January 2003

SACS Report
University Advancement

NC State enjoys a rich tradition of academic and athletic excellence.  As a model land grant institution, NC State has achieved national recognition for the quality of its faculty, students, and programs.  University Advancement works hard to support the University's mission.

There are four major components within the Office of University Advancement - Alumni Relations, Development, Public Affairs, and Advancement Services.  While each has its own unique mission statement, there is a commonality that seeks excellence in the fulfillment of its three main purposes.

Purpose:  Fundraising and growth of the endowment

Private support has significantly bolstered the University's capacity to attract the best and brightest students, to retain faculty of the highest caliber, to enhance academic and athletic programs, and to equip the campus with state-of-the-art technology.  Gifts from alumni and friends, and a meaningful asset base headed by a strong endowment, are essential to assure that NC State has the means to compete at the highest levels and to achieve excellence.

Measures that are taken to gauge our successes and our needs are:

·         Benchmarking with peer institutions through annual VSE and CASE/NACUBO data

·         Consultant reports and feasibility studies

Key findings from these measures were:

·         The need to build endowments, particularly scholarships

·         The need to increase gifts from individuals

·         The need to better coordinate and focus the campus wide advancement program

Results of these measures and findings were:

·         The Campaign for NC State Students.  A capital campaign for endowed scholarships and fellowships that only solicited funds from individuals.  Original goal was $40 million and over $120 million was raised.

·         The creation of the NC State Investment Fund, Inc.  A private 501C(3) that invests the pooled endowed funds from the numerous foundations of NC State.

·         The creation of a prospect management system that focuses on solicitation efforts for significant gifts from individuals and tracks the activities of the process.

Purpose:  Instill loyalty and pride in, and advocacy of, NC State among the alumni

University Advancement engages alumni, students, and friends in the life of NC State.  This is achieved by connecting alumni to the university through several conduits:  membership, the alumni network of clubs and county chairs, constituency programming events, and an array of communication tools.

Measures that are taken to gauge our successes and our needs are:

·         Benchmarking with peer institutions through the University of Missouri biannual communications studies and the VSE and CASE annual data reports

·         Surveys conducted through telephones, list-servers, and by mail on an ongoing basis and at strategic times

Key findings from the measures were:

·         The need to reinstate the county alumni network

·         The need for a greater presence by the Alumni Association at home football games

·         The need to increase the number of membership in the Alumni Association

·         The need to expand the circulation of the alumni magazine, NC State

·         The need for the Alumni Association to provide a wider range of services and communications over the internet

Results of these measures and findings are:

·         The Alumni Association will focus heavily on membership recruitment being more aggressive with the membership message at all alumni events and communications.

·         The Alumni Association operates "FanZone" at all the home football games.

·         The Alumni Association is recruiting alumni leaders to energize the program and hold county chairs in 75 of the counties.

·         University Advancement is providing funding to expand the circulation of the alumni magazine.

·         The Alumni Association has already started an on-line alumni directory, a monthly e-mail newsletter, a unique home page, and e-mail forwarding services.  Additional new services will be started soon.

Purpose:  Enhance the perception of and knowledge about NC State

University Advancement provides research-based strategic public relations planning and implementation for NC State.  Developing and carrying out public relations and marketing initiatives that communicate the university goals of partnerships, diversity, and efficiency achieve this.   

Measures that are taken to gauge our successes and our needs are:

·         Surveys and interviews with key university leaders, key target audiences, and individuals who have a strong influence over the decisions made by the university.

·         Positioning studies done by outside organizations

·         Feedback from the Campus-wide PR Advisory Group

Key findings from these measures were:

·         The need to refine, refocus, and significantly improve awareness of the university's strengths in the minds of key publics including alumni, business and thought leaders, students and prospective students and their parents, faculty, alumni, university supporters, and the general public.

·         The need to claim our position in higher education more boldly and instill a greater sese of pride in the university's reach.

·         The need to develop and implement a marketing plan and to achieve campus buy-in to the plan.

·         The need to utilize the Chancellor's positive image to enhance our relationships with business leaders, media outlets, and the general public.

·         The need to improve working relationships with chambers of commerce and other community groups.

Results of these measures and findings are:

·         The increase in media relations efforts both instate and nationally using traditional and emerging technologies.

·         The development and planned implementation of the "Chancellor's Listening Tour" to be conducted this year within at least 5 communities bringing interactions with at least 500 community leaders.

·         The development and implementation of the university-wide marketing and branding campaign that focuses on the "Achieve" theme.