Comparative Study On The Alumni Associations Of Chinese And American Universities

With the development of higher education and the expansion of university's autonomy ,as a unique valuable resource to university, more and more universities values alumni affairs very highly. As a specialized organization to administer the alumni affairs , the alumni association was also given increasingly attention . Taking the Chinese university H and American university ISU as examples, using comparative study method, document research and deep interview, this thesis studied three dimensions of the alumni associations of Chinese and American's universities : history, organizational structure and work.With regard to the history of alumni associations, American universities have a much earlier beginning than Chinese universities. In addition, the former went more smoothly and have been being received more support and emphases than its counterparts of Chinese universities.In respect of organizational structure, the alumni associations of American universities were more sophisticated and have more clearly defined functions and responsibilities. On the contrary, the alumni associations of Chinese universities have more hierarchical structures with less definite functions and divisions of work.As for the job content of alumni associations, American universities have a broader coverage and more enriched content, which embody the philosophy of serving universities and alumni . Compared with American universities, the alumni associations of Chinese universities are still on the initial stage with an emphasis on serving universities, they have not established a sense of serving alumni.As alumni association are playing an increasingly important role in university's development, the alumni association of universities in Chinese should borrow from the American university's experience , perfect the association structure, enrich the work contents , increase the number of professional staffs, and improve service to alumni , and explore the potentiality of alumni resources.