How to engage Alumni in your applicant community strategy - University of Limerick
"Every day around the world, global alumni are already ambassadors for the transformational impact of their international educational experience. Formalising this relationship between global alumni, prospective/current students and the university is a win-win-win: global alumni gain incredible leadership skills and the credibility of a further link with their alma mater; students win by gaining real experiences and tips from former students that are invaluable, and it’s a win for the university who develops relationships with incredible alumni who are having a positive imprint on the wider world,” says Dr Maria Gallo, recognised thought leader in alumni relationships. These key synergies are reflected within the networks of CampusConnect as, along with applicants, current students and academic staff, alumni constitute a key network within the CampusConnect community. This community of alumni is an existing and low-cost resource you could be tapping into when striving to retain new applicants – and the University of Limerick (UL) is doing just this.
“COVID-19 has hindered how universities around the world communicate and interact with their students and future applicants. As a global sector, we have seen huge changes take place over a short period of time,” says Niamh Kavanagh, International Recruitment Officer at UL. “As we continue to navigate through this new educational recruitment landscape and with the continued travel restrictions introduced by every country, it has become evident that we need to engage with our alumni more and with this the UL Global Ambassador Programme was developed.”
UL is now demonstrating the immense value of encouraging their international and postgraduate alumni to engage with prospective students for 2021 with CampusConnect. A pool of 150 international alumni ambassadors are part of the new UL Global Ambassador Programme and, as graduates, are uniquely placed to share their invaluable knowledge and experience with new applicants. UL is proving that alumni can successfully contribute to the sense of belonging, shared goals and similar experiences that are all vital in keeping new applicants motivated, interested and engaged in the enrolment process.
“Our alumni can assist UL’s recruitment team in their efforts to market and recruit prospective students,” Kavanagh explains. “The independent, self-confident and technologically advanced Generation Z mean they are acting as peers and key influencers rather than advisory or parental figures. These are key reasons for engaging alumni not only for testimonials, but also to engage with potential students on CampusConnect, assist at higher education fairs, attend webinars, and – post pandemic – to visit schools and join UL staff at open days or meetings with prospective students. As alumni engage with prospective students, it increases the conversion rates within a university. This level of engagement with alumni would be considered as word-of-mouth marketing which is still one of the top forms of marketing any organisation could engage in.”
So, how does it work? UL has a large population of global alumni, many of whom are happy to give back, and the Global Ambassador Programme provides an avenue to do so. “We are promoting the programme through social media and emails asking alumni to submit an application, which includes a testimonial and other elements. It is a very simple process and once we receive the application it is assessed by the UL Global Ambassador team,” Kavanagh explains. Alumni can then opt into a range of possible activities and are only expected to contribute around their own availability. “We understand they are working and we will be managing their time as best as possible,” says Kavanagh. UL has also developed a unique training programme for each of the ambassadors and they will be attending a number of events with a UL recruiter and will be working together. This helps ensure quality control and Kavanagh is ultimately satisfied that it will work very well as it is one peer speaking honestly to another peer – alumni to applicant.
Through CampusConnnect we are able to provide UL with a direct channel to connect prospective students and alumni for this support and guidance. This engagement with UL alumni means prospective international and postgraduate students for 2021 are benefiting from:
recent and up-to-date familiarity with the UL application process and enrolment;
first-hand knowledge of the practicalities of enrolling as an international student at UL (e.g. moving to Limerick from abroad, advice or recommendations on accommodation, tips on life in Ireland, etc);
expertise of the course content, its advantages and its demands;
genuine experience of the value of a UL qualification in terms of professional next steps or further academic study.
And it’s not a one-way street. In turn, UL alumni are also benefiting from their participation in the Global Ambassador Programme. Providing flexible support to prospective students via CampusConnect means they
● gain real experience in generating digital content;
● hone their communication skills through engaging with applicants;
● gain genuine insider knowledge of working within a live app context;
● continue to expand both their personal and professional networks.
“The UL Global Ambassador Programme allows us to engage with our alumni in a more formal way. We wanted our alumni to benefit from the programme and we have introduced ways for them to receive awards for the different activities they participate in, for example, LinkedIn references, participation certificates and much more,” says Kavanagh.
UL is successfully showing what CampusConnect can help you achieve with your alumni: use an existing network to bring reliable knowledge, genuine expertise and true authenticity to your prospective students’ enrolment process.