1. Active membership rate
Formula: (active members over the last 12 months / total alumni) × 100
This is the fundamental indicator. It answers a simple question: how many of your former students have opened their alumni space at least once this year?
Be careful not to confuse administrative membership ("listed in the database") with active membership ("logged in at least once in 12 months"). The first flatters management, the second tells the truth. A good alumni dashboard separates the two.
Orders of magnitude observed: 15 to 25% is the typical range for a school network that is not really animated; 40 to 55% indicates a network that works on its engagement; above 60%, you have a genuine strategic lever.
Improvement levers: periodic reminders to dormant profiles, alumni-exclusive events, Network Radar to add value to every connection, forced annual profile update at dues renewal.
2. Active dues rate
Formula: (dues paid in the current period / eligible alumni) × 100
Second fundamental indicator, and often the most mis-measured. We regularly see associations that confuse "membership" and "dues", or that include dues from 3 years ago in their "current" ratio. Only the current period counts.
On an active alumni network, we typically observe a ratio of active dues to active membership of 30 to 50%. If your alumni base has 5,000 people and 2,000 are active, expect between 600 and 1,000 paying dues. Beyond that, your program monetizes remarkably well.
Levers: automatic renewing dues (Netflix-style), scheduled reminders D-30 / D-7, offer a lifetime membership for engaged alumni, bundle dues with access to premium events.
3. Event attendance rate
Formula: (registered × show-up rate) / event — 12-month average
The number that matters is not how many registered but how many showed up. A gala with 400 registrations and 180 attendees has a 45% attendance rate — a red signal indicating either a date problem, a format problem, or a broken promise (registrants didn't see enough value to actually show up).
Orders of magnitude:
- Free in-person event: 55 to 70% show-up rate among registrants
- Paid event: 80 to 95%
- Free online event: 30 to 50%
- Paid online event: 70 to 85%
Levers: individual QR codes to measure actual attendance (not just registration), D-1 reminder with location, paid ticket even a symbolic one (€5 triples the show-up rate).
4. Average alumni engagement duration
Formula: average, among active alumni, of the number of months since their first login
This indicator measures the loyalty of your network. An alumnus who signs up and stays 1 month then disappears is not worth the same as an alumnus active for 7 years.
This is the indicator that tells you whether your network has depth (members engaged for a long time) or only a façade (spikes of new signups who disengage just as fast). A healthy network has 30 to 40% of its active members engaged for more than 3 years.
Levers: regular communication segmented by seniority, mentorship programs that anchor seniors in the network, public recognition (badges, spotlights) of long-standing alumni.
5. Internal Net Promoter Score (alumni NPS)
Formula: % promoters (9-10) – % detractors (0-6) on the question "would you recommend a classmate get involved in the alumni network?"
Send once a year, ideally at dues renewal time.
Interpretation:
- NPS < 0: serious perception problem. Your network has active detractors.
- NPS 0 to 30: decent but improvement needed.
- NPS 30 to 50: solid network, members who recommend spontaneously.
- NPS > 50: excellence. Rare.
Levers: analyze detractor verbatims (that's where everything plays out — 10 detractors = 50 reasons to improve), reply personally to every promoter to turn them into active ambassadors.
6. Placement survey response rate
Formula: (complete responses / graduates solicited) × 100
For schools delivering an RNCP-listed title (all French engineering schools, top business schools, CGE/CTI-accredited schools), the graduate placement survey is a legal obligation. Its response rate is also a barometer of the health of your alumni network.
A network that cannot get 40% response to a 10-minute placement survey has a structural problem: alumni no longer see the link with their school. Conversely, schools that use a dedicated tool with pre-fill and automated reminders commonly reach 60 to 80%.
Levers: pre-fill the questionnaire from the alumni profile (you divide response time by 5), automated reminders D+7 / D+14 / D+21, transparent communication on data usage ("here's how we use your answers"), dedicated survey module rather than Google Forms.
7. Admin dashboard activity (operational hygiene)
Formula: number of admin logins per week + number of admin actions (profile validation, publication, targeted reminder) per month
This indicator measures the health of the team running the network, not the network itself. If your alumni director only logs into the dashboard once a month, your network dies in silence. Conversely, a team that logs in 3 to 5 times a week, validates profiles, responds to mentorship requests, publishes content, chases dues — that cadence is what creates a living network.
It is often the most underrated signal. Without regular admin activity, none of the other 6 KPIs will progress.
Levers: formalized weekly routines (Monday = validate new profiles, Tuesday = dues reminders, etc.), delegation to an alumnus volunteer "community manager" compensated in kind, tools that automate repetitive tasks so human time focuses on the relationship.
How to track these 7 KPIs with Terrilink
The admin dashboard of Terrilink surfaces the 7 indicators above in real time, with a period filter (7 days / 30 days / 90 days / all), a comparison to the previous period, and automatic alerts when an indicator slips (dues rate dropping, NPS falling, anemic admin activity).
The platform centralizes the self-maintained alumni directory, events with ticketing and QR check-in, automated Stripe dues, pre-filled CGE/CTI placement surveys, structured mentorship, and the Network Radar AI — the concrete levers to act on every KPI measured.
14-day free trial on terrilink.io, or book a personalized demo to see the grid applied to your case.