Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Disengaged Alumni, Lack of Organizational Support Are Top Concerns

  • 03/09/16

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The top sources of anxiety among alumni professionals at North American institutions are a lack of staff and alumni disengagement, according to a new survey conducted by Alumni Access, Access Development’s alumni engagement solution.

Seventy-four percent of alumni professionals cited “not having enough staff to complete necessary tasks” as a top concern. Sixty-eight percent said that a lack of engagement among alumni is their most pressing worry.

These are among the findings of a new alumni relations benchmarking survey known as VAESE (Voluntary Alumni Engagement in Support of Education).

A common cause of alumni disengagement appears to stem from excessive fundraising solicitations. Because 68 percent of alumni organizations are integrated with fundraising and development departments, alumni relations efforts can often become subordinate to the fundraising mechanism.

As a result, 82 percent of institutions now send at least one solicitation to new graduates within the first year of graduation, and 7 percent send five or more solicitations during the same period.

“When alumni relations integrates with fundraising, our research shows most schools rely on the philanthropic generosity of alumni, rather than offering benefits to attract and engage them,” says Gary Toyn, the primary researcher for the VAESE survey. “Graduates seem to be rejecting that approach, especially those who have yet to realize the full value of their education.”

The research shows that a quarter of institutions have seen at least 10 percent of their alumni opt out of all contact with the university. Some have seen as much as 39 percent of their alumni opt out of all contact with the university.

The VAESE research is a global survey of alumni relations engagement practices, and the results include responses from hundreds of large and small universities, in all 50 states and three continents.

For more information on the VAESE survey or Alumni Access alumni discount programs, please visit www.alumniaccess.com.

Featured

  • Fargo, N.D., Starts Construction on Consolidated Elementary School

    Fargo Public Schools in Fargo, N.D., recently announced the beginning of construction on a new elementary school, according to a news release. The district partnered with ICON Architectural Group and Kraus-Anderson Construction on the new Horace Mann Elementary School.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.

  • Doerr School of Sustainability Accelerator

    From Concrete Warehouse to Innovation Hub: Accelerating Sustainability at Stanford

    The transformation of a once windowless, concrete publishing warehouse into a sun-drenched center for global innovation began with a single, fundamental challenge: how to turn an industrial storage shell into a space built for human connection.

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.