What better way is there to stay in touch with Alumni, keep them engaged with the University and have a brand ambassador overseas? More universities are connecting with students overseas with more formalized “International Student Ambassadors” that ever before. An excellent idea, simple to implement.

1. Identify 10-30 students graduating and returning to their home country
   This is as simple as hosting an ice-cream social, a pizza party, or another “bon voyage” party at the International Students Center/Office. Talk for a few minutes about how important Alumni are to your university, and how important international Alumni are to the university name.  By allowing them to have an official title such as “International Student Ambassador” you can create a stronger buy in from the student.
2. Assign more students to countries with a higher prospective base
   If you are physically recruiting students from certain countries (China, India, Middle East, etc) be sure to assign more than one student ambassador to the region. This will reduce the number of emails each student receives, giving y0u a better chance that they will continue responding to questions.
3. Provide them with a well-written Q&A to use in their responses
   To help your alumni answer many of the basic questions, it would be helpful to provide them with a Q&A written in an informal and relaxed tone, allowing them to use bits and pieces as they respond. Again, this ensures timely responses and better interaction between the Alum & Prospective student.
4. Give them a few “outs” to move the inquiry towards admissions
   Have a list of some closing phrases to allow them to move the back & forth emails towards an admissions counselor. This uses their time efficiently and sends the prospective student to the admissions personnel ready to engage and guide them through the personalized application process

   “I loved Kalamazoo, and I know you will too, Karen in admissions is interested in helping you through the admissions process – just like she helped me!”

5. Update your alumni list!
   Be sure to keep in touch with your alumni ambassadors and update your list every 6 months. You want to be sure the ambassadors are responding to emails, and if they are getting too many, you need to address that issue immediately. The on-going connection with the university as well as the growing alumni base from the country should be a great asset to the campus for years to come.

Some great examples of programs implementing a similar idea:

University of Chicago
Iowa State University
Virginia Tech
Clemson University
University of Minnesota