RE Alumni Management

Kristina Hout
Kristina Hout
Fifth Anniversary Facilitator 1
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussions
Hello, I am comfortable with RE7 and am learning RE NXT, and just joined an organization that subscribes to, but does not use the optional RE:Alum Module. I haven't found much training on this feature and am ultimately wondering what it does and if we need it. In my findings so far, any tasks this module assists with can be done through Constituent Codes and/or Attributes. Could anyone point me in the direction of RE:Alum Module training resources; or provide some feedback on what your organization does with it? Especially tasks that cannot be easily performed by Constituent Codes and/or Attributes?

Comments

  • Christine Cooke
    Christine Cooke
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant
    Alumni module is there for educational organizations, i.e. schools - k-8, middle school, high school, college, whatever the level.  


    It is meant for keeping track of a person's educational history with your institution and others they may have attended.  


    Are you realizing the Alum module is there because of NXT?  or you noticed in database view?  NXT is being built out as an all inclusive instead of requiring orgs to purchase modules separately as needed. 


    Does that give you some clarity?
  • Kristina Hout
    Kristina Hout
    Fifth Anniversary Facilitator 1
    Hi Christine Cooke bCREPro‍ , thanks for your response.

    I am new to my organization and the Alumni Module in general. I am comfortable with RE7 from my past occupation, but am new to RE NXT and the Alumni Module. My boss is in the same boat. He is new-ish to our organization, is comfortable with RE7, but is new to RE NXT and the Alumni Module. He is under the understanding that we pay extra to have the Alumni Module (which is why I am tasked with learning the module and whether it is worth subscribing to). Are you stating that it is in fact included with RE NXT?

    I have read the quick description you have included, as well as taken a brief webinar provided by Blackbaud. But I still have been unable to determine specifically what the Alumni Module does that sets it apart from using queries, Attributes, and Constituent Codes. Thanks for your help.
  • Christine Cooke
    Christine Cooke
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant
    I would doublechecck your contract for NXT to see if it is an add-on.  But as I've heard NXT explained in webinars, the extra modules that you pay for separately in the old view are all included in NXT.


    Alumni module is used to manage the students who attend your school, when the org you work at is a school.  Because, when you are an educational institution it is incredibly necessary to keep track of who attended, for how long, when they started when they left, did they graduate, what year they graduated, if it is a college then you want to what majors and what degrees earned in which majors, schools also keep track of what clubs, athletic teams and other extra projects like choir or band or drama that students participated in and which years during their tenure those took place.  And some also keep track of the scholarships and/or awards given during their tenure at school also.  Now do. you understand function?  


    If you are a hospital, hospice, foundation, save the trees or birds, or other non-school org. I doubt you will find a use for the Alumni or education area unless you want to re-purpose it for some other information your org feels it is signficant to keep and cannot find a proper place for it to go out of the gazillions of fields that RE offers.


     
  • JoAnn Strommen
    JoAnn Strommen Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 January 2026 Monthly Challenge 2025 bbcon Attendee Badge
    Just FYI - We are a university and have NXT but do not have the Alumni module.  Wasn't included for us.

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