Northwestern University Alumni

The Alumni Community Census is an important initiative to help the Northwestern Alumni Association (NAA) obtain a more complete picture of our alumni base. Since 2021, 16 percent or more than 41,000 alumni have participated in the census. We are asking degree-holding alumni to complete a five-minute, online form to update their contact and demographic details for our database. Questions are similar to what today’s students are asked on the common application and in University student surveys. With your participation, we can better understand how our graduates identify and provide more meaningful programming that represents the interests of all alumni.

The 2024 Alumni Community Census will be rolled out to the alumni community on April 15 and will conclude May 24, 2024.

The data-collection deadline allows for discreet data reporting time periods. However, alumni profile updates are welcome all year round. We will continue to create opportunities to collect profile updates beyond the May 24, 2024 deadline.

Yes. Due to sweepstakes legalities, we are offering incentives in the United States only. During the survey period, April 15–May 24. 2024, alumni in the US have the chance to win one of four Visa® or Amazon gift cards when they complete the Alumni Community Census. Prizes include one $500 gift card, one $250 gift card, and two $100 gift cards. Winners will be notified via email by July 31, 2024.

The NAA is committed to building a welcoming environment in all that we do. We need a better understanding of how our alumni identify to develop more meaningful alumni programming, communications, and engagement opportunities–as well as identify and recruit volunteers who truly represent the alumni population. Your participation is vital to help us reach our goal.

Due to varying student data collection practices and trends over past decades, gaps exist in key areas of our alumni demographic data. Several standard questions asked of today’s higher education students were not asked in the past. Completing the Alumni Community Census will help us better understand and reflect our graduates and provide meaningful programming that represents the interests of our entire alumni community.

We encourage alumni to fill out the Alumni Community Census whenever key demographic, personal, or contact information changes. Once an alum has filled out the census, we plan to send a follow-up request every five years.

Many of the demographic data gaps we hope to fill are similar to what today’s Northwestern students are asked on the common application and in University student surveys. We would like to augment several categories, including race/ethnicity, accessibility needs, low-income college student status and first-generation college student status. The census also seeks information about gender identity, sexual orientation, personal pronouns, military service and preferred language. In 2024, we are capturing information about number and age of children to help with the development of family programming. Gathering this information will help us gain a more authentic overview of our alumni community.

We are working to gain a more accurate and complete understanding of who comprises our alumni community. This information will contribute to more meaningful alumni programming, communications, and engagement opportunities, as well as provide the ability to identify and recruit volunteers who truly represent the alumni population. This is an important step in becoming a more welcoming organization.

Each individual has the ability to control their contact preferences to inform if, how, and why they are contacted by Northwestern Alumni Relations and Development. Individuals also can make their contact information visible to other Northwestern alumni in the alumni directory, our.northwestern.edu. Alumni can control their personal phone, email, and address preferences in their online profile, as well as specify the types of communications they want to receive by logging into our.northwestern.edu.

The demographic information requested through the census is not populated in the our.northwestern.edu platform, so although the data resides in our database, it is not available for public access.

You may review Alumni Relations and Development’s Privacy Policy here.  

All demographic questions are voluntary and have a “prefer not to answer” option that participants can select when completing the census. Only name and email address are required fields.

The University takes your data privacy seriously. Privacy settings are controlled by you. Our public-facing alumni profile, our.northwestern.edu, gives alumni the opportunity to stay connected to other alumni. Personal profiles can show name, city and state, graduation year, degree information, student and alumni activities, and most recent employment information we have on file. All other information, such as street address and phone number, is controlled via personal privacy settings. In addition, the demographic information requested in the census is not populated in this platform, so although the data resides in our database, it is not available for public access.

You can review ARD’s privacy policy here.