It’s a big year at APU, with university accreditation this spring and new alumni events like Homecoming and Alumni Weekend planned for the fall. In anticipation, APU’s Office of Alumni Relations sent out an alumni survey in late January 2022. After compiling the 1,174 responses, it’s clear APU graduates had a positive student experience and want to stay connected with their alma mater. 
The 20-question survey asked graduates to share highlights from APU, areas of improvement, and where they’ve gone with their degrees. Alumni responded from every decade of the institution’s history, from the Class of 1964 to the most recent fall Class of 2021.
The total response represented a small slice of APU’s 7,800+ graduates, but showed the alumni community’s strong affinity for APU. Over a third of graduates leave APU with a strong sense of belonging, including 84 percent of graduates from the last three years. In total, more than 95 percent of our graduates left with some sense of belonging. When asked what gave them that sense of belonging, over 200 graduates attributed it to the faculty.
The results also indicate the success of an APU education and the benefit of an APU degree, specifically for recent grads. 82 percent of graduates from the last three years were either employed or attending graduate school within nine months of graduation. 76 percent of those grads were working or studying in a field related to their APU degree within nine months of graduation. Both metrics are key indicators of the success our graduates have experienced in their professional journeys after they left APU.
Graduates were also asked to rate their experience as a student on a scale of 1 to 5. The average response was a 3.74, indicating an overall positive experience among alumni. Graduates were asked whether they’d like to stay connected. Of the 1,145 respondents, an incredible 1,019 requested to keep in touch with the university through its alumni newsletter and invitations to upcoming alumni events.
If you’re an APU alum and missed your shot to share your thoughts, we’d still love to hear from you. Alumni can catch up on alumni news here or simply share comments and ideas with the APU Alumni Association here. Graduates can also give to the alumni scholarship fund and make a direct impact on current students by donating here. 
To the 1,174 graduates who completed the survey, thank you for helping to shape the future of the university and its alumni relations. We hope to see you this fall at the APU Homecoming and Alumni Weekend. Update your information here to receive all the latest news.
