Why Alumni Don’t Give a Damn About Your College – The Harsh Truth (The Dilemma of Alumni Engagement)

Most institutions get this completely wrong... and it's ruining the future of higher education.

Let me take you inside a well-known NIRF-ranked autonomous institute?in Karnataka.

I was invited by the institute to help set up a Venture Capital (VC) team for their Incubation Centre.?

As part of my visit, I wanted to check the operational processes of their office.?

What I saw left me stunned.

The campus? Stunning.?

The infrastructure? World-class.

The office? Looks like a five-star hotel.

But the attitude? Stuck in the 1970s.

I walked into the admin office. A student stood there, waiting.

His request? A transcript.?His struggle? Three days.

Three days of coming back, waiting, asking, pleading. Three days just to get a piece of paper that should’ve taken three minutes.

Finally, today was his lucky day. His transcript was ready.

Did the office staff greet him? No.?

Did they even look up? No.?

Did they ask how he was doing? No.

They just pushed a register toward him, took his signature, and handed over the document like a parcel.

Not a single word. Not a single moment of human connection.

No one asked: What’s next for you? How’s your family? Have you met your professors before leaving?

And that’s the problem with 98% of institutes in India.

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Graduation Day: A Marketing Gimmick or True Student Recognition?

Colleges today are obsessed with Graduation Day.

They pull out all the stops:

• Grand ceremonies.
• Professional photographers.
• Social media reels.
• Marketing campaigns to attract the next batch.

For a moment, students feel valued. The spotlight is on them.

And then? They are forgotten.

Once the photos are taken and posted, once the PR machinery has done its job, the institute moves on.

No follow-ups. No engagement. No real connection.

So why should alumni remember their college when the college itself treats them as a one-time marketing asset?

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Why Most Colleges Fail at Alumni Engagement (And Why It Matters)

Most colleges treat students like temporary guests.

You get in. You study for 3-4 years. You get out. No one looks back. No one checks where you landed. No one cares about your journey.

It’s no wonder alumni have zero attachment?to their institutions.

Most ‘Alumni Meets’? Just photo-ops for accreditation scores.?

Most ‘Student Engagement Programs’? Token gestures, not real action.

Institutes love to brag about their ‘successful alumni,’ but ask yourself:

• Do they even track where most of their students are today?
• Have they tried learning from their experiences?
• Have they ever asked what skills actually helped in the real world?

The answer? No.

And then we cry about brain drain?and lack of institutional reputation.

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Academic Leadership: Ego vs. Excellence – What’s Holding Institutions Back?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Mostly Founders are down to earth.

Academic heads are full of ego. I’ve seen it repeatedly.

The people who built these institutions from the ground up are willing to listen, learn, and adapt.

But the Principals, Deans, and Vice Chancellors?

Many of them come with unshakable arrogance.

That said, I’ve also met many who are down to earth, enterprising, and truly want to make an impact.

And you know what’s one great quality they share?

They remember their alumni like family members.

These leaders don’t just sit in ivory towers.

They walk the corridors. They listen to students.

They engage with alumni—not just when they achieve success but throughout their journeys.

And this is exactly what sets great institutions apart.

The best institutes in the world? They don’t operate like this.

They have leaders who talk to students. Who walk the corridors. Who sit in student events.

Who check in on their alumni like family.

This is why Harvard, Stanford, and MIT alumni donate millions—because they feel like a part of something bigger.

In India? We make students feel like outsiders the moment they step off campus.

The Power of Alumni Networks: How They Elevate College Brands

Research has repeatedly shown that alumni networks are the biggest asset of any great institution.

• Harvard, Stanford, and MIT?thrive because their alumni create a powerful ecosystem of mentorship, funding, and prestige.
• In India, IIT and IIM alumni?have played a crucial role in elevating their brand, contributing financially and intellectually.

Why? Because alumni are real-world proof?of an institution’s success.

They build companies, become leaders, and influence industries.

When engaged properly, they:

• Attract funding.
• Boost brand credibility.
• Mentor current students.
• Bring in industry collaborations.

Yet, most Indian institutes completely ignore?this potential.

Instead of treating alumni like lifelong stakeholders, they focus on attracting the next batch of students—only to repeat the cycle of negligence.

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Building Lifelong Student Relationships: The Blueprint for Colleges

Step 1: Make Alumni Engagement a Priority, Not a Formality.

• Every institute must track alumni progress—not just for placements but for real impact.
• Build an active alumni mentorship program, where past students guide current ones.
• Conduct real meet-ups, not staged photo sessions.

Step 2: Treat Students as Partners, Not Just Customers.

• Give students a seat at the table?in decision-making committees.
• Allow students to challenge outdated academic policies.
• Create platforms where students can directly share insights?with leadership.

Step 3: Kill the Bureaucratic Mindset.

• Automate mundane administrative tasks (transcripts, certificates, approvals).
• Train office staff to treat students like valued community members, not paperwork.
• Make empathy a non-negotiable skill?for academic and administrative staff.

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Fix Your Alumni Strategy or Become Irrelevant

Our institutes are obsessed with rankings, NAAC, NBA, and NIRF scores.

But let me ask you:

What’s the point of a high ranking if your students feel disconnected?

What’s the point of fancy infrastructure if the mindset inside is rigid, outdated, and bureaucratic?

What’s the point of education if the very people running it refuse to learn?

If we don’t change this now, the future of our institutions is clear:

• More students will walk away without looking back.?
• More alumni will disengage.?
• More global universities will take our best minds.

The choice is ours. Fix the system, or become irrelevant.

What do you think?

Have you faced something similar?

Let’s talk in the comments.