360 Alumni

An alumni engagement platform built around directory and events

Alumni platforms fail for a predictable reason: graduates sign up once, find the directory stale or the events calendar empty, and never return. Engagement decays and the institution loses its most valuable network. The brief was a platform where the data stayed current because members had a reason to maintain it themselves.

The problem

The institution held alumni records across disconnected systems — registrar data, event attendance, donor records, mailing lists — with no single view and no way for graduates to correct their own information. Staff spent more effort reconciling records than running programmes.

What we built

• Searchable alumni directory with member-controlled profiles — graduates maintain their own records, which keeps the data current without staff intervention.
• Events module covering creation, registration, capacity, and attendance tracking, connected back to member profiles so engagement history is visible.
• Role-based access control separating what administrators, chapter leaders, and members can see and do — necessary for a system holding contact details for thousands of people.
• CodeIgniter back end with a JavaScript front end, chosen for a small operational footprint and hosting economics that suit an institution rather than a venture-funded product.
• Privacy controls at the field level, so members choose what is visible to the wider network.

The design principle

Every feature had to give the member a reason to return. A directory is only useful if it is accurate, and it is only accurate if the people in it maintain it — which they only do if the platform is worth opening. Engagement and data quality are the same problem.

Outcome

A single system for alumni records, events, and communication, with the maintenance burden distributed to the people best placed to carry it.