ALUMNI CELL:
The Alumni Association/Alumni Cell maintains a strong connection between the institution and its former students. It engages alumni in mentoring, career guidance, placements, and institutional development activities. The cell organizes alumni meets, networking events, and contribution programs to strengthen relationships and support current students. It plays a key role in enhancing institutional growth through alumni feedback, expertise, and support.
The Alumni Coordination Committee has evolved under NEP 2020’s “Alumni Connect” framework from a purely social network into a core institutional driver for governance, curriculum modernization, and financial sustainability. It operates under the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016, with legal standing derived from either the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, and its performance directly feeds into NAAC Criterion 5.4 (Alumni Engagement) assessments.
Rules & Regulations
1) Formalized Alumni Connect Cell — Colleges must move away from informal structures and establish a formal Alumni Connect Cell/Coordination Committee, managed by a senior faculty Coordinator alongside elected/appointed alumni office-bearers, under the UGC’s Alumni Connect initiative.
2) Career-tracking database mandate — The committee must maintain a secure digital database via an Alumni Management System (AMS), tracking career pathways, higher education progression (via ABC), and entrepreneurship milestones for institutional growth data.
3) Data privacy compliance — The alumni database must comply with national data protection standards; personal data may only be used for verified institutional networking, mentoring, and legal fundraising purposes.
4) Mandatory legal registration — The Alumni Association must be registered under either the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950 to have formal legal standing and a clean financial interface with the college.
5) Separate financial governance — The committee must operate a dedicated bank account with a distinct PAN, cannot merge funds into regular college accounts without accounting resolutions, and must undergo annual internal and external audits overseen by the CDC and reported to the Charity Commissioner.
6) Nominal alumni fee collection — Mumbai University permits a one-time, nominal alumni registration fee, typically integrated into the graduation/convocation fee or collected upon program completion.
7) Curriculum and mentorship integration (NAAC 5.4) — Alumni must be invited to serve on the Board of Studies (BoS) or departmental advisory boards for curriculum feedback, and the committee must map alumni across industries for mentorship, internships, and placements per NEP 2020’s mandatory internship requirements.
8) IQAC representation requirement — The committee must coordinate the appointment of at least one distinguished Alumni Representative to the IQAC, participating in strategic policy-making and Academic & Administrative Audits (AAA).