It was not all that many years ago that advancement services was thought of as the "back office"--a term that still makes veterans in the field cringe. Historically, the role of advancement services was keeping donor and alumni records up-to-date, processing gifts, sending receipts, and generating fundraising progress reports. However,…

In this article we propose a "Janus-faced" approach to survey design--an approach that encourages researchers to consider how they can design and implement surveys more effectively using the latest web and database tools. Specifically, this approach encourages researchers to look two ways at once; attending to both the survey interface…

This technical report, produced in partnership by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and SPSS Inc., explores the promise of data mining alumni records at educational institutions. Working with individual alumni records from The Johns Hopkins Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, a predictive regression model is…

Followup studies of former students provide important information for higher education institutions. Careful planning, early involvement of users of the information, and multiple data presentation strategies are some keys to success for such studies. (MSE)

The ways in which Spence School, a New York private school for girls, and Dartmouth College (New Hampshire) cultivated and won top alumni donors are described. In each case, the development office and administration encouraged the donor's personal involvement in areas of interest at the institution, and donor enthusiasm and participation…