8 Percent of alumni give to Rutgers

[rutgersal]

According to Rutgers Fall Magazine. That is horrendous no matter how you slice it. PSU has an alumni giving rate of 30 percent, while Princetons alumni giving rate is 63%.

The quickest way to improve our US News ranking is to boost alumni giving. This is one way to attract more of NJs brightest.

 

[mal359]

Simple solution: don't piss off the alumni.

 

[RUwoz]

Simple solution: don't piss off the alumni.

As long as students attend RU I will give back to the school that gave me everything, no matter how much administration may piss me off sometimes, it's about the future

 

[rutgersal]

To add to this, all one must do is give $25/year, to be considered as a Rutgers donor.

 

[Leonard23]

As long as students attend RU I will give back to the school that gave me everything, no matter how much administration may piss me off sometimes, it's about the future

Exactly. Unfortunately, too many of our alumni are blinded by some nonsense & hold a vendetta instead of trying to make it better.

 

[NJBorn]

As long as students attend RU I will give back to the school that gave me everything, no matter how much administration may piss me off sometimes, it's about the future

Whats if its the students I am annoyed by, not the admin. I still havent given since the Condeleeza Rice thing.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Simple solution: don't piss off the alumni.

Alumni.. the old RU Screw pissed off students who became the alumni. The Jersey attitude of not having to take care of your customers, the students, pervaded this institution for decades, if not a century.

When that changes, if it hasn't changed already, everything changes.

 

[pmvon]

To add to this, all one must do is give $25/year, to be considered as a Rutgers donor.

Yes, how alumni can't even muster this is beyond me. $25 dollars folks, come on. Move on and make things better instead of contributing to the relative demise.

 

[Beancounter88]

I used to give money every year, usually $200-$300 (not a fortune I know). Then, when my son applied to the school they made it so adamant that he will not get special privilege even though both his parents graduated from there. On the tour someone from the school told him to his face that he would not get any treatment and on the online application big alerts would flash on the screen saying he would not get treated differently but wanted his parents information for alumni fundraising only. I did not expect him to get special treatment and would not have respected the school if he had, but it was a slap in the face the way they handled it. There were other schools that we had family connections to - they said the same thing but not nearly as "in-your-face" and disrespectful about it. Really turned me off. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Scarlet16E]

According to Rutgers Fall Magazine. That is horrendous no matter how you slice it. PSU has an alumni giving rate of 30 percent, while Princetons alumni giving rate is 63%.

The quickest way to improve our US News ranking is to boost alumni giving. This is one way to attract more of NJs brightest.

There is something wrong with that number.
The number of seats at HPSS that require a seat gift is greater than 8% of our living alumni.

True, people can hold multiple seats, and not all football ticket holders are alumni, but it's just too low to even make sense.

I would like to see it broken out by class year, or at least by decade. Is this an older alumni problem, or a younger alumni problem. Of course Rutgers has grown so rapidly that the younger alumni far outnumber the older ones.

 

[lyndj]

Alumni.. the old RU Screw pissed off students who became the alumni. The Jersey attitude of not having to take care of your customers, the students, pervaded this institution for decades, if not a century.

When that changes, if it hasn't changed already, everything changes.

I admittedly don't know anything about the RU Screw but I do know at least two parents of current students who have vowed not to give a dime to RU past what they are required to pay for tuition. They feel that their kids were duped by being forced to take five years to complete their bachelors instead of four because of the schedule of offerings and being closed out of classes. Their kids are taking fluff classes because they can't get into the classes they need. I will say that I know this definitely occurs at other large institutions and is not just a RU problem, but that is one issue that I've heard about that has some folks tearing their hair out. Will it affect how those kids donate when they graduate? Don't know.

 

[miketd1]

lyndj: No guidance counselor would outline course selections that would result in an extra year. Did they talk to the Dean? I'm sure something could have been worked out. Personally, I've gotten special permission numbers to override TTRS (dating myself here...) in order to get into certain limited classes. They allow this because they know there are always a number of kids that drop out or switch sections within the first few weeks of class and seat availability is quite a fluid situation.

 

[ClassOf02]

I admittedly don't know anything about the RU Screw but I do know at least two parents of current students who have vowed not to give a dime to RU past what they are required to pay for tuition. They feel that their kids were duped by being forced to take five years to complete their bachelors instead of four because of the schedule of offerings and being closed out of classes. Their kids are taking fluff classes because they can't get into the classes they need. I will say that I know this definitely occurs at other large institutions and is not just a RU problem, but that is one issue that I've heard about that has some folks tearing their hair out. Will it affect how those kids donate when they graduate? Don't know.

Ugh. I can't fathom this type of anecdote being anything more than whiny parents making excused for their childrens' f-ups. The student is responsible for their schedule. It is possible to graduate in four years. Most of us have done it. If you want to do it, and you're committed to making it happen, it can happen. This is college -- the student is responsible. Maybe that means you have to take a Friday class. Or an 8am class at some point. But it's doable. My parents would have laughed in my face if I told them "RU duped me into a fifth year...blame them."

 

[RUJohnny99]

I admittedly don't know anything about the RU Screw but I do know at least two parents of current students who have vowed not to give a dime to RU past what they are required to pay for tuition. They feel that their kids were duped by being forced to take five years to complete their bachelors instead of four because of the schedule of offerings and being closed out of classes. Their kids are taking fluff classes because they can't get into the classes they need. I will say that I know this definitely occurs at other large institutions and is not just a RU problem, but that is one issue that I've heard about that has some folks tearing their hair out. Will it affect how those kids donate when they graduate? Don't know.

If I had mom & dad giving a full ride, I'd squeeze a 5th year out of them too & blame the RU Screw.

Sounds like they've already got their childhood bedroom ready for them when they finish their 5 year party.

 

[BigLou]

Simple solution: don't piss off the alumni.

What exactly are you referring to?

The reply that pointed out that children of alumni get no special consideration is on to something. Back in the 90's I went to an event that Francis Lawrence spoke at. He said that Rutgers was historically a school of first generation college students (which I was). My guess is that families with multi-generational graduates from a single school are more likely to donate than families where each generation goes to different schools. Not sure how to fix the problem but an applicant who meets the standards and who is connected to the school through parents should get a nudge.

 

[lyndj]

lyndj: No guidance counselor would outline course selections that would result in an extra year. Did they talk to the Dean? I'm sure something could have been worked out. Personally, I've gotten special permission numbers to override TTRS (dating myself here...) in order to get into certain limited classes. They allow this because they know there are always a number of kids that drop out or switch sections within the first few weeks of class and seat availability is quite a fluid situation.

One of the parents did actually go to the school and have a meeting with a Dean after she got nowhere over the phone. Her son ended up getting into one of the classes he needed in order to move forward, but she had to make a lot of noise for that to happen which left her frustrated. He is currently taking a summer class to make up for one he couldn't get into during the year. Also, unfortunately, everyone is not out to be helpful or sympathetic to your situation. Just dealing with the wrong person in administration can make your experience horrible. I'm sure there are many more students/parents who've had great experiences and since I know quite a few parents of students who have not complained, it's definitely not a one-size fits all kind of situation.

 

[Scarlet4ever]

I admittedly don't know anything about the RU Screw but I do know at least two parents of current students who have vowed not to give a dime to RU past what they are required to pay for tuition. They feel that their kids were duped by being forced to take five years to complete their bachelors instead of four because of the schedule of offerings and being closed out of classes. Their kids are taking fluff classes because they can't get into the classes they need. I will say that I know this definitely occurs at other large institutions and is not just a RU problem, but that is one issue that I've heard about that has some folks tearing their hair out. Will it affect how those kids donate when they graduate? Don't know.

While I won't completely dismiss this as a possibility, I have to kind of agree with some of the posters above that bring up other likely scenarios that led to a 5th year for these students.

1. Student is more interested in partying than finishing up school in 4 years and entering the real world.
2. Student doesn't want early morning classes or Friday classes.
3. Student failed a class that is only offered in the Fall or Spring Semester (something that happens everywhere) and needs to wait around an extra year for the class to be offered again.
4. Student forgot to register for classes on time, then when classes were full, blamed the system instead of themselves.

That said, RU needs to do a better job of leaving a great impression on alumni, even if potential issues are not necessarily the fault of the school. Little things like this, parking tickets, beauracracy, poor job placement programs, or insufficient study abroad programs can leave a poor or bad taste in the mouth of the students or parents. These are our future potential donors, and everything possible should be done to make their experiences at RU positive ones.

 

[BigLou]

One of the parents did actually go to the school and have a meeting with a Dean after she got nowhere over the phone. Her son ended up getting into one of the classes he needed in order to move forward, but she had to make a lot of noise for that to happen which left her frustrated. He is currently taking a summer class to make up for one he couldn't get into during the year. Also, unfortunately, everyone is not out to be helpful or sympathetic to your situation. Just dealing with the wrong person in administration can make your experience horrible. I'm sure there are many more students/parents who've had great experiences and since I know quite a few parents of students who have not complained, it's definitely not a one-size fits all kind of situation.

I have to wonder about the back story. Not being able to get into required classes is an issue at many large state schools. However, a lot of circumstances could have led to the problem - did the student sign up for classes at the earliest possible time (at my son's school students are given a date that they can start signing up for classes based on seniority and he always does it at the stroke of midnight on that day), has the student maintained a relationship with an advisor who might be able to override the system to help him/her get the needed class, did the student change majors late in his career that put an unusually large requirement for classes in his major in a short period of time.

In this case, needing a parent to come in and speak with a Dean sounds like the student did not advocate for himself. In fact, I am surprised a dean would even meet with the parent as there are privacy concerns. I guess when this student gets out in the real world they will expect their parent to come to a job interview.

 

[J.L. Gotrocks]

One of the parents did actually go to the school and have a meeting with a Dean after she got nowhere over the phone. Her son ended up getting into one of the classes he needed in order to move forward, but she had to make a lot of noise for that to happen which left her frustrated.

Really? A parent had to handle this for her college-age son? Once I went off to college my parents told me I was now an adult and would have expected me to handle something like this on my own. Her son may be in for a real rude awakening when he enters the "real world" after college. Is she going to go on job interviews with him, too?

 

[RUinPinehurst]

Look beyond the inherent imperfections of a state-run organization and perhaps a lack of customer service by administrators, and a "Jersey edge" on both sides of the counter. Our fellow alumni need to get over that stuff. And give whatever you can. Annually. And give to academics as well as athletics. My approach is 50/50.

 

[RU85inFla]

This thread and the thread about the NJ upper middle class kids has more common than meets the eye. It's not the school, its New Jersey. Kids at all schools have the same issues kids at Rutgers have in getting into classes and getting shitty dorm rooms etc. Yet most of Rutgers grads stay in NJ, the most affluent state in the country, with the best job market in the country, with the best schools in the country, with the best culture in the country, in the most diverse population in the country etc., etc., etc., and can't squeeze a dime out of their pocket in support of the University that helped them get where they are. While kids in many other states freely give back to their alma maters.

 

[lyndj]

I have to wonder about the back story. Not being able to get into required classes is an issue at many large state schools. However, a lot of circumstances could have led to the problem - did the student sign up for classes at the earliest possible time (at my son's school students are given a date that they can start signing up for classes based on seniority and he always does it at the stroke of midnight on that day), has the student maintained a relationship with an advisor who might be able to override the system to help him/her get the needed class, did the student change majors late in his career that put an unusually large requirement for classes in his major in a short period of time.

In this case, needing a parent to come in and speak with a Dean sounds like the student did not advocate for himself. In fact, I am surprised a dean would even meet with the parent as there are privacy concerns. I guess when this student gets out in the real world they will expect their parent to come to a job interview.

The parent met with the Dean and the their son, so no privacy issues at all. As for the back story, I can only go by what I was told, and only after her son tried to advocate for himself and didn't succeed did the parent request a meeting because, as she stated, she pays the tuition. But yes, being shut out of a class happens more often than you think, because it is sometimes heavily seniority based. This young man is not a senior, he is now a junior. I do not have the nitty gritty details other than what I noted and it appears to be a mix of closed classes and schedule of offerings relative to his major. I don't know anything about RU's process personally and how easy/difficult it is to navigate so I can't make a judgment on that. This was someone else's experience.

 

[miketd1]

I also think our donating machine is a sleeping giant.

Personally, I don't like the webpages that come up when you google "Rutgers" + "donate".

Here's the first "hit": click
Here's the second: click
Here's the third: click

They need to completely streamline everything into ONE super slick looking page funnel. From there, folks should be able to specify where exactly they are interested in seeing their money go to work (school, sports, combo, etc.) and be given visual suggestions on how their donation might be used. The interface must be intuitive and with as few steps as possible. The whole thing must also be optimized for mobile.

Click here for some good examples and here for additional tactics. This is online marketing 101.

Here's how Stanford does it.

Honestly, this is a very simple/cheap change that I'm shocked hasn't been implemented yet.

 

[mdh2003]

This thread and the thread about the NJ upper middle class kids has more common than meets the eye. It's not the school, its New Jersey. Kids at all schools have the same issues kids at Rutgers have in getting into classes and getting shitty dorm rooms etc. Yet most of Rutgers grads stay in NJ, the most affluent state in the country, with the best job market in the country, with the best schools in the country, with the best culture in the country, in the most diverse population in the country etc., etc., etc., and can't squeeze a dime out of their pocket in support of the University that helped them get where they are. While kids in many other states freely give back to their alma maters.

That's a BINGO!

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

Few RU alums give precisely because (i) a high percentage are first generation college kids from middle class or lower economic rung families without the means or tradition of charitable giving, (ii) the RU Screw - so many alums have bad memories relating to administrative matters, poor facilities, etc, (iii) few sports or other highlights during the school years that promote pride and, thus, giving. PSU (among others) is different. The most significant difference being that it gets a far higher percentage of affluent students than RU does (among other things, there is a very small population within commuting distance of PSU, so at a minimum there are fewer commuters (most of which are non-affluent) as a percentage of the student body) which, in turn, leads to bigger donations and thus helps prevent the problems referenced in (ii) and (iii), above.

 

[Blueblood4eva]

Blame anything and everything but still, only 8% give. It only takes $25.00 to get on the list of those who do. Ninety two percent of those who spent 4 or more years here, feel nothing positive nor appreciate their time spent in college. They refuse to cough up twenty five bucks a year. Indefensible. I would be willing to bet that more than 8% of Jersey alumni of other schools send money to their alma maters.

 

[Scarlet Pride]

There is something wrong with that number.
The number of seats at HPSS that require a seat gift is greater than 8% of our living alumni.

How many season ticket holders do we have? Let's say we've sold 30,000 tickets for this year (we have probably sold less). Now let's say the average ticket holder has 4 tickets. That's only 7,500 season ticket accounts. I think it would be generous to say that alumni account for 80% of those tickets. If all these numbers were true (they are only guesses on my part) that would make 6,000 donors related to football tickets. I suspect that actual number is lower.

Rutgers has 460,000 alumni. 8% is 36,800 alumni.

 

[NJBorn]

I used to give money every year, usually $200-$300 (not a fortune I know). Then, when my son applied to the school they made it so adamant that he will not get special privilege even though both his parents graduated from there. On the tour someone from the school told him to his face that he would not get any treatment and on the online application big alerts would flash on the screen saying he would not get treated differently but wanted his parents information for alumni fundraising only. I did not expect him to get special treatment and would not have respected the school if he had, but it was a slap in the face the way they handled it. There were other schools that we had family connections to - they said the same thing but not nearly as "in-your-face" and disrespectful about it. Really turned me off. Just my 2 cents.

That would annoy me. Yale/Harvard they all give preferential treatment, but RU wont? Screw them. I wouldnt give them a dime again if they said that.

 

[CuredbywinningRU]

Blame anything and everything but still, only 8% give. It only takes $25.00 to get on the list of those who do. Ninety two percent of those who spent 4 or more years here, feel nothing positive nor appreciate their time spent in college. They refuse to cough up twenty five bucks a year. Indefensible.

Fair point, Blue, but to me the % of alums who give is less important than the number and amount of major gifts. The % stat is useful as a reflection of the demographics of alums (first generation college kids) and of their views of their RU experience (apparently negative) , but even if 30% gave and most of the gifts were small it would be immaterial to RU's ability to do what it needs to do to upgrade facilities, etc. to attract the top students and increased 5 of affluent kids it needs to make a leap to the next level. It's kind of a viscious cycle or Catch-22 here.

 

[lyndj]

I have to wonder about the back story. Not being able to get into required classes is an issue at many large state schools. However, a lot of circumstances could have led to the problem - did the student sign up for classes at the earliest possible time (at my son's school students are given a date that they can start signing up for classes based on seniority and he always does it at the stroke of midnight on that day), has the student maintained a relationship with an advisor who might be able to override the system to help him/her get the needed class, did the student change majors late in his career that put an unusually large requirement for classes in his major in a short period of time.

In this case, needing a parent to come in and speak with a Dean sounds like the student did not advocate for himself. In fact, I am surprised a dean would even meet with the parent as there are privacy concerns. I guess when this student gets out in the real world they will expect their parent to come to a job interview.

Also, just to address your last sentence, he is a great kid who has already worked during the summers in the real world so there's no need for the snide remarks.

 

[Blueblood4eva]

Fair point, Blue, but to me the % of alums who give is less important than the number and amount of major gifts. The % stat is useful as a reflection of the demographics of alums (first generation college kids) and of their views of their RU experience (apparently negative) , but even if 30% gave and most of the gifts were small it would be immaterial to RU's ability to do what it needs to do to upgrade facilities, etc. to attract the top students and increased 5 of affluent kids it needs to make a leap to the next level. It's kind of a viscious cycle or Catch-22 here.

Agreed. There are more than a few very rich and successful RU alums. Do they not donate to any charity or organization or just shun RU? Generally these folks didn't get rich by flushing their money down a drain or spending it where they had no confidence it would actually do some good. Is that what they think about RU? I suspect that might have something to do with it. Something is amiss.

 

[lyndj]

If I had mom & dad giving a full ride, I'd squeeze a 5th year out of them too & blame the RU Screw.

Sounds like they've already got their childhood bedroom ready for them when they finish their 5 year party.

His parents are definitely giving him a full ride but he's not intentionally trying to take a 5th year. And being closed out of a class is not uncommon at many schools. It would be unfair to misquote this parent but her son is a physical therapy major and there seemed to be some sort of change in their program recently, but I really don't recall exactly how it affected the son's schedule but it did. Perhaps someone on this board knows more about that than I do.

 

[derleider]

That would annoy me. Yale/Harvard they all give preferential treatment, but RU wont? Screw them. I wouldnt give them a dime again if they said that.

Hmmm. Let me think. Is there some substnative differernce that binds Yale and Harvard and separates them from RU?

I cant think of one. They are exactly the same.

But hey, if my kid couldnt get in on his own merits, I would probably be pissed too and blame the school rather than my own parenting or my kid.

As for the kid above - when they cut funding alot of kids end up getting screwed. A class gets cancelled that they need for their major. Or its held less frequently. And in alot of majors if you fail one class in the major early on, it sets you back a year, because everything is in sequence, and they only have it in spring or fall.

 

[lyndj]

Really? A parent had to handle this for her college-age son? Once I went off to college my parents told me I was now an adult and would have expected me to handle something like this on my own. Her son may be in for a real rude awakening when he enters the "real world" after college. Is she going to go on job interviews with him, too?

Another "real world" reply. Again, from my understanding the son did actually discuss the situation with his advisor and only informed his parents when there was no resolution. So to your comment, if it were my kid and he felt there was no resolution and I'M footing the bill, I'm stepping into the situation. Did you expect the kid to just accept what he was being told and move along? Not sure why you feel his situation has anything to do with the "real world". At the end of the day, the parent stepping in caused the Admins to pay attention and they are trying to resolve it.

Stop pretending that RU doesn't have tens of thousands of students and things don't fall through the cracks because they do. It may not be you or your kids, but it happens all of the time. All advisors are not equal, there exists a few crappy ones everywhere.

 

[JPhoboken]

Al, this has been a pet peeve of yours for a long time, and when you are not making silly fan statements(just teasing), I think you are a smart guy. You should contact Julie and see if there is a way you can help, I bet you could be good at this.

 

[Beancounter88]

Hmmm. Let me think. Is there some substnative differernce that binds Yale and Harvard and separates them from RU?

I cant think of one. They are exactly the same.

But hey, if my kid couldnt get in on his own merits, I would probably be pissed too and blame the school rather than my own parenting or my kid.

As for the kid above - when they cut funding alot of kids end up getting screwed. A class gets cancelled that they need for their major. Or its held less frequently. And in alot of majors if you fail one class in the major early on, it sets you back a year, because everything is in sequence, and they only have it in spring or fall.

You miss the point here Der. My son did get in to the school without a problem. But, he's not the one writing alumni checks - I am. They treated him in the process as if there was no personal connection for me as the alum. It's like Rutgers was a community college that I attended and now they want donations.

 

[lyndj]

Hmmm. Let me think. Is there some substnative differernce that binds Yale and Harvard and separates them from RU?

I cant think of one. They are exactly the same.

But hey, if my kid couldnt get in on his own merits, I would probably be pissed too and blame the school rather than my own parenting or my kid.

As for the kid above - when they cut funding alot of kids end up getting screwed. A class gets cancelled that they need for their major. Or its held less frequently. And in alot of majors if you fail one class in the major early on, it sets you back a year, because everything is in sequence, and they only have it in spring or fall.

Thank you for the explanation. Perhaps this is the case.

 

[Scarlet16E]

How many season ticket holders do we have? Let's say we've sold 30,000 tickets for this year (we have probably sold less). Now let's say the average ticket holder has 4 tickets. That's only 7,500 season ticket accounts. I think it would be generous to say that alumni account for 80% of those tickets. If all these numbers were true (they are only guesses on my part) that would make 6,000 donors related to football tickets. I suspect that actual number is lower.

Rutgers has 460,000 alumni. 8% is 36,800 alumni.

Fair enough, except I think the average season ticket holder has maybe 2 tickets. I know a lot who have just one.

 

[ScarletDave]

The Jersey attitude. Me me me oh look there's someone with a different opinion than mine, let me attack them and tell everyone mine. Self-loathing too, "Jersey Pride" in someone is either extremely there or not there at all.

 

[ClassOf02]

Another "real world" reply. Again, from my understanding the son did actually discuss the situation with his advisor and only informed his parents when there was no resolution. So to your comment, if it were my kid and he felt there was no resolution and I'M footing the bill, I'm stepping into the situation. Did you expect the kid to just accept what he was being told and move along? Not sure why you feel his situation has anything to do with the "real world". At the end of the day, the parent stepping in caused the Admins to pay attention and they are trying to resolve it.

Stop pretending that RU doesn't have tens of thousands of students and things don't fall through the cracks because they do. It may not be you or your kids, but it happens all of the time. All advisors are not equal, there exists a few crappy ones everywhere.

You're certainly correct that there could be administrative errors at play here. My issue is with helicopter parents who are quick to blame anyone except their child. The story doesn't add up until we know the back story about why this all occurred in the first place. Knowing the way college kids are and the lack of background details, I find it difficult to believe the student didn't have some fault here.

Per your first post in this thread, the parents will never give a dime to RU because of this atrocity against their son. IF their son contributed in some way to not fulfilling his requirements adequately in 4 years AND the parents still refuse to donate based on this so-called atrocity, then yes, the parents are ridiculous.

If it was a complete and utter RU f-up, then they have a fair point.

But as you explain later, RU admins are stepping in to resolve it. Hopefully resolving it in a way everyone is happy. But yet, you state these parents will never give a dime to RU beyond the required tuition.

Doesn't pass the smell test for me.