In the last issue of its email newsletter, IAC has an interesting idea for colleges and universities wanting to keep in touch with their alums:
First, it was an idea in the brain of Gary Toyne, the Alumni Director of Weber State University. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the computers he needed to get put his plan into effect. So, as any entrepreneurial alumni affairs administrator would do, Gary decided to grab every laptop in his office and then invite colleagues to donate their personal laptops for the day. He and his staff wheeled the computers down to the graduation ceremony and set them up in a strategic area where graduates had to pass by. Once the line formed, all the grads got in it, and staff members and volunteers were able to quickly get them registered.
But, here is an even better plan to avoid the risk of a big graduation day traffic jam:
Set up a few computers to have your graduates-to-be register to your online alum directory at the same time they pick up their academic attire.
A little “offline” planning definitely goes a long way.