Ideas for Joomla! University Alumni System

[euripyd]

Ohhh.. i see, nice done!
I am thinking to set up alumni for our university.
My wish is:
1. Possibility for a member registration
2. Members can have their own space, with a picture etc.
3. Possibility to search other members (search type: year, subject, name, ...)
4. Members can add contacts, send them messages
5. Subscriptions to news
[6. News, Links (probably as a part of Joomla core)]
7. "Tell a friend" via e-mail
8. Groups (of members)
9. Integrated forum

Is it possible with that tool? what do I need? I have "some" knowladge about Joomla!...
Best

[AmyStephen]

Ohhh.. i see, nice done!
I am thinking to set up alumni for our university.
My wish is:
1. Possibility for a member registration
2. Members can have their own space, with a picture etc.
3. Possibility to search other members (search type: year, subject, name, ...)
4. Members can add contacts, send them messages
5. Subscriptions to news
[6. News, Links (probably as a part of Joomla core)]
7. "Tell a friend" via e-mail
8. Groups (of members)
9. Integrated forum

Is it possible with that tool? what do I need? I have "some" knowladge about Joomla!...
Best

Very cool! Euripyd - I am going to ask that a moderator move your post and my response to a new thread, naming your thread "Ideas for Joomla! University Alumni System" and see if others might be interested in talking about this. If the moderators agree, you will get a note letting you know where your post is so that this discussion can continue.

Thanks!
Amy

[euripyd]

Thanks for maintopic.
I know that Joomla can handle most of them. The point is usability, - users will be focused on certain elemnts. So far, full instalation of Joomla offers a lot possibilities, but for me it would be better to make a couple of things working together, without other Joomla stuff (like chat, themes, etc.....)

Let us list the best tools for an alumni project. All included in Joomla + different plug-ins, addons, modules etc etc....

Best

[AmyStephen]

I wonder if it makes sense to build a list of requirements that define functionality from the perspective of the end users (in this case, the institution and alumni). Then, those things can be mapped to extensions or needed extensions to see what we need to provide a good start for an alumni environment.

Here are some "starter" ideas, in case you like that approach.

Institution goals

• Increase donations
• Connection to alumni
• Market research - how well are graduates doing
• Call to arms for events and legislative support

Alumni perks

• free membership
• professional networking
  • job service information
  • recruiting from local businesses
  • post resume
  • looking for position postings
• social networking
  • relocating friends and colleagues
  • inviting people to join from other social networks and via email, etc
• university involvement
  • donations - how and why - signup here
  • sales of university memorabilia
  • discounts for members - events - exercise facilities - ?
  • event notification - sign up for email - add it to your profile - etc.
  • news about institution
  • links to more information - sports - colleges - grants - news - administration
  • continued involvement with/support of Alma Mater

Might be good to also identify Alumni sites that you like to use as models for development.

With these background pieces in place, it would be easier to map out functionality required (ex. newsletters, personal pages, find a friend; link to friends, facebook integration, ecommerce)

What do you think?
Amy

[nniiccoollee]

Ohh now this is good stuff, Amy! I hope you don't mind if I copy (and tweak of course) this outline...

When I start a Joomla conversion project, I always start with the old-skool site map. From there, I break down what is content, and what is a functional requirement. I find that this approach is easy for the stakeholders to follow.

Thanks for the breakdown! :0)

[AmyStephen]

Please do - I release my posts into the wild where I hope they help more than they hurt! 

Will be interested in hearing about your progress with your efforts!
Amy

[Gare]

Hi ya'll -

I began a promising - though aborted for other reasons - project of this type using the components:

Fireboard
http://extensions.joomla.org/component/ ... Itemid,35/

and

Community Builder
http://extensions.joomla.org/component/ ... Itemid,35/

[IAAF]

I am interested in starting an alumni site but want to include:

- historical yearbook images that searchable PDF files
- searchable PDF files of school newspaper issues
- user created albums for uploaded images submitted by members

I also want to be able to receive payment for alumni annual dues and keep track of when subscription ends

What components would best suit these requirements? Any recommendations?

[Opie]

- historical yearbook images that searchable PDF files
- searchable PDF files of school newspaper issues

May I ask why you want to use PDF as the medium?

[IAAF]

I'm planning on scanning entire yearbooks and making each available as one PDF file that is completely searchable and easy to read. I'm sure open to any ideas on how to present these in a better format. I have already completed scanning of old school newspapers (from 1930s thru 1950s) and will be combining a complete class year together in one PDF file. I also want to provide capability for alumni to upload copies of yearbooks and newspapers that I may be missing. I am also including a random image that will display individual senior pictures. I can't get this working though in joomla 1.0. I can see the image file name, but not the image. I also tried to hook into Gallery using joomlib and G2bridge, but ran into same problem as with the joomla random image module.

I'm still learning how to set stuff up ... just not enough hours in the day Any suggestions and or comments would be great ... and I'm still waiting for the community builder subscription service to manage annual alumni dues (which hopefully will link into paypal, etc.) . Any update there?

www.BlairAlumniAssociation.com

[ser0100]

This alumni site idea is great. As the "web guy" for a high school that just opened in Los Angeles, I know how useful this would be to many people.