Alumni update form: keep records current without over-asking

An alumni update form lets former students correct their contact details, graduation information, and career news, and it records which kinds of contact each person agrees to. Keep it short, ask about each kind of contact separately, and treat every change as a request until a staff member has matched it to the record. Do not ask for birth dates, national identifiers, or household finances in an update form.

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Questions to leave out

Details an update form should not collect

What is your date of birth?

A name and graduation year usually locate the record. A birth date adds sensitive data that a contact update does not need.

What is your household income or net worth?

Giving questions belong in a conversation about giving. Putting them in a records update makes the form feel like a solicitation.

Which of your former classmates should we contact for you?

Naming other people can expose them without their consent. Invite volunteers to share contact details through an opt-in process instead.

What is your current salary?

The update needs an employer and a job title. A salary figure is sensitive personal data, and an update does not need it to do its job.

Field blueprint

Update fields that keep the record matchable

Field	Type	Required	Why you ask it
Full name	Short text	Required	Lets staff confirm they are changing the right person's record.
Name at graduation Leave this blank if your name has not changed.	Short text	Optional	Needed when a name has changed since graduation, so the record can still be found under the old name.
Graduation year Use the year your degree was conferred, or the year you left if you did not finish.	Number	Required	Together with the name, the most direct way to match an update to the right record.
Program or degree	Short text	Optional	Separates people who share a name and graduation year, and tells staff which program the record belongs to.
Email address Give at least one way to reach you: an email address or a phone number.	Email	Optional	The main route for event invitations and the office's follow-up.
Phone number	Phone	Optional	A second contact route, used only where you have given permission for that kind of contact.
Mailing address Include the country if it is not the one the office uses by default.	Long text	Optional	Used for postal mail. A blank field means you are not changing the address on file.
Employer	Short text	Optional	Shown in the alumni directory only if you agree to a listing in the question below.
Job title	Short text	Optional	Adds context to the employer so a listing does not read as a bare company name.
May we list my employer and job title in the alumni directory? YesNo	Single choice	Optional	Makes a directory listing a separate decision from the update itself.
Kinds of contact I agree to receive Leave a box unticked for any kind you do not want. Event invitationsAlumni newsletterVolunteer requestsGiving appeals	Multiple choice	Optional	Records consent for each kind of contact, so one answer is not read as permission for everything.
What has changed since your last update	Long text	Optional	Tells the staff member which fields to check first when they compare the update with the record.

Words for the respondent

Introduction, confirmation, and help text for the update

Introduction

Tell us what has changed. Leave any field blank if it is still correct.

Confirmation

Thank you. We have your update and will check it against our records before making any change.

Graduation year

Use the year your degree was conferred, or the year you left if you did not finish.

May we list my employer and job title in the alumni directory?

Choosing Yes lets the directory show the employer and job title you entered. You can leave both blank.

Giving appeals

Tick this only if you want to hear about giving opportunities from the alumni office.

Try it

Preview the update form before you send it to alumni

Preview · not a real form

A filled example

A completed update for a fictional alum

Example only, not a real submission

Full name: Taylor Example (fictional)
Name at graduation: Taylor Ortiz
Graduation year: 2019
Email address: [email protected]
Employer and job title: Northfield Clinic (fictional), program coordinator
Kinds of contact I agree to receive: Event invitations and the alumni newsletter
What has changed since your last update: New employer and a new email address since last year.

After a response arrives

What staff do with each update

Check the grid on a fixed day each week
Each update is saved on arrival, and an hourly run picks it up. The form's creator receives a notice once that run finishes, so a weekly check on a fixed day stops the queue from building up unnoticed.
Match each update to a record before changing it
Find the record by name at graduation and graduation year, then compare each changed field. Do not overwrite a field the update left blank, because blank usually means no change.
Copy approved changes into your records by hand
Attain OS does not update your alumni database. A staff member copies approved changes into your own records, which stay the source of truth for every alumni message.
Confirm high-risk changes first
Before you change an email address or a directory listing, send a confirmation to the address already on file, so a wrong or unauthorized change does not go unnoticed.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an alumni information update form template I can use?

Copy the fields above into the form tool you use for alumni work. Attain OS does not produce Word or PDF documents, so any printable version has to come from your own files.

Is an update form the same as a public alumni profile?

No. An update form records changes to a person's details. A public profile is a separate choice to publish information, so keep the directory question on its own line and let each person decide it.

Should an alumni update form ask for a donation?

Keep giving questions out of a records update. If you want to invite a gift, send that invitation separately and say plainly that updating the record does not depend on it.

Can alumni change an update after they send it?

Give them one clear route for corrections, such as replying to the confirmation or writing to the office. Do not promise same-day changes, because staff copy each change into the record by hand.

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Alumni update form: keep records current without over-asking

What is your date of birth?

What is your household income or net worth?

Which of your former classmates should we contact for you?

What is your current salary?

Full name

Name at graduation

Graduation year

Program or degree

Email address

Phone number

Mailing address

Employer

Job title

May we list my employer and job title in the alumni directory?

Kinds of contact I agree to receive

What has changed since your last update

Introduction

Confirmation

Graduation year

May we list my employer and job title in the alumni directory?

Giving appeals

Check the grid on a fixed day each week

Match each update to a record before changing it

Copy approved changes into your records by hand

Confirm high-risk changes first