4-page Case Study - Posted 1/18/2008
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Microsoft Online Services Customer Story: Bryant University
“My e-mail address is my connection.”
Majoring in relationship building.
As a college or university, you spend years connecting with your students, and technology often plays a significant role, from campus wireless systems to shared data resources and beyond. But after graduation, what happens? Sure, a list of e-mail addresses means you can reach out to graduates, but what if technology could actually help sustain a much richer connection with your alumni—no matter where they are? Who could put the pieces together? And what would it mean to both graduates and the school?
Bryant University—one of U.S. News & World Report’s top 20 master’s universities in the northern U.S.—the school is well known for a sophisticated technology infrastructure that offers campus-wide wireless networking, high-speed Internet access, comprehensive voice, video, and data applications, and more.
“We agreed that there was a gap in technology services when it came to our alumni.”
—Phil Lombardi, Director of Academic Computing and Media Services, Bryant University
For each incoming student at Bryant, there’s a portable computer with a built-in webcam and voice over IP capabilities, which is theirs to keep when they graduate. But what about after that? “Our students are spoiled when it comes to technology,” says Phil Lombardi, Bryant’s Director of Academic Computing and Media Services. “However, they felt—and we agreed—that there was a gap in technology services when they became alumni.”
At schools across the country and around the world, the connection between graduates and their alma maters can be a tenuous one, even with modern communication conveniences like e-mail. Alumni want to stay connected to their schools in meaningful ways and finding efficient and effective methods to promote communication and interaction is essential. While e-mail is a widely used tool, an outside e-mail address is often impermanent.
More than 50 percent of the 2007 graduates—Bryant’s largest graduating class to date—signed up for the new messaging solution.
Bryant University heard from many alumni that they wanted to keep using the same Microsoft® Exchange Server-based messaging solution that they had used on campus. Unfortunately, maintaining this service for graduates wasn’t economically feasible for the university.
That’s when members of Bryant’s Senior Advisory Council of students had an idea: What if there were a Web-based e-mail solution that allowed graduates to retain an @bryant.edu alias—permanently? This kind of service could enable graduates to maintain a long-term connection to the university, and might ultimately foster stronger alumni relationships. “Students wanted the @bryant.edu address to express their pride in their alma mater,” says Robin Warde, the school’s Director of Alumni Relations. “And for Bryant, electronic communication is the most efficient, cost-effective way of staying in touch with our alumni. I have e-mail addresses for 40 percent of our graduates, allowing me to expedite news and information and supplement/complement more expensive mailings.”
Council members began working with Bryant Information Services staff to explore the question, and soon realized that fee-based services were not the answer. “We know that most students use
Gmail or MSN® Hotmail® e-mail services and social networking capabilities like Facebook,” says Dr. Art Gloster, Vice President of Information Services at Bryant. “So it made sense for us to look for a hosted solution for alumni that provides these same capabilities.”
Bryant students and faculty unanimously chose Microsoft Live™@edu, a free, Microsoft-hosted messaging and collaboration solution for universities. The centerpiece of the solution is Windows Live™ Hotmail, the successor to MSN Hotmail that includes five gigabytes of storage space per account, as well as features like calendar sharing, contact management, access to e-mail through mobile phones and POP, and improved spam filtering.
The benefits for alumni extend beyond e-mail, too. With the Microsoft Live@edu package, they can also take advantage of Windows Live Messenger to chat via text, voice, or video and even share large files. And it’s easy to stay in touch with other graduates using Windows Live Spaces, which helps users collaborate, blog, and post documents and photos.
“The students loved all the features offered in Live@edu,” says Lombardi. “We liked the way that it easily integrated into our Microsoft-based messaging infrastructure, and the fact that we could maintain control over the solution’s administration. We customized the alumni e-mail address to @alum.bryant.edu, maintaining that important connection to the university.”
The Bryant University graduating class of 2007 was the first to be offered Live@edu through an easy registration process on the school’s intranet. Once Bryant’s Information Services group uploaded user information to Microsoft server computers, registered graduates could log on, change their passwords, and activate their accounts.
For the Bryant team, the response to the offer got top marks. More than 50 percent of the 2007 graduates signed up for the new messaging solution. “We are extremely happy with the students’ acceptance of this offer,” says Dr.Gloster. “This initiative to stay connected to the university came from the students. With the Live@edu package from Microsoft, we provided a service that exceeds their expectations—at no cost. Our alumni wanted one address for life, and now we can provide it.”
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With Live@edu from Microsoft, we provided a service that exceeds expectations—at no cost. |
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Dr. Art Gloster
Vice President of Information Services
Bryant University |
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In addition, using Microsoft Live@edu to extend services to alumni has helped Bryant reinforce the university’s reputation for—and commitment to—the integration of IT services in its educational setting.
For graduates, the new shared e-mail reflects the vitality of their entire Bryant experience, and immediately identifies alumni with their alma mater as they communicate with the outside world as well. Having Bryant as part of their e-mail address can promote networking and job hunting. Potential employers may have greater familiarity with academic rigor of Bryant University and therefore develop a positive association with an individual alumnus/a.
Alumni can also use the messaging and shared calendars of Live@edu to connect with faculty on the university’s Exchange Server-based system—and more effectively participate in mentoring and internship programs. “Live@edu tools complement the capabilities for virtual collaboration built into the university-supplied laptops,” says Phil Lombardi. “Alumni can use video and voice over IP to more effectively mentor a Bryant student with a similar laptop.”
In future years, a Web portal—currently in the planning stages—will make it even easier for graduates and alumni to register for Live@edu. And as each graduating class takes advantage of the solution, Robin Warde is looking forward to improving her reach into this community. “Our goal is to enhance the two-way communication between Bryant and our alumni,” she says. “We want to develop more ways to engage and encourage them to interact with the school. We are optimistic that this will be an important benefit for our alumni.”
For more information, go to www.microsoft.com.
