tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/alumni-21985/articlesAlumni – The Conversation2022-11-07T13:35:16Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1926802022-11-07T13:35:16Z2022-11-07T13:35:16ZFundraisers who appeal to donors’ fond memories by
evoking their emotions may get larger gifts – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492668/original/file-20221031-11-7tkotm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=121%2C93%2C6119%2C4061&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feelings can influence your state of mind.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/declutter-your-mind-clear-your-brain-to-royalty-free-illustration/1349161222?adppopup=true">Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>The emotions donors feel when they decide whether to give money to nonprofits can affect the size of their gift.</p>
<p>That’s what <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-022-09884-x">my research team found</a> when we partnered with a small liberal arts college during its fall fund drive.</p>
<p>Fundraisers used their standard phone pitch when they asked around 100 alumni to chip in. During another 100 calls, selected randomly, the fundraisers first asked the alumni to reflect on “a person or event in their past that had particularly benefited them since graduating.”</p>
<p>We found that people who were asked to reflect on things that have benefited them were not more likely to make a pledge. But the average pledge they made increased by about 90% to US$27 from $14.</p>
<p>As fellow economist Steven Furnagiev, college student Rebecca Forbes and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=PBPAsKkAAAAJ">I</a> explained in the academic journal Theory and Decision, we found that the emotions these donors felt when making their pledge was responsible for this difference. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Nonprofits advance many causes by engaging in activities like conserving nature, reducing poverty, protecting human rights and strengthening education. Figuring out what leads people to give more to support these groups could help these organizations raise more money and accomplish more of their goals.</p>
<p>Prompting alumni to reflect on things they feel grateful for is what’s called a “nudge” in <a href="https://theconversation.com/economist-who-helped-behavioral-nudges-go-mainstream-wins-nobel-85430">behavioral economics</a>. One explanation for why the nudge we used with one group led it to pledge bigger gifts is that most people are inclined to focus more on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000066">their difficulties rather than their good fortune</a>.</p>
<p>Our study suggests that when people are thinking about what’s gone right in their lives, they are more willing to donate more money.</p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>Other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1942">researchers</a> have also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39307-5_3">found</a> that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.10.017">feelings can play a role</a> when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2016.04.003">donors make decisions</a>. Those studies had similar results but were largely done in less realistic settings.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Despite this research’s being conducted in a real-world situation, it is still limited in scope. We don’t know, for example, whether donors might respond the same way if they weren’t being asked to support their alma mater. We also can’t say whether evoking different emotions, aside from gratitude, might have different effects.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Forbes received funding from The Joanne and Arthur Haberberger Fellowship at Lycoming College for this research.</span></em></p>Asking alumni to reflect on ‘a person or event in their past that had particularly benefited them since graduating’ resulted in larger gifts.Michael Kurtz, Associate Professor of Economics, Lycoming CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1801912022-05-11T12:05:56Z2022-05-11T12:05:56ZTop athletes have special advantages entering college, like children of alumni<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462108/original/file-20220509-17-gw8sgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C25%2C5559%2C3625&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Top college sports prospects get special advantages in their application and admission processes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/near-capacity-crowd-packed-the-rose-bowl-in-pasadena-on-news-photo/1235062265">Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years, colleges have <a href="https://hub.jhu.edu/magazine/2020/spring/ending-legacy-admissions/">paid more attention</a> to complaints that their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/us/amherst-college-legacy-admissions.html">admissions decisions give unfair advantages</a> to children of their alumni. Lawmakers in <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/02/07/bill-would-cut-student-aid-colleges-legacy-preferences">Congress</a> and <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2021/06/01/colorado-bars-public-colleges-using-legacy-admissions">state</a> <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/03/14/new-york-bill-would-ban-legacy-admissions-and-early-decision">legislatures</a> are deciding whether to address the advantages given to these so-called “legacy” admissions.</p>
<p>But as a <a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/peaceandjustice/facstaff/biodetail.html?mail=rick.eckstein@villanova.edu&xsl=bio_long">scholar of higher education and intercollegiate athletics</a>, I see another group of college applicants also getting preferential treatment: recruited athletes. Recruited athletes are those who are actively pursued and invited by college coaches to join a team, unlike so-called “walk-ons,” who must try out for teams after arriving at college. </p>
<p>The advantages athletes have in college admissions received national attention in 2019. That year, the U.S. Justice Department’s “Operation Varsity Blues” announced <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/03/13/dozens-indicted-alleged-massive-case-admissions-fraud">dozens of federal criminal charges</a> against parents, coaches and others who allegedly helped college applicants fake sporting prowess. But this alleged fraud would not have been possible without the <a href="https://theconversation.com/college-admission-scandal-grew-out-of-a-system-that-was-ripe-for-corruption-113439">systemic admissions advantages</a> already afforded recruited athletes, who tend to be <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/special-admission/9781978821200">whiter, wealthier and more suburban</a> than the average college applicant.</p>
<h2>Streamlined admissions</h2>
<p>There are three main ways that college admissions practices significantly advantage recruited athletes over academically superior applicants.</p>
<p>The first is a streamlined, hassle-free application process. In her 2021 book,“<a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/special-admission/9781978821200">Special Admission</a>,” <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5H0MUckAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kirsten Hextrum</a>, an education professor at the University of Oklahoma, found that recruited athletes were largely chaperoned through the admissions process by athletics staff. This included staff filling out forms for the recruit, hand-delivering application materials to admissions staff and advocating for increased financial aid. </p>
<p>I had similar findings in my own <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442266285/How-College-Athletics-Are-Hurting-Girls-Sports-The-Pay-to-Play-Pipeline">research on college and youth sports</a>. A recruited soccer player told me she only ever heard from the coaching staff between submitting her application materials – to the coaches – and the first day of practice. This included the notification of her acceptance to the school, which normally comes from the admissions office. College officials told me that this service was common for recruited athletes but rare for nonathletes. </p>
<h2>Overlooking academic shortcomings</h2>
<p>A second advantage is that admissions officers at the most elite schools have historically ignored below-average grades and standardized test scores for athletes, but not for other groups.</p>
<p>A study in the early 2000s <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691096193/the-game-of-life">found that athletes</a> recruited to Ivy League universities tended to have significantly lower SAT scores than their nonathlete classmates.</p>
<p>Talented nonathletes, like musicians and actors, were not given similar leeway in their test scores during admissions decisions. <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691123141/reclaiming-the-game">The data</a> specifically showed that athletes with below-average standardized test scores were twice as likely to be admitted as legacy applicants and four times more likely to be admitted as applicants from traditionally underrepresented groups. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man and a woman look to the right of the frame" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462310/original/file-20220510-20-7xzfbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Actor Lori Loughlin and her husband, clothing designer Mossimo Giannulli, left, depart a federal court in Boston on April 3, 2019, after a hearing on charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CollegeAdmissionsBribery/1c7c6f91e61441e2a1e203e5882c90f5/photo">AP Photo/Steven Senne</a></span>
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<h2>Athlete recruitment and early decision</h2>
<p>Another admissions advantage offered recruited athletes is almost guaranteed acceptance and roster placement if the applicant uses a school’s early decision process.</p>
<p>Journalist Daniel Golden’s 2005 book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/68794/the-price-of-admission-updated-edition-by-daniel-golden/">The Price of Admissions</a>,” was among the first detailed accounts of how this privilege operates in practice. Focusing mostly on rowing programs, Golden exposed the streamlined admissions process afforded to recruited athletes but not to applicants with other nonacademic talents. </p>
<p>In their more recent books, former admissions officer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/college-admissions-paul-tough.html">Paul Tough</a> and investigative reporter <a href="https://jeffselingo.com/books/who-gets-in-and-why/">Jeffrey Selingo</a> shared firsthand accounts of how athletes were given an added boost during the early admission process. One of the strategies used was to provide early reads of athlete applications that all but guarantee admission so long as the applicant used the school’s early decision process. Nonathletes applying through the early decision process also enjoyed <a href="https://jeffselingo.com/books/who-gets-in-and-why/">higher acceptance rates</a> than students applying in the regular decision process, but not as much as athletes.</p>
<h2>Athletics and institutional survival</h2>
<p>Recruited athletes are not just members of sports teams. They are also increasingly integral to the very survival of many colleges, especially smaller liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>Newly published research in the <a href="http://csri-jiia.org/the-role-of-athletics-in-the-future-of-small-colleges-an-agency-theory-and-value-responsibility-budgeting-approach/">Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics</a> shows that smaller schools are increasingly relying on expanded sports programs to maintain enrollments and keep from closing. At some schools, <a href="http://csri-jiia.org/the-role-of-athletics-in-the-future-of-small-colleges-an-agency-theory-and-value-responsibility-budgeting-approach/">athletes comprise more than half of the student body</a>. Without athletes, these schools would probably shut down.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/can-these-colleges-be-saved-0">survival strategy</a> means schools are continually competing with each other for athletes by spending more on coaches, sports facilities and recruitment. This requires shifting institutional resources away from nonathletic areas, including academics. It also encourages colleges to give top athletes advantages in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Reflecting this trend, data from the <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/10/10/ncaa-sports-sponsorship-and-participation-rates-database.aspx">NCAA</a> and the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_303.10.asp">National Center for Educational Statistics</a> show that, between 2000 and 2020, the number of intercollegiate athletes increased 45%. During that period, the number of full-time undergraduates increased only 33%. At small liberal arts colleges, the number of varsity athletes increased 55% over that same period. </p>
<h2>The myth of college sports and diversity</h2>
<p>Admitting more varsity athletes does little to improve the diversity of social class or racial or geographical diversity in higher education. Except in football, basketball and track, college varsity athletes are disproportionately <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-college-sports-are-often-out-of-reach-for-students-from-low-income-families-167334">white, wealthy and suburban</a>. Those sports comprise <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/10/10/ncaa-sports-sponsorship-and-participation-rates-database.aspx">less than one-third</a> of all college athletes and only 22% of women athletes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the same <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">NCAA data</a> shows that only 4% of women’s varsity soccer players and 2% of field hockey players identify as Black, despite Black women comprising <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cha">14% of full-time undergraduates</a>. Rowing and ice hockey, the two fastest-growing women’s college sports, have, respectively, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cha">2% and 0% of participants</a> identifying as Black.</p>
<p>Colleges’ increased recruitment of athletes has also spawned an enormous suburban youth sports industry that feeds this increased demand and exacerbates social inequality. My own <a href="https://theconversation.com/until-youth-soccer-is-fixed-us-mens-national-team-is-destined-to-fail-85585">research</a> identifies so-called “showcase” tournaments and meets as the key interface between college athletics recruitment and hyper-commercialized youth sports. </p>
<p>Accessing these events requires a family to invest thousands of dollars annually in club and travel sports for their kids. If colleges choose to recruit at these exclusive and expensive events rather than in high schools, intercollegiate sports – and its admissions advantages – will continue to reinforce existing class, racial and geographic inequalities, likely far more than legacy admissions advantages.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Eckstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>College admissions advantages for recruited athletes likely perpetuate educational inequality even more than those given to children of alumni.Rick Eckstein, Professor of Sociology, Villanova UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/933142018-03-16T10:27:59Z2018-03-16T10:27:59ZJust competing in March Madness is a fundraising win for the schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/210325/original/file-20180314-113485-15toq3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">University of Pennsylvania players celebrate winning the 2018 Ivy League title as fans storm the court.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Ivy-League-Penn-Harvard-Basketball/58c8f3504cf24af79f56333d2b4ee013/7/0">AP Photo/Chris Szagola</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The NCAA men’s basketball championship, better known as March Madness, raises big bucks even if the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-man-responsible-for-making-march-madness-the-moneymaking-bonanza-it-is-today-91732">players</a> aren’t paid. </p>
<p>In 2018, CBS is paying the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-march-madness-and-the-nonprofit-that-manages-the-mayhem-93202">National Collegiate Athletic Association</a> <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/about/where-does-money-go">more than US$800 million</a> for the rights to televise the spectacle, and the NCAA will reap another $129 million from ticket sales. </p>
<p>What about the colleges and universities that populate the bracket? No team can play a game on its home court, depriving their schools of not just ticket revenue but concession sales. The NCAA, which keeps the proceeds from any games played in campus arenas, instead pays conferences according to a complex <a href="https://herosports.com/ncaa-tournament/how-much-money-ncaa-tournament-earned-conference-2017-basketball-fund-a7a7">revenue-sharing arrangement</a> that amounts to roughly $1.5 million for each game played by their teams. The conferences then allocate this money as they wish.</p>
<p>Individual schools also garner media exposure that may pique the interest of prospective students. But the biggest financial benefit they get comes from donations by fans and alumni, which I have learned by researching <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_tU55R0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">the economics of sports and higher education</a>.</p>
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<h2>Donation disparities</h2>
<p>Behavioral economists say that seeing a favorite team compete can instill a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2013.09.005">warm glow</a> that may move fans to open their wallets.</p>
<p>Donations of all kinds averaged about <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/">$13.6 million </a> in 2015 at the 347 schools in Division 1 – those with March Madness teams – based on my calculations using the most <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/login.aspx">recent data available</a>. But the scale of this giving varies widely.</p>
<p>The top 1 percent of higher education institutions draw donations worth more than $500 million per year on average, while the bottom 1 percent get an average of $1.2 million. </p>
<p>This disparity means that the same kind of bump in giving will make a very different kind of impact on two schools at opposite ends of this wide range. Consider <a href="https://www.click2houston.com/news/the-big-dance-uh-tsu-basketball-teams-ncaa-tourney-bound">Texas Southern University</a>, a March Madness contender in that bottom 1 percent. It amassed only $260,000 in donations in 2015, according to the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/login.aspx">National Center for Education Statistics</a>. A $50,000 gift from a fan delighted by the Tigers’ March Madness appearance would really jack up its yearly donations.</p>
<p>But the University of Houston, a nearby rival, garnered $9 million that same year. If one of its ardent fans donated that same $50,000, it would barely make a difference in terms of the school’s overall fundraising.</p>
<h2>Success pays off</h2>
<p>How much does a March Madness appearance boost donations? </p>
<p>I looked into that with <a href="http://www.usf.edu/business/contacts/mondello-michael.aspx">Michael Mondello</a> at the University of South Florida a decade ago. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.21.2.265">Our study</a> analyzed 20 years of financial data from Division 1 colleges and universities. We found that the public universities making the cut saw an increase in donations of about $1.2 million in 2015 dollars the following year. Private institutions did even better, getting a $1.4 million bump.</p>
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<p>Public universities also saw their donations rise after their football teams took part in bowl games, but not private universities. That’s probably because with the exception of <a href="http://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings">Notre Dame</a>, the University of Southern California and Stanford University, most schools with top-performing NCAA football teams are public universities.</p>
<p>This sports-related increase typically has <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/fintab92.asp">strings attached</a>, often supporting athletic departments. </p>
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<p>Universities participating in March Madness use this opportunity to connect with alumni and fans. Our study showed that their fundraisers generally do convert success on the court into fundraising success.</p>
<p>There are also some surprising ways that a NCAA-generated publicity can apparently elicit donations. University of Tennessee researchers found that donations increased when an <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/sports/study-schools-that-cheat-ncaa-do-better-with-alumni-donors/">athletic program was under NCAA investigation</a> for breaking rules. Their study suggests that fans rally around athletic programs when they’re in trouble.</p>
<p>Because of the wide disparity in donations received by colleges and universities, last-second shots that put a team into March Madness can be exceptionally lucrative for schools with little annual giving. <a href="https://twitter.com/NCAAHoops247/status/970390507200401408">Radford University</a>’s team, for instance, qualified in 2018 on a 3-point shot in the last second of the Big South Tournament finals. It collected just $2.3 million in donations in 2015, so that one moment on the basketball court could increase next year’s donations by 50 percent. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"970390507200401408"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93314/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brad Humphreys does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Taking part in the NCAA tournament tends to make a bigger difference for public universities that garner relatively few donations.Brad Humphreys, Professor of Economics, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/925312018-03-07T16:53:22Z2018-03-07T16:53:22ZAfrican universities are ignoring a rich, invaluable resource: their alumni<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208862/original/file-20180305-65547-d3fnu9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities shouldn't ignore graduates once they leave the institution.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities across Africa are sitting on – and ignoring – a potential gold mine: their graduates. Research from the global North, where tracking and keeping in touch with alumni is common practice for universities, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2016-10-18/10-universities-where-the-most-alumni-donate">shows that</a> this reaps huge benefits. </p>
<p>Alumni pledges sometimes give money to their alma mater annually. Others use their influence in particular industries or business circles to convince others to donate.</p>
<p>The situation is very different in African countries. A <a href="http://cartafrica.org/publications/">recent study</a> by the <a href="http://cartafrica.org/">Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa</a> (CARTA) paints a gloomy picture of the state of alumni and career tracking in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Malawi. CARTA aims to build a vibrant, productive African academy and a critical mass of effective researchers.</p>
<p>Our study found that universities in these countries have a dearth of consistent, systematic mechanisms for tracking their graduates. They don’t know where their graduates go, what they’re doing or how they’re using their training and skills. Nor do they know what advice their alumni might have to improve their alma maters. They have limited knowledge about who might be a position to fund raise or mobilise others to donate. </p>
<p>These findings, and feedback from African universities that are tracking their graduates, suggest that there’s an important gap to be filled. If universities create large, comprehensive alumni databases, these could be mined to improve individual institutions’ work and decision making. It could also feed into higher education policies at national level.</p>
<h2>Tracking is rare</h2>
<p>We obtained data from 57 higher education officers in 15 universities in Africa; 139 alumni, funding agencies and national education regulatory bodies were also part of this study.</p>
<p>Using questionnaires and interviews, we discovered that fewer than half the universities we surveyed tracked their graduates. Overall, only 27% of alumni we interviewed said they were being tracked and contacted by their alma mater. In most cases, the tracking was being done by universities they’d attended outside the continent where many had pursued postgraduate studies. </p>
<p>What’s especially important to note here is that nearly two thirds of the alumni we surveyed said they were willing to be tracked by their alma maters. This suggests that a lot of willing participants who might provide useful data are being neglected by universities. </p>
<p>Those universities which do keep up with their graduates tend not to be using very sophisticated systems. A lot of this tracking is paper-based: questionnaires are sent via physical mail. Of course, not everyone responds; things get lost in the mail or people move houses. This leaves huge gaps.</p>
<p>Still, the universities that said they tracked alumni underscored the importance of the exercise. They said alumni provided invaluable feedback about developing or revising curricula; they were also able to help institutions measure their impact in society. </p>
<p>And they helped to mobilise resources through personal contributions, linking universities with corporate entities, and organising or participating in funding raising events. This last point might be especially useful as government <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/education/feature/higher-education-africa-who-pays.html">funding to higher education dwindles</a> in several African countries. Student tuition alone cannot fill the gaps left by under-funding; alternative revenue streams are crucial. </p>
<h2>Filling the gaps</h2>
<p>So how can universities harness the power of their alumni? For starters, universities need to understand what works – and what doesn’t – when establishing contact with graduates.</p>
<p>In our study, alumni said they were most likely to reply to questions and requests for assistance sent to them online. Mobile phones were the most popular form of communication followed by emails, and then paper-based surveys. Text messages and social media platforms like Facebook would also be useful.</p>
<p>There’s also an opportunity for an organisation – not a university or even necessarily a company in the higher education space – to establish a centralised alumni and career tracker. The university employees we spoke to said they’d prefer to subscribe to a common provider rather than developing individual institutional databases.</p>
<p>Whatever approach is chosen, the evidence from our study is clear: Africa’s universities must start connecting and working with their alumni rather than losing track of these genuinely valuable human resources.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92531/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Ngure works for the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA). He received funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York that supported the feasibility study on alumni and career tracking in Africa. </span></em></p>Universities could mine alumni databases to improve individual institutions’ work - and raise funds.Peter Ngure, Associate Professor of Parasitology and Entomology, African Population and Health Research CenterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/705972016-12-20T15:02:33Z2016-12-20T15:02:33ZTo survive, South Africa’s universities must learn to engage with chaos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150714/original/image-20161219-24284-1ati8hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent 2016 meeting of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Convocation – the annual gathering of its alumni – has <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-12-16-groundup-uct-convocation-descends-into-chaos/">been described</a> as having descended “into chaos”.</p>
<p>But in fact the meeting was a microcosm of South African higher education in 2015 and 2016. It revealed how hard universities must work in the coming years to encourage dissent and debate; how important it is for academics and other members of university communities to step out of their comfort zones and listen to views with which they bitterly disagree. Now, more than ever, universities must engage the chaos that has become their new reality.</p>
<p>Since the 1990s higher education globally has experienced a new wave of <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20160510173152311">student protests</a> – in the UK, Hong Kong, Chile, Turkey and the US to name a few. </p>
<p>Though each has its national character, scholars of protest have identified a number of <a href="http://rachel-brooks.net/student-politics-and-protest-international-perspectives/">common themes</a>: this generation of students is profoundly disillusioned with current democratic processes. They are angry with neo-liberalism’s “<a href="http://rachel-brooks.net/student-politics-and-protest-international-perspectives/">capture</a>” of higher education and the consequences for fees and increasing inequality. They are also critical of the ways in which Eurocentric, white, middle class culture is unquestionably the norm – hence the calls for “<a href="https://theconversation.com/decolonising-the-curriculum-its-time-for-a-strategy-60598">decolonising the curriculum</a>”. </p>
<h2>Chaos – but also inspiration</h2>
<p>It’s true that UCT’s convocation descended into chaos. There was shouting. There were “interruptions, insults and booing”. No doubt many would have left the event feeling sobered and angry.</p>
<p>There are many unanswered questions about where all this is going. Is there anything of value to extract from this chaos? I’d like to suggest that the answer is yes. There is much to be heartened and inspired by, although of course there are also challenges.</p>
<p>Starting with what can inspire: this year’s convocation illustrated that UCT’s alumni have never cared more about the university’s future. The 2015 meeting was attended by 47 members. This year the venue was packed with more than 400 people. Many were drawn – irrespective of their positions – out of their deep concern and commitment to UCT and its future. </p>
<p>The chaos in part reflects the highly charged and contested versions of this future. These are crazy times, but still people gathered because UCT matters. This is not just a personal matter. The university carries a huge responsibility as <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/university-of-cape-town">an intellectual leader</a> in the country, on the continent and globally. </p>
<p>The meeting also revealed outstanding leadership. Vice chancellors around the country have stood courageously against tremendous pressure from all sides. Certainly, Convocation’s president Barney Pityana could have chaired better by suggesting ground rules for constructive engagement. But that’s said with the benefit of hindsight. </p>
<p>It is unlikely that in preparing his speech Pityana had any idea of the context in which he would be speaking. His speech was a careful, measured balancing act of critiquing aspects of the student movement on the one hand, and strongly endorsing the urgent call for change. It was courageous.</p>
<p>Then the vice chancellor took the floor to offer his “state of the university” address. His presence was as impressive as his words. It was a volatile situation but Dr Max Price remained composed, unshaken, clearly no stranger to these kinds of highly charged events. All this, in the face of a motion of no confidence brought against him and his executive leadership. </p>
<p>The Convocation included a motion to poll alumni around the world on a vote of no confidence in the executive leadership’s role in negotiations with protesting students. There is a strong likelihood that the motion would have been defeated – it became clear at the meeting that a significant majority of those attending were there to express their opposition to the motion. The meeting was adjourned before it could come to vote. </p>
<p>It is profoundly naïve to lay the complex challenges facing higher education – and the failure to resolve them – at any single leader’s door. The motion was intended to galvanise action by preying on fear. It read, in part, that unless there is “further intervention” UCT will “suffer the migration of the best matriculants”, “the departure of many of the best and brightest of academics”, the “loss of donations and bequests” and so on.</p>
<p>2016 has been a year where unsubstantiated fears have been used to galvanise action. Think Brexit. Think Donald Trump. It is heartening that this tactic failed.</p>
<h2>Engaging the chaos</h2>
<p>What the chaos pointed to more than anything is that the UCT community – and perhaps South Africa’s academic community more broadly – has a long way to go in being able to listen and engage with others who have different views to our own. That’s a particularly tragic statement about any university. </p>
<p>This was illustrated both in the behaviour of student protesters at Convocation and those in the audience who shouted for their removal. I was struck by a comment made by a colleague sitting next to me. He said he had come to support the vice chancellor but that he also was “open” to hearing the arguments. I was impressed by this. I cannot say the same for myself: I had come to assert my position, not to listen. </p>
<p>The tumult of the past two years has exposed deep divisions in university communities. They have always been there but they are now visible. The academy cannot run away from this. These divisions cannot be shouted away. 2017 promises to be another tough year as South African universities head into the uncertain terrain of further exposing, addressing and healing these divisions. Do not expect the chaos to be over. If universities are to survive, they must learn to engage it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70597/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suellen Shay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>2017 promises to be another tough year as South African universities head into the uncertain terrain of further addressing and healing the divisions that have been exposed.Suellen Shay, Dean and Associate Professor, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/538282016-02-02T04:29:14Z2016-02-02T04:29:14ZPerpetual bonds can help open universities to all who qualify<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109770/original/image-20160201-32240-qhlu96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A South African university student references the Oscar Pistorius trial during a fee protest.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kim Ludbrook/EPA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is in all South Africans’ interest to make university education available to every qualifying student regardless of their financial situation. The whole country benefits if all these young people have the chance to gain the skills and values offered by a university education.</p>
<p>But it can’t only be up to universities and the government to finance this opportunity. Universities don’t have the resources to meet this demand on their own without compromising their other important research and teaching responsibilities and their obligations to their employees. </p>
<p>The government cannot turn this demand into a reality without short-changing other equally deserving groups – such as learners in primary and high school, those who do not qualify for university but need help getting a job, and those who are sick. </p>
<p>This means that all South African businesses and individuals who have the means to do so need to come to the party and offer some contribution towards making university education available to all who qualify. Fortunately there is a way this can be done: through perpetual bonds issued by universities.</p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>A <a href="http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/bonds/perpetual-bond-1597">perpetual bond</a>, or “perpetual”, is a debt instrument that has no maturity date but makes regular interest payments to the holder. This means that it offers the bondholder a regular income stream while relieving the issuer of the obligation to repay the principal.</p>
<p>So how would it work in the scenario I’m describing? Either each university acting alone or all universities acting jointly form a non-profit company whose purpose is to provide financing to qualifying students. The company then issues a perpetual to a broad range of potential investors. This includes all alumni of South Africa’s universities, whether they are living in the country or not, all concerned South citizens, and all businesses that participate in the South African economy. </p>
<p>The perpetual will be for sale either through financial institutions or on the internet. The bondholders will receive an annual interest payment, which could be fixed or could fluctuate in line with a stipulated interest rate such as the <a href="http://www.global-rates.com/interest-rates/central-banks/central-bank-south-africa/sarb-interest-rate.aspx">repo rate</a>. </p>
<p>The perpetual can offer the bondholder the option of either holding the instrument and receiving interest payments for as long as they wish or, after a stipulated period of time that allows the company to build its reserves, surrendering the bond in return for a small payment. </p>
<p>The university company will have the authority to issue bonds periodically for as long as more funding is required to meet students’ needs. In order to enhance their attractiveness, the company could offer one version of the perpetual to businesses and another with a smaller face value – say, R1000 – to individuals. </p>
<h2>A repayment plan</h2>
<p>The company can then use the proceeds of the perpetuals to finance qualifying university students. Those receiving the funds would have no obligations to the company while they remain students. </p>
<p>However, after leaving the university they will be obliged to pay a stipulated percentage of their salaries to the company. It is reasonable to expect those graduates who are financially able to repay the debt to do so, since this will contribute to funding the next generation of students.</p>
<p>The form of this repayment means those students who graduate and begin earning large salaries pay more than those earning lower salaries. It also means that those students who cannot find work do not pay anything until they find work. </p>
<p>The stipulated percentage would be set so that the repayment obligations are not unduly burdensome for the students. The students would continue paying the company until they have paid back the full amount of the funds they received for their studies plus some interest. </p>
<p>Since the company does not have any obligation to repay the principal of the debt to the holders of the perpetuals, it will have some flexibility in setting the interest rate it charges the graduating students.</p>
<h2>Win-win solution</h2>
<p>In short, perpetuals offer a win-win solution. They will help ensure that all qualifying students, regardless of financial need, have the opportunity to study at university without incurring a crippling debt. </p>
<p>Second, by helping to build human capital, it will contribute to making a more inclusive and productive society for all South Africans. </p>
<p>Finally, by helping universities finance student education, it will ensure that they are able to meet their other responsibilities while remaining open to all qualifying students. And it does all this while offering bondholders a regular income stream. It is hard to think of a better investment in South Africa’s future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53828/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danny Bradlow, as a SARCHI Professor, receives funding from the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>It shouldn’t be up to universities or the government alone to fund students who qualify for tertiary education but can’t afford it. A perpetual bond system could be the answer.Danny Bradlow, SARCHI Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/488382015-10-27T11:19:36Z2015-10-27T11:19:36ZUga the Bulldog, Handsome Dan and why university spirit matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99223/original/image-20151021-15440-1y0fif3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Getting into the spirit at Temple University. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aspen Photo/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Head to Yale and you’ll meet <a href="http://www.yalebulldogs.com/information/mascot/handsome_dan/index">Handsome Dan</a>. At Boston College, you’ll find <a href="http://bceagles.com">Baldwin the Eagle</a>, and at the University of Georgia, <a href="http://www.georgiadogs.com/widecontent/uga.html">Uga the Bulldog</a>. Across American college and university campuses, mascots are used to help create that distinct “spirit” that has become such a fundamental part of a US college education. </p>
<p>In the UK, this sense of university “spirit” is hard to find. But our ongoing research indicates that UK universities could benefit from fostering a stronger sense of spirit: it could improve students’ academic engagement and help improve their overall university experience. </p>
<p>Creating a distinct spirit is deeply rooted in US college education. The sporting reputation of universities is central to this and each institution has its own mascot, representing the traditions, values and beliefs of the school. </p>
<p>Many US universities communicate and cultivate this spirit through initiatives that emphasise the importance of a sense of community and belonging. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99320/original/image-20151022-7999-y2k7bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99320/original/image-20151022-7999-y2k7bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99320/original/image-20151022-7999-y2k7bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99320/original/image-20151022-7999-y2k7bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99320/original/image-20151022-7999-y2k7bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99320/original/image-20151022-7999-y2k7bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99320/original/image-20151022-7999-y2k7bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Baldwin the Eagle, mascot of Boston College.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lorianne DiSabato/www.flickr.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>At the University of California, the <a href="http://calspirit.berkeley.edu/about.php">Cal Spirit groups</a> engage students in activities that uphold the university’s traditions and sense of spirit, including <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/spiritweek">“spirit weeks”</a> and <a href="http://fanindex.usatoday.com/2015/10/24/the-top-10-fight-songs-in-college-football/">fight songs</a> – songs that have become synonymous with sports teams and are sung at games. At other universities, events such as homecoming games, tailgating (where people have a meal round the back of a car near a sports stadium), cheer-leading, parades and proms bind students together and create a strong community feeling.</p>
<p>At Emory University, it is the unofficial mascot, Dooley, the biology lab skeleton, who rules. For one week every spring, students celebrate “Dooley’s Week” and the campus is transformed into a place of fun and games. Ajay Nair, senior vice president and dean of campus life, explains that “Dooley is our life blood”.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Beware of Dooley.</span></figcaption>
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<p>University-branded merchandise is also central to students expressing their sense of belonging. It is not uncommon to see US students walking around campus dressed head-to-toe in clothing bearing their university’s name or logo. This commitment and loyalty to the university also extends to students’ family members who proudly flash university logo bumper stickers or sweatshirts. In the UK, on the other hand, university merchandise is rarely seen as more than a piece of memorabilia or a gift. </p>
<h2>What builds spirit</h2>
<p>In our study, we explored the presence and impact of university spirit at a UK and a US university. We conducted observations and focus groups with students who also took photographs capturing what university life meant to them. </p>
<p>To understand what it means for a place to have a spirit, we drew on the Roman concept of <em>genius loci</em>, the “guardian divinity of a place”. Today, the phrase is more commonly translated as “<a href="http://larwebsites.arizona.edu/lar510/encounter/sence%20of%20place.pdf">the spirit of the place</a>”, reflecting somewhere’s particular atmosphere, quality and character. </p>
<p>We found that at both universities, the physical environment, including libraries, cafes, sports centres and student clubs, was a crucial part of their students’ experience. </p>
<p>But our research also showed that a strong sense of university belonging is also driven by other, softer factors, including how positively students feel about their institution, whether they want to be associated with it, the value of their relationships with other students and academic staff, the opportunities that exist for them to participate in activities both on and off campus, and their eagerness to stay in touch with the university after graduating. </p>
<p>At the US university, students felt part of the university and expressed a strong sense of belonging: this was their university – now and after graduation. </p>
<p>The UK students, however, saw their university more as an institution to attend, and then eventually leave behind. There was a tendency for them to feel disconnected from their environment; they mainly came to campus to attend classes and did not engage in many extracurricular activities. Many students worked part-time and accessed much of their learning material via the university’s online learning environment. </p>
<p>The US students felt proud to be part of their university and showed it by purchasing merchandise bearing the university’s logo or sporting mascot. They wore these items on campus and especially at sporting events. </p>
<p>For the UK students, merchandise largely was seen as memorabilia. One student said: “I think I would get something before I leave, just like memorabilia, but not for functional use.”</p>
<h2>Cultivating a cycle of pride</h2>
<p>We argue that having a distinct “spirit” and making students feel they belong is important for all universities. It positively affects <a href="https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/what_works_final_report_0.pdf">students’ academic engagement</a> as they feel more connected across subject areas and programmes. Our research found that where there is a strong sense of university spirit, students are more open to network, learn from each other, and work in cross-discipline teams. These are <a href="http://www.ncub.co.uk/reports/global-graduates-into-global-leaders.html">essential skills</a> in a globally-connected work environment.</p>
<p>In the UK, we found that graduates don’t often express belonging once they leave their university and studies have shown that many are <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/four-in-10-students-dont-think-their-degree-was-worth-the-money-survey-finds-10336398.html">dissatisfied with their university experience</a>. This means that UK universities are losing out on the benefits of the “cycle of pride”, whereby proud graduates turn into proud alumni and continue to give back to their alma mater through shared business connections, time, recruitment, recommendations or funding. UK universities, facing <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/hefce-reveals-%C2%A3150m-cut">further public funding cuts</a>, could learn something from their US counterparts whose alumni network is a lucrative source of fundraising. </p>
<p>To create pride, belonging and university spirit, UK universities need to go beyond their current focus on the <a href="http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/about.php">National Student Survey</a> and league table rankings. More attention should be given to cultivating the values, traditions and beliefs that truly will bind students and their universities together – now and in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Hall Webb works at the University of West Georgia, where the US study for this article took place.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Cooray and Rikke Duus do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>UK universities should take note from US colleges and cultivate more of a university spirit.Rikke Duus, Senior Teaching Fellow in Marketing, UCLMike Cooray, Faculty, Strategy and Innovation, Ashridge Business SchoolSusan Hall Webb, Associate Professor & Director of Business Education, University of West GeorgiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.