LC Alumni Survey Results Summary by Phil Mazzara '70, LC Alumni Association President
In May of 2004, Lynchburg College president, Dr. Kenneth R. Garren, charged the Alumni Blue Ribbon Panel to conduct a survey of LC alumni. Dr. Jim Flynn '75 volunteered his services to conduct the survey. A summary of survey results follows.
Method
Two web-based surveys were used to collect data on the attitudes and interests of Lynchburg College Alumni.
Sample
The survey was e-mailed to the 6,021 alumni for whom the College has e-mail addresses. Letters were mailed to the additional 14,011 alumni. These letters invited alumni to go to an LC website and access the survey using a personal password. Survey data was obtained from 1,244 LC alumni. Fifty-three percent (n=654) of this sample was female. Forty-seven percent (n=582) of the sample was male. Seventy-eight percent (n=971) of the sample was White non-Hispanic and three percent (n=42) of the sample was Black non-Hispanic.
Results
Following are the most significant findings of the survey:
1. Many alumni say they decided to attend LC because it was a small liberal arts college, with small classes, a beautiful campus and a very welcoming sense of community.
2. When recalling their LC experience, many alumni report that it was the College’s focus on students and their involvement in campus life that they most remembered. Many wrote about the sense of community they felt on campus.
3. Faculty play a very significant role in how alumni recall their LC experience. Many report interacting with faculty outside the classroom and receiving the help they needed to succeed and want to visit with faculty when they return to campus.
4. On average, alumni participation in LC events is very low, although alumni attitudes toward the college are generally highly favorable. More importantly, many report that they plan to attend LC events in the future.
5. Most alumni report travel distance as the reason they do not attend LC events. The second most frequently reported reason given for not attending these events is that alumni are busy with family, work or the community.
6. Most alumni report attend LC events to see and talk with classmates, alumni, faculty and students. Many report being disappointed with the low attendance at alumni events.
7. A large number of alumni say they would like to participate in local alumni clubs and events.
8. Many alumni request that the College develop an on-line alumni community so that they can stay in better touch and network with other alumni.
9. Many alumni suggest that the College do more for alumni and students in the areas of career networking, mentoring and development.
10. Alumni have suggest that events be planned that target members of different affinity groups (e.g. African-American students, Access students (enrolled at LC over the age of 25), graduate students, members of student government organizations, the Concert Choir, students from different majors and academic programs, LC athletic teams and other affinity groups).
11. Many alumni say that the only time they hear from LC is when it is soliciting financial gifts. They report that calling classmates to participate in the College’s annual campaigns is their least favorite volunteer class reunion activity.
12. The best predictor of whether or not alumni will make a financial gift to the college is the extent to which they have participated in LC alumni events in the past.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are directed at enhancing alumni engagement, improving alumni attendance at LC events and increasing alumni participation in the College’s annual fundraising campaign.
1. Share the results of this survey with alumni (especially those who participated in the survey), faculty and staff. Work with these data. Use them to drive and evaluate strategic initiatives aimed at increasing alumni engagement.
2. Continue building on the sense of community on the campus. This is one of the major reasons alumni gave for deciding to attend the College, and it is the primary attribute that alumni recall when describing their LC experience.
3. Develop local alumni clubs and events.
4. Develop an on-line LC alumni community.
5. Enhance the career networking, mentoring and development services that the College offers students and alumni.
6. Plan alumni events that target specific alumni groups (e.g. African-American students, Access students, graduate students, the Concert Choir, student government, the Critograph, Greek organizations, athletic teams, and other affinity groups).
7. Increase alumni attendance at LC events.
8. Develop different strategies for soliciting financial gifts from alumni.
9. Use a similar type of web-based survey to evaluate the reasons that current students decided to attend the College and to evaluate impressions of their LC experience. What alumni experience as students has a significant effect on their subsequent levels of engagement and financial giving behaviors.
Discussion
It is extremely important that LC share the results of this survey with alumni, faculty and staff. Similarly, it is important that staff work with this information to plan events, as well as to identify those alumni who would be interested in attending them.
It is also important that the College support communication between alumni, faculty, staff and students. Some of this can be accomplished through the development of an on-line alumni community. The sense of belonging that so many alumni reported from being part of the LC community needs to be supported beyond the campus. The College can play a very import role in accomplishing this.
The development of local alumni clubs and the planning of local events will necessitate large numbers of committed alumni volunteers to attend and support these events. The College needs to be able to involve these volunteers in planning the events to ensure that local LC alumni attend. This can be achieved by determining what these alumni want and supporting them in accomplishing their goals. Many alumni have indicated that they are interested in socials or receptions where they can meet and talk with other alumni. Others are interested in presentations by LC faculty or alumni who have been successful in their field. A large number of alumni are interested in career networking opportunities. It is important that LC create an alumni community that is active in the life of the College and is afforded meaningful opportunities to become engaged with it.