Are you an alumnus/alumna of a university? If so, do you ever give anything to your alma mater in the form of donations?

Being an alumnus/a is a big deal in North America, and many universities pride themselves on the attachment that they engender in their former students. This doesn’t seem to be something many UK universities do (at least very well), and yet it can be hugely important to a university’s budget. I am wondering why.

At the same time, what about a college? If you went to a small state-funded college where you were well-known and well-treated, is that a place you could see giving to, especially if you knew it was underfunded, and in need of support? Why? Why not?

I made a donation a few years ago to the Sheffield Uni alumni wotsit, in the spirit of having enjoyed my time there and wanting others to be able to do the same.

No. Why would I? Hillpark secondary and Stirling uni?

I cheered for Anthony Crolla at the weekend, if that counts.

He’s probably our most famous old boy, unless you count Simon Solvent.
Simon had a very successful business sourcing and supplying pre loved Porsche spares in 3rd and 4th year, before they cracked down on car park security at Ringway.

Mine has few wealthy alumni such as James Dyson and Ridley Scott. I suspect they’d tap up those first. In fact I know James gives a few quid. There’s also a art gallery full of former students works that could be raided if the coffers ran dry. David Hockney, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore.

I made a donation a few years ago and that is all))

I’ve left both of them a small something in my will. Historically the one thing Scotland had going for it was an excellent education system. I think it’s important. It would be nice for universities especially to have some degree of independence and security and to be able to attract good talent. My contribution will be tiny though.

As far as I am able to determine, my time at University was mostly funded by the Malaysian Government.

In our year group there were slightly more than 100 people of which about 40 were Malaysian kids, sent over on a “government funded programme” to learn to become Quantity Surveyors to plug a skills gap in the Malaysian construction industry.

Despite the fact that only maybe four or five of them could hold even a halting conversation in English, they all sailed through the four year course with flying colours and a drop out rate of zero.

All of their coursework was marked separately from everyone elses and handed back at different times.

They all then trotted back to Malaysia with exactly the same degree as mine.

We were told by some of the lecturers at the time that the university received approximatley four times the level of funding for these students than they did for UK students.

The principal of the University was later sacked for various financial irregularities.

If I felt the need to make some sort of financial recompense for the education I received it would be to the taxpayers of Kuala Lumpur.

No – they had enough of my money through fees when I was there (and I wasn’t even on the new regime). I’m sure it’ll only get harder for unis to raise money from alumni on this basis too.

Both my unis seem rather proactive at attempting to secure funds. But I think these are more to provide funds that can support or aid students than fund the activities of the uni.
Both also are rather proactive at organising both alumnus and joint student-alumnus events.

£15 a month to the hardship fund.

Being an alumnus/a is a big deal in North America, and many universities pride themselves on the attachment that they engender in their former students. This doesn’t seem to be something many UK universities do (at least very well), and yet it can be hugely important to a university’s budget. I am wondering why.

I am an alumnus of a UK university and also a US university. When I was a student at the UK university I was given the strong impression that they didn’t give a stuff about me, and, for example, spent a fortune on doing up the Principal’s residence while undergrad accommodation was inadequate.

The US university was the complete opposite – very student focused and proactive in including students of all levels.

Both now send me frequent begging letters. Guess which one I donate to.

I’m sending my son in September, they dont need to thank me!

If I had a bit more disposable income I’d probably give a little to the University hardship fund.

If I won the Euromillions I’d give them enough to name a lab or library after me.

As for School – no chance, I went to a fairly S**t comprehensive in South London which didn’t do me many favours – there is no way I’d give them a bean, especially as they are now part of a multi-site academy with an overpaid executive head.

no. they were a complete shower, and I’d happily see them go to the wall. Which they may well do, given their current place in the uni rankings.

as an aside, I work for a mid-ranking university now. Our alumni don’t donate a lot, and I’d imagine it’s going to get a lot harder; I think the perception is that people have already ‘given’ us £9000 a year and graduated with a debt that will last them 25 years or more – I think the perception of alumni donations will change somewhat over the next few years

<edit – see also finbar’s post>

tbh I did make use of one of the hardship funds – one that was set up when students became no longer eligible for housing benefit or something like that. or might have been when students had to pay full poll tax from their grant, but student nurses were granted an 80% discount to be paid from their slightly larger, but still measly salary. never did make a subsequent donation. maybe I should, but not if they beg.

one school was CofE, so sod them. one school closed/merged. one school went from A-level results topping those of the local grammar to being put in to remedial status. spose they need support rather than being shunned.

Yes. I stopped giving to Bristol as it got far too lefty, I continued to support the Uni rugby club directly. I contribute from time to time (rarely in all honesty) to my Oxford college.

@doris yes indeed re donations. However UK Uni is cheap vs US equivalents and they are very well supported by donations although there they are tax deductable which makes a massive difference.

Being an alumnus/a is a big deal in North America, and many universities pride themselves on the attachment that they engender in their former students.

Aren’t there significant US income tax breaks for charitable giving?

I get begging letters from school and first university; as FPs no longer resident in Glasgow are so important to the school that the 20y reunion was on a Friday lunchtime, they can get stuffed, and so can university no. 1 as my professional degree is from uni no. 2

I support the schools / uni thru taxation anyway

No, they used to ring up every year until I told them to stop. I graduated in 2011 into the biggest recession for generations and in 2012 they wanted me to donate a three figure sum. I told them they were being insensitive.

I also paid them fees, on top of paying for field trips etc. I’ve already paid for the services I received (and wouldn’t have said I got excellent value for money either).

We were told by some of the lecturers at the time that the university received approximatley four times the level of funding for these students than they did for UK students.

Was this for all foreign students or did the Malaysians pay more than anyone else?

Malaysians only as far as I was aware but it wouldn’t have surprised me in the slightest if the Uni was also participating in other scams “government funded exchange programmes”

Since I left university, I haven’t followed the stratospheric career trajectory of my peers. Every now and then I get some college correspondence, suggesting I make a donation. The smallest recommended donation is £50…
…. I was thinking a fiver in a card would suffice!

Was this for all foreign students or did the Malaysians pay more than anyone else?

I was under the impression that fees for non-EU overseas students were always substantially more

Uni, I’m on their mailing list but that’s about it. They knocked down the computer science campus, including the nice little uni bar, and turned it into flats, so there’s nothing to relate to there any more.

Slightly different case with school as friends/family are fairly connected with the place and staff. Still don’t donate anything though 😀

Can’t see this happening much, if at all amongst the current generation of uni leavers, including myself.

I’m going to be roughly £40k in debt for a 3 year course, and that’s before they removed all maintenance grants and turned them into loans. That figure will be more like £50k for someone starting a 3 year course without well off parents.

On an aside, my Uni charges foreign students around £17k a year in tuition fee’s fwiw, with a lot of those students on foreign exhange programs sponsored by their government. Saudi especially has sent a lot of students over, with probably 20% of my coursemates from there (mechanical engineering).

We too had a load of Government sponsored Malaysians that didn’t seem to understand a word that was said to them. They turned up at the start of the second year despite the course being fully subscribed (Mechanical Engineering, Huddersfield Poly) and struggled to comprehend what was going on. It became a bit of a joke amongst the rest of us and there would have been a riot had there been any obvious preferential treatment. When the exam results were posted I don’t think that any of them got a pass mark. I don’t know what happened to them and they didn’t return for the final year. Hopefully they are not designing aircraft.

Nice fellas though, with a terrifying array of sticky out teeth if memory serves me correctly. It must have been quite a shock spending the winter in a late 80s Huddersfield student shithole housing. The poor sods were wrapped up like the Michelin Man for months on end and used to sit together in a big miserable looking lump in the corner of the Union bar, presumably trying to keep warm. I have fond memories of watching them have their first ever snowball fight.

Back to the OP. I haven’t given them a penny since leaving but they haven’t asked for any either.

I still owe them money so that’s a no from me.

Are you an alumnus/alumna of a university? If so, do you ever give anything to your alma mater in the form of donations?

No, I hated my time at Uni and was very glad to be rid of it when I graduated.

Nope, they send me begging letters that I ignore. Especially as my department has gone from being an engineering faculty that turns out engineering graduates who are practically solid and pretty much industry ready, to an engineering faculty that turns out maths graduates who are only any good at applying for reasearch grant funding. 😐

I’d be inclined to – loved the academic side of university. I owe my career to the inspirational teaching of one particular professor at my college, plus a research project in an exceptional group put me on the path to becoming a scientist.

How-ever, my college was exposed in a newspaper sting selling a place to the son of a fake-sheik [about 20 years ago], which I found unforgivable – the guy involved being relieved of their duties.
I went back quite recently for the retirement event of another academic at the college, and at dinner the same guy was there. Evidently they feel he did nothing wrong.

My school’s current full fees are £11k/term. Though I was supported by a trust that allowed me to go for free, I have never considered contributing. I probably ought to now I earn a reasonable sum (though insufficient to educate my daughter there…!).

Now and again I consider that I ought to stump up some cash for my college, though Durham’s current attitude to its and Britain’s twentieth century architectural history doesn’t exactly urge me to put my hand in my pocket.

To be honest, given the amount of free work I’ve provided to Dr North’s employer (also a university) over the past decade or so, I think my dues are sufficiently paid to the higher education sector.

I am. Got a call last year from the school alumni office asking for a monthly donation to assist with offering bursaries. As I used a bursary when I was at school I offered to help; it just seems fair.

For my uni? No.

My education ended at the local Scummy Comp (it was actually quiet nice I suppose) they’ve never asked – they bulldozed the lot a few years back and built a new one at the other end of the car park, partly funded by selling off another site for a massive pile of cash, so I think they’re all right.

My wife donates a modest amount to a trust which really helped her during her Nursing degree before we met. Lovely little trust set up not long ago by someone who left a pile of money in her will to help student nurses during their studies in recognition of the care she had at the end of her life.

Most of the In-laws it seems when to Cambridge – they donate lump sums now and again, usually 12 months or so before their kids apply to study there – I’m sure the two things are unrelated, but they have a 100% success rate with applications.

Yes. But I work there so it’d be a bit rude not to! (well, I work there when I’m not posting on STW)

Alumni funds vary a lot, we keep the philanthropy and corporate side very separate so there’s no danger of my donation funding another ivory backscratcher for some overstuffed Dean of Self-Important ****-All. There’s some vanity projects but that’s for the massive donors, that’s a pretty different deal

The campaign I donate to goes 100% to widening access bursaries (care levers, carers, ex-services, kids from low-progression schools, and other people from our outreach programmes) and ironically i help run some of those programmes and also help place some of the funds back out to students so, I know what a big deal that is.

If I didn’t know all this, I might donate elsewhere, and this is just one uni so I wouldn’t necessarily let that influence anyone else! Some instututions I’d be very wary of where the money goes.

Yes. I donate to the Leeds Uni Footsteps fund. I don’t think anyone should miss out on higher education if they want it but haven’t got the financial means.

Wouldn’t give my old secondary school money. They were very good, and I’ve given them my time in the past for careers presentations, but money is a different thing.

I went to Durham, so loads of me fellow alumni are raking in the cash as corporate stooges* while I’m only educating future students of the university.

I don’t contribute financially to my former sixth form college, but I do work there. I don’t contribute to my former secondary school, but I do send my eldest daughter there.

* 😉 @ourmaninthenorth

* @ourmaninthenorth

*Tells butler to make servants burn £50 notes in front of miketually*

I’m not in touch with either (or they’re not in touch with me).
I think the Grammar School is now a housing estate anyway and uni have more money than me.

I went to about 7 infant & primary schools & 2 secondary schools, so i’m not giving any money to that lot.

My higher education was all done as an adult and all paid for by me or my employer so I think I’ve paid my dues.