The Relationship Between Student Engagement and Alumni Involvement

As issues of access, affordability, and accountability continue to make the national agenda, students and families are evaluating colleges and universities based on metrics that help determine a return on investment. While measures such as student loan debt and graduation rates are important factors in evaluating any institution, it is also important to consider the many advantages of higher education. Alumni are able to give voice to the value of a degree; they are living proof of the successful outcomes of higher education beyond the government reports. If colleges and universities could predict characteristics of those who have a higher propensity for involvement, they could better encourage the development of these characteristics during the undergraduate years. Through this study, the researcher examines the relationships between engagement as an undergraduate and involvement as an alumnus.