[PeppyGPhiB]

I think it depends on the university. Is your university a tight community? Mine is, and thinks of its current students, alumni, parents and spouses, faculty and staff as "family." My mom still gets a Christmas card from the school every year, and she didn't even go there! Of course the school should listen to the current students, but those students will be gone in four years whereas many came before them and many will come after. They shouldn't be the only ones that are heard.

My university is making a huge effort to keep the alumni involved and it embarked on an initiative this year to meet with alumni around the country to find out what alumni like and don't like. Why did they do that? Because the alumni won't contribute to or associate themselves with something they don't believe in. I'm talking about money, career networking, volunteer support, athletic support, etc. My university does work for me, and I expect it to since I paid a heck of a lot of money to attend that school and get my degree there. I have a vested interest in my degree retaining its value, and if the school does not conduct itself in ways that retain or raise my degree's value, I get pissed off. And pissed off alumni usually don't contribute in any number of ways. So it's in the school's best interest to keep alumni happy while also listening to the current students.