1. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 1
Alumni Engagement Plan 2015 - 2017
Contents:
1. The Context for Alumni Engagement at Plymouth University
2. Objectives for Alumni Engagement
3. Developing an Alumni Engagement Plan
4. Timeline
Appendix 1: Current Alumni Engagement Activities

2. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 2
1.0 The Context for alumni engagement at Plymouth University
The Alumni Engagement Team lead on the development of a University wide alumni
engagement programme which is designed to attract support for and engagement with a
variety of University projects and programmes where alumni support is required. In some
cases these projects form part of the University Campaign and so the Alumni Engagement
team are represented on the Project Boards. Our aim is to ensure that alumni engagement is
woven into the plan for appropriate Campaign projects to maximise opportunities and
support the Campaign objectives.
In 2015 - 2017, the Development Office will leverage the Campaign to encourage more of
our alumni to make a gift to the University via a Regular Giving programme. Programmes of
this nature work to attract new donors and develop a philanthropic pipeline for the University.
The quality and quantity of our alumni data and engagement profile are cornerstones to the
success of such a programme.
The Alumni Engagement Team are responsible for the data quality of the alumni database,
mass communications with alumni, raising awareness about University successes and news,
increasing the alumni engagement index, and developing relevant links with key graduates.
This plan aims to build on the recent successes of the Development Office in alumni
engagement. In 2013/14, over 10,867 alumni records were updated or ‘found’, increasing the
University’s overall ‘contactable’ alumni community to 92,029. Further work is underway to
reach ‘lost’ alumni, via an increase in social media and alumni event activity.
During the academic year 2014-2015 the Alumni Engagement Team was restructured and
spent time revisiting the services which it offers to alumni, in order to focus on activities
which add value for alumni and support University core business. Our approach has been
collaborative in nature, involving colleagues in External Relations and many other
Departments and Faculties. This revisiting of the alumni ‘offer’ is ongoing and the results of a
major alumni survey, carried out by SERIO on behalf of the Alumni Engagement Team, were
published in December 2015 and will shape this work further.
However this refresh has already yielded exciting new projects, such as Plymouth Connect
and the Alumni Portraits, which have been developed since 2014 and are having a major
impact. The Alumni Portraits have significantly raised the profile of alumni on the campus
and have been chosen to form the content for the current PG Marketing campaign. Over 350
alumni registered for the new online platform, Plymouth Connect, in the first week of
operation and this continues to grow, creating a pool of alumni expertise which current
students can draw upon by requesting an alumni mentor. Additional resource was allocated
to support the development of alumni case studies and resulted in 70 new alumni case
studies being produced to support student employability and recruitment over a period of 4
months.
These projects, which have proved to be highly effective, will be cornerstones of our long
term plan. Moving forward, the key will be to listen to our alumni and ensure that we are
meeting their needs while continuing to use our resources to best effect by aligning alumni
engagement activities to support core business, including student employability, the student
experience and student recruitment.

3. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 3
To help to drive this work forward and embed it across the University, an Alumni Board will
be established to identify ways to strengthen and capitalise upon these connections for
mutual benefit: recognising the University as a continuing resource for alumni and alumni as
a continuing resource for the University. Drawing upon lessons learned in 2015 and using
the alumni survey results as a roadmap for future developments, the Board will ensure that
in revisiting the services which we offer to alumni we continue to develop a mutually
beneficial relationship with our alumni.

4. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 4
2.0 Objectives for Alumni Engagement
The overarching aims for the Alumni Engagement Team at Plymouth University are to
strengthen and extend engagement with our alumni and external stakeholders by working
with them as ambassadors and enriching our connections with them, so that our current
students and the broader University can learn from their knowledge and expertise. To do this
we will:
1. establish and increase the Plymouth University alumni engagement index
2. develop a University wide alumni engagement programme which will attract support
for and engagement with Plymouth University projects
3. increase the opportunities for our supporters to invest in the work of the University
4. engage alumni in investing time and money in the University
5. improve the volume and quality of the alumni data held by the University

5. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 5
3.0 Developing an Alumni Engagement Plan
The proposed approach to delivering an effective Alumni Engagement Plan, which delivers
against the objectives outlined in section 2, is set out below.
Phase 1: Establish the Plymouth University alumni engagement index
In order to establish the alumni engagement index, we need to agree a set of measures to
gauge the current level of alumni engagement and enable us to benchmark our progress in
increasing alumni engagement.
The proposed measures include:
 registrations on the Plymouth Connect platform
 active mentors on the Plymouth Connect platform
 attendance at graduation
 attendance at alumni events (UK and international)
 attendance at University events (e.g. Cornwall lecture, Brain Tumour Research
events, Raiders)
 number of alumni guest lectures delivered
 number of alumni receiving Evolve
 number of click through’s to web pages from Evolve
 number of unique hits on the alumni web pages
 number of unique visits to alumni social media channels
 number of alumni receiving Connect / Plymouth’s progress
 number of alumni records updated, ‘found’ or added (graduating cohort)
 number of ‘contactable’ alumni (number and %)
 number of alumni with an email address on Donor Strategy (number and %)
 number of alumni with a postal address on Donor Strategy (number and %)
 number of alumni with employability data on Donor Strategy (number and %)
 number of employability records updated on Donor Strategy (number and %)
 number of alumni donating to Plymouth University (number and %)
 level of donations (number and value)
 number of alumni engaged in ambassadorial activities (e.g. speaking at applicant
days, British Council Campaigns, case studies, alumni portraits)
 number of alumni engaged in supporting employability (mentoring, competitions,
placements, speaking)
Following the approval of these measures, the alumni engagement team will produce
baseline alumni engagement data benchmarking the current level of activity, to inform our
plans and enable us to measure our progress in delivering against our objectives.

6. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 6
Phase 2: Benchmarking and research
Using the initial set of comprehensive alumni engagement index data, we will analyse the
current level of alumni engagement and alumni engagement activities, internal and external
factors, in order to develop a detailed 3-5 year delivery plan:
o identify which groups of alumni are currently engaged
o identify the means and level of engagement
o benchmark against alumni engagement data from comparable Universities
o identify opportunities, weaknesses etc in current alumni engagement activities
o consider potential methods of building on this and increasing engagement
o consider how we support the Plymouth University campaign, priorities such
as employability and recruitment, faculties and 2020 plan
o conduct research to establish what alumni want from PU at different stages in
their lives (e.g. networking opportunities, accessing journal articles from
academics, giving back to current students)
Phase 3: Develop a University wide alumni engagement programme which
will increase the alumni engagement index
Using the initial set of comprehensive alumni engagement index data, we will analyse the
current level of alumni engagement and alumni engagement activities, internal and external
factors, in order to develop a detailed 3-5 year delivery plan:
o use the research data to inform our Alumni Engagement Plan. Given the
available resources, where do we focus our activities to increase this
engagement most effectively?
o if more resource was available, what would this enable us to achieve?
o formulate recommendations
o develop KPIs
o clarify key dependencies (systems, technology and communications)
o budget
o staffing
o timeline
Phase 4: Implementation, Monitoring and Review
By benchmarking the alumni engagement index, prior to developing a detailed alumni
engagement plan, we will be able to monitor and review our progress against a set of clear
KPIs.

7. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
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8. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 8
4.0 Timeline 2015 - 2016
Activity DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV
Phase 1: Establish the
Plymouth University alumni
engagement index
Phase 2: Benchmarking
and research
Phase 3: Develop a
University wide alumni
engagement programme
which will increase the
alumni engagement index
Phase 4: Implementation,
Monitoring and Review

9. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 9
Appendix 1: Current Alumni Engagement Activities
Supporting employability
o Plymouth Connect (Mentoring)
o Case study bank (web and The Hub)
o Promoting Jobshop
o Alumni as judges
o Alumni as speakers
o Successful Mentoring pilot project in Beijing
Supporting recruitment:
o Plymouth Connect (Ambassadors)
o Alumni portraits on campus
o Case study bank (web and prospectus)
o British Council Campaign in India
o Developing links with key graduates
o Sourcing speakers for applicant days
Student Experience
o the Plymouth Connect project will have a significant impact on the
student experience by offering a mentoring opportunities for students
o growing working links with UPSU
o case studies in The Knowledge highlight careers incomes and inspire
students
o mugs placed in Halls of Residence during welcome week
International
o weaving alumni engagement and communications into the plans for
international graduation ceremonies
o international reunions aligned with graduation ceremonies
o forming our first international alumni committee in Hong Kong
Events
o Hong Kong graduation and alumni engagement
o China stakeholder and alumni engagement
o Singapore alumni engagement
o Channel Islands graduation and alumni engagement
o Greece stakeholder and alumni engagement
o Back to Plymouth weekend
o Partnership events (e.g. BTR)

10. Enclosure C
Alumni Board
22 January 2016
Page | 10
o Dartmouth Centre for Seapower and Strategy
o Dental alumni event 2015
o Ad hoc alumni guest lectures
Communications
o Connect magazine
o Bi-monthly Evolve e-newsletter
o Envirosend event emails
o Alumni surveys Beijing and Hong Kong
o Alumni presence at www.plymouth.ac.uk
o Alumni social media
o Facebook
o LinkedIn
o Twitter – @PlymUniAlum launched in 2014
o We Chat – launched in 2014
Data
o Wealth screening
o Researching stakeholders
o Cleaning and importing current data lists
o Categorising data
o Improving systems and procedures
o Supporting Campaign activities
Research
o Dissemination of research news and success to alumni via social
media channels
Supporting key University events and partnerships
o Graduation
o Lectures
o Crowdfunder
o BTR
o Cornwall lecture
Alumni Board