Graduation day is full of photos and promises to stay in touch. Six months later a funder asks how many graduates found work, and the programme team has no idea. The WhatsApp group went quiet, emails bounce and nobody owns the relationship.
I look after alumni relations at AfricaHackon Academy, which trains people in cybersecurity. My job is everything that happens after graduation. Here is how I think about it and what I set up.
Why alumni matter to a programme
- Proof. Funders and partners want outcomes: jobs, promotions, businesses started. Only alumni can give you that data.
- Referrals. Your best applicants often come from people who have already been through the programme.
- Mentors and speakers. Graduates who are a year ahead are the most relatable teachers for a new cohort.
- Opportunities. Alumni in companies share jobs, gigs and introductions with each other.
What I set up
One alumni inbox
A single email address that belongs to the programme, never to one staff member. When people change roles, the relationship stays with the programme.
A WhatsApp line
Most alumni in Kenya will answer a WhatsApp message long before an email. A dedicated line lets them reach the programme directly, and lets the team send updates that get read.
An alumni group with a purpose
A group with no purpose dies. Give it a rhythm: a weekly jobs and opportunities post, a monthly clinic or session and space for alumni to share their own wins.
Surveys on a schedule
Short surveys at one, three and six months after graduation. Keep them to a few questions: are you working in the field, what changed, what do you need now. Tell people how long it takes and share what you learned from the results.
Jobs posts and clinics
Share roles and opportunities in the field, and run clinics on CVs, interviews and certifications. This gives alumni a reason to stay close, and it produces the outcomes funders ask about.
Check-in calls
A short call with graduates, prioritising the ones who have gone quiet. You learn more in ten minutes on the phone than from a survey, and the graduate feels remembered.
Consent comes first
Before you add anyone to a list or a group, make sure they agreed to hear from you. Ask at graduation, explain what you will send and how often, and make leaving easy. Kenya's Data Protection Act applies to alumni data too.
Measure what funders ask about
- How many alumni you can still reach.
- How many answered the latest survey.
- How many are working in the field, and how many changed roles since graduating.
- How many came back as mentors, speakers or referrers.
Keep these in one place so the next report is a matter of filling in numbers.
Start before graduation
The best time to set up alumni relations is during the programme. Collect contact preferences early, explain what alumni get and build the habit of hearing from the programme every week. When I ran the community for ALX's virtual assistant cohort 14, the weekly rhythm we built before graduation made it natural to stay in touch after.
A starter plan for your programme
- Create a programme-owned alumni inbox and WhatsApp line.
- Ask every graduate for consent and their preferred channel.
- Schedule surveys at one, three and six months.
- Post opportunities weekly and run one clinic a month.
- Call graduates who have gone quiet, starting with the oldest cohort.
Questions about alumni programmes
How do we get alumni to answer surveys?
Keep surveys short, say how long they take, send them from the programme people know and share what you learned from the last one. People answer when they see their answers used.
Who should own alumni relations?
One named person with time set aside for it every week. When alumni work is everyone's side job, it stops the first busy month.
Should alumni pay to stay in the community?
Most programmes keep the core community free and charge for extras such as certifications or events. Start free, prove the value and decide later.
Want a second pair of eyes on your alumni programme? Get in touch. You can also read how to run a cohort that people finish.
