The Alumni Connections co-design model: designing alumni surveys with school communities rather than for them¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 design), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The guide's organizing framework is a co-design model in which cross-functional teams including students, families, teachers, and alumni jointly create alumni surveys. It shifts the dynamic from designing for community to designing with community, on the premise that community members collectively hold the deepest knowledge about students, context, and needs. Shared ownership is said to uncover insights single designers might overlook and to build collective accountability, turning surveying into an empowering experience that elevates student voice.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Establish cross-functional design teams that actively include students, families, teachers, and alumni
• Identify one or two Alumni Survey Design Facilitators with community connections, bandwidth, and familiarity with co-design processes

Constraints¶

• A larger team requires more coordination than an individual designer

Target Learners¶

• K-12 district and high school communities designing alumni surveys

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Gathering alumni feedback on postsecondary preparedness and program impact to improve educational programming and equity

Claims¶

• Co Designed Alumni Surveys Hunches To Evidence [+W]

Related Theories¶

Examples¶

• Core Alumni Survey Starter Pack: three item clusters balancing quantitative baseline metrics with qualitative depth
• Select survey audiences around three postsecondary milestones: recent graduates, the 2-3 year sweet-spot cohort, and long-term alumni
• Sustain alumni feedback loops through strategic planning integration, cross-functional interpretation teams, transparent value-exchanges, and phased data collection
• Form design teams by building trust and relationships and prioritizing meaningful representation before project kick-off.
• Anticipate barriers to data use by building in strategies for future data use from initial conversations, and trust the process by going at the community's pace.
• In co-design meetings, position community members as experts and create space for challenging ideas, including adapting survey questions to community feedback.
• Alumni Survey Roadmap

Key Sources¶

• Daal, S., Leones, T., & Iwatani, E. (2026, August). Equity-focused high school alumni connections: A design guide for alumni surveys. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/313