The MSU Alumni Association is working harder than ever to continue receiving alumni money by recruiting members as soon as they graduate. Alumni membership has been decreasing in recent years at MSU and other Division I schools around the country.
New groups and committees, such as the Young Alumni Initiative, were created to attract alumni who graduated within the last 10 years.
While the downward trend in membership may be alarming for those particular groups and for a university dependent on donations to supplement its income, it’s understandable from the alumni perceptive.
With tuition prices on the rise, students already give the school tens of thousands of dollars in tuition. If those students can’t afford to give back to the school after they graduate because of student loan bills, they shouldn’t be expected to.
And if students are interested in donating to the university, they are much more likely to donate to whatever specific group, club, school or organization they were most involved in and affected by.
Alumni groups have tried to boost membership numbers by hosting holiday bowl-a-thons and other social events, as well as promoting the networking, career counseling and personal relationships such groups offer.
While it’s great the alumni associations offer such perks to members – and many alumni likely benefit from and enjoy them – it sends the unnerving message that the university only really starts caring about student involvement after the student has graduated.
MSU is one of the largest universities in the country and often there is little personal connection between the university and the student aside from tuition bills.
Students become an MSU statistic after they graduate and alumni associations begin calling, mailing and e-mailing them to join.
Although alumni associations don’t exist solely to squeeze money out of graduates, they are clearly sending the message that even if students are done buying an education from MSU, they certainly don’t have to be done giving money.
And who will respond to that kind of message?
Perhaps dwindling membership will send a clear message to both the alumni associations and the university – treat students as people now.
Maybe they’ll be more inclined to join alumni associations to stay connected in the future.
Make the perks for being a member more valuable to spark interest in the groups.
And finally, if alumni really are interested in giving back to the school, they will.
There’s no need to hound them to join if they refuse once.
No one should be expected to give more money to the school they just finished giving thousands to unless they feel so inclined.
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