0. University of California Office of the President
Grenzebach Glier and Associates
401 N. Michigan Avenue
Suite 2800
Chicago, Illinois
tel
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT as of 5/15/2017
Lifelong Engagement Initiatives
University of California Office of the President
May 15, 2017
Chris Marshall
Senior Vice President and Managing Director
Andy Shaindlin
Vice President

1. CONTEXT and objectives
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
“Build a system-wide UC culture that fosters lifetime engagement between UC and our alumni.”
Three initial focal points:
Synchronize communications and programming during all phases of the student experience, to enhance lifelong affinity and connection to alma mater.
Enact recommendations from the UC system-wide alumni career service Task Force, to enhance career readiness and increase opportunities for career development and placement for students and alumni.
Identify opportunities to maximize alumni engagement of emerging populations (first generation, low income, diverse communities), and deliver ways for UCOP to assist the campuses’ work with these communities.
CONTEXT and objectives

2. CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT Needed: A Shift in Context
Student-alumni life stages align with structural silos
Silos engender separate planning, separate measurement and (sometimes) competition for resources
Collaborative planning, joint goals and shared metrics are needed
“Career Services” vs “Career Community”
Students require some one-stop services
Alumni need access to networks, information and influencers
Services don’t scale
General summary

3. CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT Community is difficult to create
Long-term proposition
Not based on “what you do”; reflection of “who you are”
Language, culture and mindsets must shift to change expectations, processes and outcomes
The “System” is not the brand for students and alumni
The campus is the connector
UCOP serves to leverage and augment campus-based efforts
General summary

4. CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT Not a program or initiative; not in one office
Large-scale shift is ongoing, permanent and cross-cutting
General summary

5. Recommendations: Student focus
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
Interviews affirmed that individual campuses are the “brand” that students and alumni connect with and experience
Addressing audiences separately (admitted; enrolled; graduated) reinforces traditional silos (Admissions, Student Affairs, Alumni Relations)
Needed:
A long-term shift to address the lifecycle holistically, with cross-team collaboration throughout
Shared planning, integrated strategic road maps and joint ownership of outcomes (metrics)
Prioritize a few UCforLife Alumni Career Services Task Force ideas for greatest long-term effect on lifelong engagement
UCOP can convene a small ad hoc Work Group to pilot two to three untested initiatives at a time. Group should cut across traditional staffing silos.
Recommendations: Student focus

6. Recommendations: Student focus
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
Increase data collection as part of student enrollment
Standardize questions to obtain more student and family background information, enabling more effective communication throughout their lifecycle
Reach beyond career offices. Engage campus undergraduate Academic Advisors as a positive professional influence on students.
Formalize and market a UC-wide plan engaging UC alumni in alumni-student networking, and hiring of students and graduates as interns and employees
Recommendations: Student focus

7. Recommendations: student focus
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
Consistently and explicitly promote UC institutions and communities (faculty, staff, students and alumni) as “communities whose members support each other.”
“Lifelong connection” is a culture shift, not a “program” or time- limited initiative associated with one office
Presidential communication to consistently describe and reinforce the UC as communities of mutually supportive individuals, groups and services
Recommendations: student focus

8. Recommendations: student focus
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
Focus on experiential learning (research roles; internships; service learning), to complement classroom education
UCOP initially to subsidize unpaid student internships in non- profits and public service, and increase number of first- generation, low-income, and under-represented students participating
Simultaneously, formalize financial support of paid internships as a philanthropic opportunity donors and (corporate) sponsors
Career Services, Student Affairs, and Alumni Relations to shift alumni focus from “career services” to “career community”
Accessible whenever alumni need it, transcends the “staff service” model of traditional career activities
Recommendations: student focus

9. Recommendations: alumni focus
CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
De-emphasize face-to-face events and commit to digital resources for cost-effectiveness and increased accessibility
Events are appropriate in some situations – e.g., for geographical or “privileged” access. Event content should be shared too.
Profile graduates’ career outcomes five years post-graduation
System-wide & coordinated with research by UCOP’s Institutional Research & Academic Planning (IRAP) team
Integrate post-graduation data with workforce trends studies.
Use this information to prioritize career initiatives and drive appropriate campus partnerships
Structure alumni surveys to focus on gap analyses, to identify services that 1) alumni value highly and 2) rate as unsatisfactory
Recommendations: alumni focus

10. CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT
In closing, GG+A commends UCOP and its campus-based stakeholders for updating and improving engagement, communication and partnership
The full-length report includes additional observations, recommendations and projected timelines/resource needs for implementation
Andy Shaindlin Vice President, GG+A
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