Universities, colleges, and even corporations worldwide are enjoying the benefits of alumni networks. Are you considering building an alumni network too, but hesitant because of all the unfamiliar terminology? We can help.
This comprehensive glossary of alumni terms explains the terminology used in both education and enterprise settings in an easy-to-read format. We’ve broken down the most commonly used words and phrases, as well as newly emerging trends.
It’s time to master the jargon and start planning your alumni association with confidence.
Core Alumni Terms
This first section of our glossary of alumni terms deals with the definition and context of frequently used alumni terminology. These key concepts are relevant to alumni across both educational and enterprise environments.
- Alumnus/Alumna/Alumni: An alumnus is a male graduate, and an alumna is a female graduate. But the term alum is also often used for a non-gender specific graduate. The plural term alumni typically refers to multiple graduates and can describe all genders.
- Alumni Network: A group of former graduates and students of an educational institution (academic alumni), or former employees of a business (corporate alumni).
- Alumni Program: A community specifically created for communicating and engaging with alumni.
- Alumni Association: An official alumni network that typically has a formal alumni program. Its primary role and purpose is to foster a sense of community and support for the alumni program.
- Mentorship: A program in which alumni use their experience and expertise to guide and mentor new students or new/junior employees. Although more common in educational institutions, companies are quickly realizing the benefits of setting up a mentorship program.
- Alumni Community: A group of alumni who have a perceived ongoing shared identity thanks to their association with a common alma mater or former employer.
- Alumni Relations: Activities and strategies designed for building, strengthening, and maintaining alumni connections. These may include alumni events.
- Alumni Event: An event that allows alumni to interact with fellow alumni and faculty (in the case of academic alumni) or management (in the case of corporate alumni).
- Engagement: A measure of how eagerly and actively alumni participate in their networks through events, fundraising, mentoring, etc.
Education-Specific Terms
Alumni associations were born in the world of higher education, and are still popular in the best universities and colleges. In this education-specific section of our glossary of alumni terms, we cover terminology most often used in academic alumni situations.
- Alma Mater: An old Latin phrase traditionally used to describe a school, college, or university that a person has attended and graduated from.
- Class Notes: The updates that alumni share with the network about their lives.
- Alumni Reunion: An organized event where alumni can reconnect with their former fellow students and graduates.
- Alumni Fundraising: The practice of reaching out to graduates for financial donations in support of the alma mater’s programs and initiatives.
- Annual Fund: The ongoing fundraising campaigns that target alumni for potential funds.
- Endowment: A financial contribution that an alum chooses to give in support of their former educational institution.
- Legacy Admission: The policy of admitting the children of alumni to their parents’ academic institution.
A good alumni fundraising strategy is the secret to accessing funds for the institution, and more specifically, to run the academic alumni program. Here are some tips for creating your fundraising strategy.
Enterprise-Specific Terms
Alumni networks are no longer limited to the academic world. Many companies and enterprises now have alumni programs for former employees. In this enterprise-specific section of our glossary of alumni terms, we cover terminology unique to these corporate alumni.
- Corporate Alumni: The former employees of a company or organization.
- Corporate Community: An exclusive business community that includes a company’s leadership and management, employees, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders (see below). Corporate alumni are often included in these communities.
- Boomerang Employee: A corporate alum who, like a boomerang, returns to work for their previous employer. Should you hire a boomerang employee? Our boomerang employees guide will help you decide.
- Knowledge Retention: The concept of alumni as a resource for institutional knowledge and expertise.
- Talent Pipeline: The group of alumni or external candidates best suited for potential hire, rehire, or referral sources.
- Networking: The practice of maintaining relationships with other professionals, and sharing knowledge and industry insights that often lead to new partnerships and opportunities. Corporate alumni often engage in networking sessions.
- Corporate Alumni Network: A group of former employees and colleagues who remain in contact with one another and their former employer. Ask yourself these questions before launching one for your company.
- Talent Pool: A database of potential job candidates. Because corporate alumni are often the best candidates for high-level and leadership succession roles, it’s a good idea to overlap your alumni database with your talent database.
- Talent Management System: An integrated software solution used for maintaining talent pool data, recruitment, succession planning, onboarding, and even new employee performance management. Be sure to read our guide to the benefits of a talent management system.
- Stakeholders: Internal stakeholders are individuals or groups that participate in managing a company. External stakeholders are individuals or groups who have a vested interest in the company’s operations and outcomes. It is a good idea to include both internal and external stakeholders in your alumni network.
Emerging Trends in Alumni Terms
This last section of our glossary of alumni terms includes new and evolving alumni terminology. These terms, driven by technology and changing alumni practices, describe facets of modern alumni management and engagement.
- Alumni Platform: A digital space where alumni connect with their alma mater or former employer, and their fellow alumni.
- Alumni Software: Software dedicated to the creation or management of a digital alumni platform, The Aluminati range of products is an example of alumni software.
- Virtual Alumni Events: These are like in-person events but instead happen in an online environment. They include webinars, virtual networking, and online conferences for alumni engagement.
- HR Software: Software designed for human resources management tasks such as tracking new recruitment, employee performance, and employee benefits. HR software can also be used to share further learning and career advancement resources with employees.
- Enterprise Social Network: A private, internal social network, similar to social media networks, that a business uses to facilitate collaboration, communication, and engagement between employees. Learn more in our comprehensive overview of enterprise social networks.
- Affinity Groups: The subgroups within alumni networks based on shared interests and other common criteria. Our Aluminate Community Builder’s Groups module allows you to create affinity groups for your alumni network.
- Alumni Analytics: Data-driven insights into alumni activity and preferences, specifically on the digital alumni platform. Our Insights feature gives you greater awareness and understanding of your alumni engagement and the success of your program.
- Global Alumni Network: The expanding of an alumni network across borders, particularly in international organizations.
- Algorithm: The feature of Aluminati’s Intelligent Matching Engine that facilitates admins’ work and increases your community’s engagement. It matches members with other members, events, resources, jobs, and more.
Both academic and corporate alumni programs are increasingly leveraging technology to manage and engage alumni networks. Learn how to use technology to engage your alumni.
Launch Your Alumni Network with Aluminati Today
This in-depth glossary of alumni terms explains the most important terminology used for alumni groups in both academic and corporate environments. Now that you’re confident about the basics, it’s time to build your own alumni network, with Aluminati.
We offer highly customizable and scalable software in two products: Aluminate for Education, suitable for academic alumni programs, and Aluminate for Enterprise, specially designed for corporate alumni programs.
Aluminati is the world’s most customizable online community platform, ideal for alumni management and engagement in the digital age. Contact us for more information, or to book a demo.
