Master Class: Strengthening the University Community through Collaboration between Alumni Relations and Career Services

Feb. 16, 2017
Griffith University
Gold Coast, Australia
9 a.m. - 4 :30 p.m.

Collaborative partnerships between alumni relations and career services units in higher education can culminate in mutually beneficial results. Through partnering career services, alumni relations offices can expand their suite of program offerings and engage more stakeholders. This is particularly beneficial to alumni who are seeking new career opportunities. Career services can partner with alumni relations to identify and engage alumni volunteers who can provide advice about career paths, graduate school, industry accessibility and even information about specific companies. Alumni volunteers can also help students build connections that allow an easier transition from university to career. In general, this provides more volunteer opportunities for alumni who are keen to give back to their alma mater besides monetary contribution.

To successfully build collaborative opportunities between alumni relations and career services, teams can work together to formulate both digital initiatives, and create new events and programs that engage students early in their university life. This will hence cultivate the next generation of alumni. It is also essential that these collaborative efforts enable students to access the university network and make connections with the alumni community from their first days on campus and at the same time, expand volunteer opportunities and create new career prospects for existing alumni.

Learning Outcomes:

•  Understanding and assessing the challenges and opportunities that exist when developing a collaborative relationship between alumni relations and career services
• Creating new guiding philosophies that guide collaboration between alumni relations and career services
• Identifying examples of engagement programs designed to activate and engage alumni volunteers around career and professional narratives
• Building and strengthening university and alumni networks with a focus on career communities
• Assessing success measures that can broadly impact both organizational units as well as the university and many of its key metrics.

Who should attend:

• Alumni Relations and/or Career Services Professionals