Alumni associations free essay sample

Factors such as geographical location and family school history tend to usually play a role in a certain school that a student favors. Another key factor is what programs that each school offers. If a university does not offer a certain degree program that the student wants to major in, then the student will more than likely not consider that university as an option. Once a student picks a university to attend for their college career, they invest many resources into that school. Two Of the main resources are time and money.Once a student earns a degree from their university, they are then officially considered alumni of that university. The technical definition of an alumnus s a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university (Merriam-Webster. Com, 2013). Once a person is considered alumni of a university, they then have the option to be a part of that universities alumni association. An alumni association is an association that consists of graduates and former students of a particular university.There is not just one alumni association per school or university, there are also alumni associations that are formed for different departments of a university such as academics, athletics, or recreational sports. Once a former graduate or student is a part of an alumni association, there are many different activities that they can do. For the most part, members of alumni associations often organize social events, publish newsletters and magazines, and raise funds for the organization in order to put on special events that benefit their school.An example of one type of alumni association right here in Lafayette, Louisiana is the Raging Cajun Athletics Foundation (RCA). There are members on the board of the RCA that direct, manage, and maintain what the RCA is most now for, donation funds that support Raging Cajun athletics. Members of this association are people who are alumni of The university of Louisiana at Lafayette and love Raging Cajun athletics.Contributions to the Raging Cajuns Athletics Foundation (RCA) provide annual financial support for the 16 intercollegiate sports of The University of Louisiana at Lafayette and play a direct role in allowing them to compete at the highest level of NCAA Division competition (RCA-Louisiana. Deed, 2013). Also right here in Lafayette, Louisiana is the LU Lafayette Alumni Association. Just like other alumni associations, the LU Lafayette Alumni Association members consist of former graduates and those who attended the university for at least one semester.This alumni association has many different tasks that they look to fulfill each and every day. Some of those tasks include promoting LU Lafayette commitment to being both accessible and academically excellent, promote and preserve the traditions of the University and the unique culture of our area, and promote LU Lafayette status as a Doctoral II Research University and its commitment o undergraduate education with emphasis on the quality fetching and sensitivity to diversity in the curriculum (illustration. Org, 2013).Both of these associations are great to be a part of for they both contribute to the well being of the community and The university of Louisiana at Lafayette. As one can see, those are two different types of alumni asso ciations with different goals and objectives for different parts of a university within the same university. Lets say that a particular university does not currently have an alumni association and someone would like to start one, it is not hard, here are just a few steps that they should follow in order to get things started.First off, the people interested in starting the association must have a group of people with enthusiasm and willingness to take on organizational initiative and sustain it. There will also need to be others that are Willing to join and spread the word of the association. It must be known that there are two types Of alumni associations, formal and informal. Formal alumni associations are those that include officers, newsletters, objectives, subscriptions or memberships, and possibly even a constitution.Informal alumni associations are those that just designate one person to be the main contact person of the association. The first step in getting started is getting a group of known local alumnis together and exchange information. Once that relationship is established, the leader of the association should obtain an up to date list of graduates and former students with their most recent mailing addresses and phone numbers in order to get in contact with them much easier. Once you begin to contact people, whether it is by phone or mail, erectly ask them if they would like to be involved with the association.Once there is a decent amount of people that have committed to the association, it is time to move forward with setting goals, objectives, and activities. Leaders need to find out what the association needs in order to fully operate and be successful. Once that has been decided, be sure to set short and long term goals so that there is always something to work towards to make the association even more successful (API. Inning. Com, 2013). Next, a meeting will need to be held with current and new members to talk about what can be one for activities, fund raising, future meeting dates, and to orient all new members into the association.An easy way for alumni associations to make a little bit of money to get started is by charging for memberships. If people really want to better their alma mater, they will be willing to pay a reasonable price to be a part of the alumni association. These are some of the basic steps that one should take in order to start up a brand new alumni association at any university or school. As anyone can see, an alumni association does not really have any insides, they provide people with tools to help their communities grow and prosper.