<p>I don’t think alumni giving per current undergrad student is any more a useful number than any other more standard measure. These gifts can go to so many places, including graduate schools or professional programs, the endowment, specific departments, specific current building projects undergoing fund raising, etc.</p>
<p>Alumni participation in giving back to the institution is at least some indication of the strength of the alumni network, connectedness of people once they leave the institution, and perhaps, satisfaction. Anything involving the dollar amounts is probably more reflective of current needs and perhaps wealth production of students once they leave as opposed to something more meaningful to someone searching for their choice for their undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>That being said, I find it interesting that there are really only a few schools that make major moves on this list-- many of the top percentage schools also fall somewhere in the top giving. The top 20-25, with the exception of 2-3 outliers all exceed the remainder of the list except for 2-3 outliers when it comes to percentage</p>
<p>I wonder, hawkette, how are the numbers for alumni gifts being obtained? Are they general gifts to the university and just all of those gifts are counted? Are they gifts specifically demarcated for the undergraduate programs? If it’s for the university at large that we’re getting these numbers, I hope you’re adding graduate schools into your per capita assessment-- they are students on campuses too and sometimes benefit even more from monetary donations than undergraduates ever could, depending on the needs of the institution and nature of current spending priorities.</p>