"We already have a platform for our alumni and students."

Innovating and challenging the status quo is hard. We get it. This is the first post in our series "The alumni engagement future can wait."

By MAX LEISTEN

Of course you do: most institutions already offer digital communities for their constituents, providing events, alumni directories, groups, mentoring, volunteer opportunities, donations, and more.

So I often start my conversations with institutional leaders by asking a simple question:

“When was the last time you logged into your alma mater’s networking platform to connect with fellow alumni and students?”

The response is usually a shrug, a nervous laugh, or even, “I’ve never logged in.” And who could blame them? Just like most alumni, they’re preoccupied with careers, family, hobbies, and other priorities.

In our hyper-connected world, it seemed logical to add “one more app.” In the early 2010s, riding LinkedIn and Facebook’s success, institutions launched alumni platforms to create private, digital spaces for alumni and students to connect.

Now, though, the market is crowded: G2 lists 42 networking platforms and 82 mentoring software options, each promising similar capabilities.

The Reality of App Fatigue in Alumni Engagement

Digital platforms have peaked and engagement has plateaued: Our data suggests that over 3+ years fewer than 5% of alumni sign up, and less than 1% return regularly. For students, who are crucial to engagement, it is often lower.

There’s no “missing feature” that can meaningfully change the outcome: the average professional already uses 35 different apps in their day, and adding another one is more of a burden than a benefit. According to Tech Jury, smartphone users have 60-90 apps on their phones, using fewer than half each month. Gartner reports that nearly 70% of people feel overloaded by app engagement demands, and alumni feel it too. Introducing another app risks low adoption and high drop-off rates simply because it’s “one more thing.”

Alumni are busy (that’s why they got a degree) and using yet another platform feels exhausting. See above response from busy institutional leaders …

Meeting Alumni Where They Are

Alumni networks don’t need another app—they need connections that are as easy as possible so that everyone can participate. Protopia is leading this charge by eliminating the need for new apps, accounts, and passwords. Integrating with familiar tools like email and texting, Protopia ensures that even the busiest alumni can engage meaningfully without feeling overwhelmed.

This simplified, app-free approach isn’t just beneficial; it’s essential for successful and inclusive networking. Meeting alumni and students where they already are removes barriers and unlocks sustainable engagement at scale.

Already got an app? We can help you transition to “the future of alumni engagement” (that’s what CASE judges called Protopia when recognizing LSE and Northwestern with awards for their use of our app-less AIt technology).

Our alumni, our students, and our team are app’d out. We chose Protopia because we need a simple and scalable tool to let our alumni give back without throwing another platform at them.

Nancy Merritt
Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations
University of Pittsburgh Alumni Association

Ready to make it simple for everyone?

Let’s find a time for Max & team to show you just how smart, simple, and scalable it can truly be for alumni and students to connect to one another for advice and support. We promise you’ll be inspired by how artificial intelligence can be a force for good.

Protopia’s artificial intelligence technology makes it truly simple for everyone in your community to connect for advice and support. Without another app to sign up for or learn.

Delivering Alumni As A Service across the entire learner’s journey.

Welcome to the Future.

What’s Protopia?

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