In 2016 I had the pleasure of working with some talented, thoughtful, and curious designers. The agency I was a co-founder of was conducting research on a few different topics, and communication in higher education was one of them. We believed that there were better ways of designing the journey from student to alumni, so we surveyed both college students and alumni. We found that colleges and universities have a wealth of opportunities to apply more customer experience principles to this journey so that there’s more engagement from students—even when they’re graduating from college with unprecedented levels of debt. While the attitudes in the study are from 2016, I have included some updated statistics from 2023 and noted where appropriate.

Higher education institutions are increasingly being seen as brands and businesses. The line is much more blurred today than it has been in the past. They have unique programs, locations, reputations, costs, and value that make up these brands. When it comes to education, one of the issues with building brand loyalty lies in the perceived—yet real, and growing—gap between the cost and the value of secondary education. Tuition rates are rising faster than inflation, and on average, students who graduated in 2015 leave with $35,000 in debt. In 2023, USA Today reported that “borrowers have an average of $37,338 in federal student loan debt and $54,921 in private student loan debt, according to the Education Data Initiative.”

As this gap grows wider, schools must understand the factors that are most important to students when choosing a school, and then create programmatic ways to engage these students in meaningful and memorable ways. If we shift our thinking about prospective students as “Prospects” in a sales-like process, current students as “Customers,” and alumni as “Advocates,” we will be able to apply more effective communication strategies that build stronger relationships into the future as these students graduate and become alumni.

Before we dive too deeply into the data, it’s important to also paint the landscape of how higher education has been disrupted by a number of factors. In addition to the rising cost and ballooning debt for students, alternatives to public and private higher education institutions are growing. For example, massive online open courses (MOOCs) like edX, Udemy, or Coursera are expected to continue their substantial growth. Code and UX boot camps are also gaining momentum as alternatives to a college education. A Pew Research study shows that only half of Americans think colleges and universities have a positive effect. on the country. And then there are the issues of political involvement, free speech, legacy admissions, and college admissions bribery schemes.

There was a time when colleges and universities offered online classes as a differentiating factor. While they may have been—and continue to be—convenient for many people, we wanted to know how the availability of online courses influenced students’ decision-making process. So we asked.

When we surveyed students, the overwhelming majority indicated that the availability of online courses and degree programs was actually one of the least important factors influencing their selection. Program offering, location, school reputation, and cost were among the top factors.

Students graduate and become alumni. Most of the students we surveyed—74% in fact—feel that it is important to stay involved with their school after graduation. However, something happens after graduation: 60% of alumni we surveyed indicated that they felt it was not important to stay involved with their school after graduation, signaling that the need to help the school with a financial gift is unimportant.

One respondent said, “They make a ton of money with tuition and fees.” Another said, “I’m still paying off student loans for an ‘education’ that has now become an exercise in extortion. They do not need more of my money.” Others expressed that their money was better donated elsewhere: to humanitarian causes they believed in or charities they preferred to support.

All respondents in the alumni category who felt it was “very important” to stay involved with their college or university as an alumni indicated that they had made a donation to their school. They also reported that they’ve donated in larger amounts: 71% donated in amounts of $500 or more. However, this represents only 13% of the total alumni audience.

Current students have a more positive outlook on donation than alumni. When asked if they were to make a donation to their college or university, only 30% of the total respondents of current students indicated that they would not be willing to donate, compared to 45% of alumni who said they would not be willing to donate to their alma mater.

And students who are happy at their school showed positive signs of financial participation. Those who had not looked at transferring schools were twice as likely to give to their school in the future, indicating that it has been a positive experience. And twice as many students who had not looked at transferring schools had already given a financial donation in some amount to their school.

University fundraising playbooks have always included phone banks, events, and mailers. But have we stopped to ask how people would like to be contacted, and which channels possibly do more harm than good?

In many open-ended responses from alumni, we heard that they would like to receive information that is relevant to their experience in college. We also heard that they’d like to be able to choose how their school is contacting them, with email being the preferred contact method, and phone calls being among the least preferred ways of being contacted.

This opens the door to both an understanding of the best ways to engage people and a place to begin exploring new channels. Today, we’re seeing a rise in micro-giving campaigns. When asked about crowdfunding, 42% of alumni said they have contributed to fundraising campaigns on sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or GoFundMe.

In 2013, the University of Virginia launched its own crowdfunding website so individuals can make donations supporting specific research and development projects.

One initiative funded through LAUNCH UMD was to digitize issues of the university’s student newspaper—dating as far back as the early 1900s. The campaign raised a total of $30,550—305% of the initial goal of $10,000. For a $1,000 pledge, donors received a behind-the-scenes tour of the University Archives. While it may not seem like much for such a large donation, the value is in the eyes of the contributor.

Social campaigns around fundraising have also begun to gain steam. Appalachian State University’s annual #iBackApp campaign mobilized 1,500+ donors, raising over $175,000 in twenty-four hours, which made up 20% of the entire year’s fundraising efforts.

This research suggests that there are great opportunities to personalize the experience for students as they become alumni, and for engaging alumni in meaningful ways. The journey must be meaningful. Colleges and universities have to show students and alumni that they’re paying attention and that they want to meet individuals on their terms rather than forcing everyone through the same journey. Online retailers thrive because they understand how to engage customers and they develop funnels to convert prospective customers. They understand how to be involved with them in their decision-making process. The exact same opportunities exist for colleges and universities.

Interested in learning more or pursuing a research topic? Get in touch.