be difficult to attend open days etc Not very easy to do any of 10 considering my current location (Qatar) Now retied and livinh in France, so contribution able to make minimal. Have done so in past, when I was university professor in Hull Once again, am not in the UK - could communicate via e-mail with potential students. Over the past 20 years I have had very few interactions with the Alumni office. Whenever I have contacted them, the response has been so disappointing, that I somethimes wonder if they weren't being deliberately obstructive. Rather than having a somewhat pointless survey, I'd suggest (in a deliberately tiny text box?) 1) a direct mail campaign to attenpt to re-generate interest in the alumni organisation. 2) How about telling people what other alumni live in your area? You don't need to show names, but you could very easily create a google map which would give people an instant idea if there are any alumni in their area. If I knew that within say 25 miles of where I live, there were a few hundred Alumni, I'd be much more interested. 3) in areas where the university knows that there are many alumni, (such as most large cities), the university should proactively look to assist in the creation of local alumni organisations. An alumni organisation should exist for one primary reason: Networking among graduates. If you can successfully get people to network, and create a community of alumni, whether it be in Bradford, Bangalore, or Brussels, all the other stuff you're talking about will come, such as people giving money to the university, people giving their time to assist new / prospective students, people giving time to assist in career advice, etc. Unfortunately, I think you have put the cart before the horse. You're trying to get all the things a successful alumni organisation has without even beginning to try to create the "community" first. Perhaps I'm being naive, but in a time when a hotmail, gmail or facebook account can be created in less than a minute, why would anyone want, or even need a "lifelong" Bradford e-mail address? The fact that it's your second question, in a survey attempting to get interest in alumni, just shows how completely out of touch you are with reality. Is it any surprise that people really aren't interested. Have you looked at the survey? Five of the eleven questions are about giving money to the university? That gives any alumni a good idea as to where the priority lies for the University in the Alumni association. Get networking, organising regional and international groups, be proactive to seek out and find alumni who are interested in helping. Just do something. Staggeringly, I'd say that even my former primary school (over 500 iles from where I live) has a more active alumni association than Bradford. Perhaps including a jobs board where companies can recruit new graduates from Bradford. Please consider to set up liaison office in Hong Kong prefer info on bradford university by email say once a month Prospective students usually call me for advice. When they ask questions about the career service of the univeristy, I find my self in difficult situation. During my course of MBA studies there was no job fair, I have never received a job post/email as of today. I would recommend that this particular dimension to be strengthened. This improvement definitely can increase the univeristy’s ranking and overall perception if students (even alumni) are supported well in their job hunts. Question f may be of interest it would depend on the type of graduates (I would prefer engineering) and the October 2009 Page 20 remit of the event. Research universities that do have good alumni set ups - suspect you will have to look at the US. There may be a cultural thing, but getting students supporting the uni at undergrad level will certainly make for a better level of alumni activity Section 10, it is so long since I syudied at Bradford I would not have anything of relevance to say to prospective students. seems a bit hit and miss Since I am living and working in the Netherlands I see few opportunities to promote Bradford University other then advise and inform friends and colleques about my experience with the University. There is few promotion from Bradford in the Netherlands. It might be interesting to increase that promotion since our academic and bachelor institutions get more and more diffuse. Since I attended an Alumni , I thinnk annual , meeting c 2 years ago and volunteered to help the service I have had no direct contact from the service. It suprises me . The Chem Eng degree was scrapped so can offer little support to new students I'm afraid The permanet e-mail address for communication would be a good offer The problem seems to be that the University is no longer offering the modern languages course that made it special for me, so most of the above is not relevant THERE SHOULD REGULAR CONTACT WITH ALUMNI ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD. THAT WILL PROMOTE THE UNIVERSITY WORLDWIDE. Things will have changed a lot since I attended. This question is only really relavant for recent gradutaes to answer in the main. Those of us who graduated 20+yrs ago can not really assist todays grads with what the impacts can be with the exception of 'c'. This survey can be improved further by offering more options in answering each questions instead a Yes or No answer. Formally set up an alumini base in Singapore. Gather a group of UOB graduates both studied on campus and as well part-time student studied through MDIS. These graduates should be able to share their experience and the culture in UOB while studied on campus. Those who completed their studies through MDIS can share the career paths after obtained the qualifications. Giving chance to those who have graduated and are looking for jobs to meet potential employers. To 9 above: Not a UK taxpayer To 10 generally: Resident in Germany so activities not always feasible, except b and c by email. Up to date information on the Bradford University would be required before talking to potential students. 35 yrs since I attanded Bradford. Very keen to open up collaboration in a variety of areas. In particular with languages. I am Dirsctor of Studies for the Translation/Interpreting school at the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy) We did this and we will remain doing it for the benefit of our beloved Bradford university. What about an alumni email exchange - open only to bona fide alumni where we could find email addresses of the people we knew from our own year? When can we see the results of this survey, and where (if anywhere) can we see the results of the last survey? When I first graduated I regularly came back and gave lunchtime seminars to Env Sci students and staff about work I was doing (because it was relevant to env sci) but also talked to 2nd year students about the value of industrial placement years. I would happily talk to people again, but now live in London - it would need to be a 'written' contribution to be practical these days. I also feel that having graduated 13 years ago my perspective is less relevant now. would be great if the University Store would sell on-line. Would welcome news on students in my MBA year 1980-1981 - I have lost contact with all, except for Rob Rice. Can you give me their contact detrails, please? yes October 2009 Page 21 Appendix 4 – Summary of Findings Section 1: What can the Alumni Office do for you? 1. What existing services/activities are important to you? 1.a. Access to careers advice Very important: n/a 207 Fairly important: n/a 139 Somewhat important: n/a 113 Not very important: n/a 185 Not at all important: n/a 322 Very important: n/a 83 Fairly important: n/a 140 Somewhat important: n/a 165 Not very important: n/a 149 Not at all important: n/a 376 Very important: n/a 67 Fairly important: n/a 159 Somewhat important: n/a 212 Not very important: n/a 153 Not at all important: n/a 298 Very important: n/a 146 Fairly important: n/a 237 Somewhat important: n/a 246 Not very important: n/a 143 Not at all important: n/a 182 1.b. Access to fitness/sports centre facilities - If within the locality 1.c. Access to Arts on Campus (theatre/music/gallery)- If within the locality 1.d. University events eg public lectures, talks, exhibitions 1.e. Networking opportunities/contact with other Alumni in your area October 2009 Page 22 Very important: n/a 315 Fairly important: n/a 283 Somewhat important: n/a 199 Not very important: n/a 96 Not at all important: n/a 71 Very important: n/a 202 Fairly important: n/a 253 Somewhat important: n/a 207 Not very important: n/a 157 Not at all important: n/a 143 Very important: n/a 246 Fairly important: n/a 285 Somewhat important: n/a 268 Not very important: n/a 109 Not at all important: n/a 55 Very important: 32.9% 318 Fairly important: 24.4% 236 Somewhat important: 18.4% 178 Not very important: 12.7% 123 Not at all important: 11.6% 112 Very important: 31.4% 304 Fairly important: 22.9% 221 Somewhat important: 20.0% 193 Not very important: 13.7% 132 1.f. Online Social Networking (Facebook; LinkedIn etc) 1.g. Reunions 2. How important would the following potential new services be to you? 2.a. Life-long email address 2.b. Access to Library/Computer Facilities October 2009 Page 23 Not at all important: 12.1% 117 Once a year: 32.4% 300 Twice Yearly: 36.5% 338 More Frequently: 11.7% 108 Do Not want to receive: 19.5% 181 Once a year: 11.1% 106 Twice Yearly: 40.5% 388 More Frequently: 44.4% 426 Do Not want to receive: 4.1% 39 3. What communications would you like to receive from the University? 3.a. A printed alumni newsletter/magazine -- Frequency 3.b. An e-newsletter -- Frequency 3.c. Information about further study opportunities i.e postgraduate/short course/executive development etc -- Frequency Once a year: 23.7% 226 Twice Yearly: 27.8% 265 More Frequently: 24.2% 230 Do Not want to receive: 24.3% 231 4. Are there any other communications you would like to receive from the University, which are not listed above? results 39377 2103338 Appendix 1 Section 2: Fundraising 5. Would you consider making a financial gift to your university to support: 5.a. Students in hardship October 2009 Yes: 26.0% 232 No: 74.0% 661 Page 24 5.b. Scholarships Yes: 18.8% 166 No: 81.2% 718 Yes: 13.5% 118 No: 86.5% 755 Yes: 24.2% 214 No: 75.8% 671 5.c. Facilities 5.d. Your department 6. Are there any other financial gifts you would consider making to the university which are not mentioned above? results 39377 2103348 Appendix 2 7. If you made a donation to the University, would you prefer to make: 7.a. A one-off gift? Yes: 51.0% 395 No: 49.0% 379 Yes: 17.9% 126 No: 82.1% 578 Yes: 7.0% 65 No: 40.4% 375 Not decided: 52.6% 489 7.b. A monthly / annual donation? 8. Would you consider leaving a gift in your Will to the university? 9. Are you aware that any gift to your University can be worth significantly more than the amount donated, due to schemes such as Gift Aid and Matched Funding? (For example, a gift of £50 from a UK tax-payer could attract £14.10 in Gift Aid and an additional £31.25 in Matched Funding, making the total amount received by the University £95.35). October 2009 Page 25 Yes: 51.8% 468 No: 48.2% 436 Section 3: Acting as a Bradford Ambassador 10. Ambassadors fulfill an invaluable role by offering information advice and guidance and by promoting social and professional networks in their region. Please indicate if you would be interested in any of the following: 10.a. Talking to prospective students about studying at Bradford at Open Days/Recruitment Fairs Yes: 30.9% 283 No: 69.1% 632 10.b. Talking to prospective students about studying at Bradford by telephone/email contact Yes: 42.3% 386 No: 57.7% 527 Yes: 57.8% 531 No: 42.2% 388 Yes: 60.7% 551 No: 39.3% 357 10.c. Giving career information to present/prospective students on your area of work 10.d. Attending events appropriate to your study/occupation 10.e. If you are in a Higher Education Institute - would you be interested in opening up potential collaboration with the University of Bradford Yes: 23.5% 178 No: 76.5% 579 10.f. If you are in a business, would you be interested in providing hospitality/facilities for events Yes: 19.2% 152 No: 80.8% 638 11. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have regarding the Alumni service that the University of Bradford offers. results October 2009 39377 2103369 Appendix 3 Page 26 Section 4: About You: 12. Full Name: results 39377 2103370 see database 13. Any Previous Surnames results 39377 2103371 see database 14. Home Address: results 39377 2103372 39377 2103373 39377 2103374 see database 15. Email: results see database 16. Telephone: results see database 17. Gender Male: 66.9% 607 Female: 33.1% 300 18. Date of Birth (use DD-MM-YYYY format) results October 2009 39377 2103376 see database Page 27 19. Country of Origin UK: 64.1% 581 EU: 8.2% 74 International: 27.8% 252 20. Name of Business: results 39377 2103378 see database 20.a. Business address: results 39377 2103379 see database 20.a.i. Business email: results 39377 2103380 39377 2103381 see database 21. Field of work: results see database 21.a. Current Job Title results 39377 2103382 see database 22. If you DO WISH to receive information from the University of Bradford, please tick the relevant corresponding box below. Please be assured that we respect your privacy and will not share your personal details with any third parties. Data will be used for University activities only: 22.a. SMS I consent to receiving communication from the University of Bradford via 100.0% 131 100.0% 795 the following method/s:: 22.b. Email (Personal) I consent to receiving communication from the October 2009 Page 28 University of Bradford via the following method/s:: 22.c. Email (Business) I consent to receiving communication from the University of Bradford via 100.0% 268 the following method/s:: 23. If you DO NOT WISH to receive information from the University of Bradford, please tick the relevant corresponding box below. Please be assured that we respect your privacy and will not share your personal details with any third parties. Data will be used for University activities only: 23.a. Telephone I do NOT wish to receive any information from the University of Bradford via 100.0% 568 100.0% 152 the following method/s:: 23.b. Post I do NOT wish to receive any information from the University of Bradford via the following method/s:: October 2009 Page 29