Abstract:
During the 2006/07 academic year, 582,984 international students studied in the
United States (Open Doors Study, 2007). Roughly 430,000 of these international
students were pursuing Bachelors or Graduate level degrees. Of the international
students that complete degrees, most will return to their home country and will be
unable to attend alumni events at their alma mater due to their distance from the
institution. Some institutions attempt to maintain a strong relationship between alumni
and the institution through the work of their international alumni relations office. This
study explores the challenges faced by four year American institutions in their
attempts to create and maintain international alumni relations programs. A survey
instrument was created based on an extensive literature review and informal
interviews and dispersed to two groups of alumni professionals at American
Institutions. The analysis of the fifty-nine total responses highlights both the
challenges and successes associated with international alumni outreach work.
