Graduway Reviews

I love our Graduway platform. It has brought our alumni relations platform into the 21st century

Comments: An engaged and re-invigorated former pupil platform that attracts alumni on a global scale and encourages them to interact and respond.

Pros:

Our Graduway platform is engaging and sticky and encourages users to interact on the site. They post photos and message each other independently.

Cons:

The UK searching fields by location are ridiculous - there are thousands of towns on there listed that I've never heard of - too many to make it of any use... It would also be useful to have the 'work' filter in the invite and message function too.

Highly recommend!

Comments: The customer service experience with Graduway is top-notch. Our account manager,[SENSITIVE CONTENT], is friendly, accessible, and knowledgeable. I appreciate that he keeps reoccurring appointment on the rotation of his calendar to meet with me, review new product enhancements, and to discuss my school's success on the platform. Additionally, there are always opportunities for professional development to learn how to make the most out of the platform. This is something that sets the company a part from others - they truly take the time and work hard to build relationships and ensure the happiness of their clients.

Pros:

The platform is a "one-stop shop" for all your alumni management needs. The functionality with social media makes registration for users a breeze, and it is extremely user-friendly. The company is also always making improvements and enhancements, and their support team is extremely responsive, efficient, and professional.

Cons:

Integration was a breeze and there are many different ways to pull data from the system, although sometimes the reports (in the form of excel) are a bit overwhelming to review and analyze.

Easy platform for pushing information to alumni. Could be more customized but otherwise good.

Comments: Alumni are able to engage with one another and get more information from the school all in one email.

Pros:

The weekly digest is a great way to aggregate info and send it to all alumni. The job posting feature is fantastic and provides a great way for alumni to share job opportunities, as well. The updates section is a nice feature but lacks the ability to sort into categories. The events page is a great place for the school to update alumni about events without sending another email to their inbox.

Cons:

The software isn't as customizable as other softwares that I've used. For example, in the posting section, there isn't a way to create categories for posting. It would be great if alumni could tag the post with a category (mentoring question, general question, etc.). Plus, when people reply to the post, it doesn't ping you or let you know a reply was received. You have to rely on logging in to see if you got a reply. The reply doesn't show up on the next news digest, which would be helpful if it did.

A platform I'm proud to provide to my network

Comments: Where to begin? The customer service is top notch! I don't think of Graduway as a vendor, I think of them as a partner in my work. Not only have they ensured that what I'm presenting to my network is beautiful and user friendly but they are always innovating and sharing best practices so that our users can get the most out of this product.

Pros:

It is beautiful and intuitive to use (as an administrator and as a user). Every time I share the platform with someone new they say, "wow" and get what we're trying to do immediately.

Cons:

This is tough to say because as soon as I come up with something new that I want the platform to have, the team tells me it is already in progress and within months, we have it.

Implement this platform immediately

Comments: Excellent, fantastic, and superb.

Pros:

If I have to limit my response it would be the support of the Graduway staff. They are super responsive and extremely knowledgeable about their product. Another pro, is they always seem to be improving the product by adding functionality and I believe they really understand their user and their needs. This product really has everything that we need and would want to virtually engage our constituents. They also prepare marketing to help us reach our audience. They want us to be successful.

Cons:

2 things: first I wish that there was some functionality that would allow our users to post on Graduway and then instantly post that same thing on LinkedIn or another social platform.

A fantastic platform for both alumni and students; very strong cultivational tool.

Comments: Survey software, yes? That's what I'm referring to...........when I logged in with Linkedin, it populated under another person's profile. I finally realized that after about 10 times of attempting to get the "submit" button to process my responses.

Pros:

User-friendly platform emulating popular social media type utilities. How the system messages one when messaging activity takes place; useful for content control and use for incoming messages.

Cons:

Lack of video capabilities (know it's coming- can't wait). Set template (non-adjustable) format for the landing page.

It has made a huge difference to our alumni engagement efforts by allowing members connect anywhere

Comments: Easier alumni engagement and member data managment

Pros:

Online access for all members worldwide Ease of management and updating of member data Customizable newsletter

Cons:

Inability of members to advertise or market their products or services on the platform Homepage is too crowded Information provided on members not enough

Easy and Intuitive Platform for Alumni Engagement

Pros:

My favorite feature of the Graduway platform is the Directory. It makes it so easy for our alumni to find former classmates or find people who can help them with their next career steps. It also is great for our Alumni Relations team to reach out to relevant alumni for career or networking events!

Cons:

Currently we're unable to change user profiles ourselves if alumni sign up using incorrect information - but I believe this is changing soon.

We had some difficulty with the customization however now all is well.

Pros:

The features and functions are very good. It really serves the needs for developing a community among alumni. Our current contact person really changed our experience with Graduway, she is knowledgeable and effective as well as ready to help gladly for any issue we have.

Cons:

There are small issues as a user. For example we still cant invite alumni via gmail, this should easily be possible. When you click like for a post you see a number indicating the number of likes. But right next is the unlike command. So at first glance it seems x number of unlikes.

Very pleased with the functionality and response received from our alumni base

Pros:

It is very easy to create the news stories and newsletters. You do not have to put in a significant amount of time to maintain

Cons:

The home page can get cluttered and busy if you have a lot of stories to share . I have heard of a few people having difficulty resetting thier password.

Graduway alumni platform

Comments: We've been using our Graduway platform for about 18 months now and are really pleased that we chose them to supply our platform. What I like the most about them is how great their customer service is, for our alumni when they're having issues, but more importantly for us as admins. Our account manager has taken the time to get to know our business and our needs and the entire team (from CEO down!) are invested in helping us meet those needs. They take on board client feedback in a very productive way, and are very responsive to ideas. In fact, there have been a number of new features added which are a result of client feedback. We were able to take time in building the platform and had full control over when it launched. We got help from them at launch with promotion, and receive continuous tips and pointers on steps we can take as an organisation to grow the platform. The platform itself is pretty easy to use and intuitive. The social sign on makes it even easier for our alumni. We have a completely international alumni base so some functions may be lost in translation, but overall alumni tell us they love it. They message each other, love the album and we have seen steady growth in sign ups. As admins it's not too time intensive to manage any more we can see basic statistics and manage what users see on the site. The news widgets are a useful way to share content from our main website. Mentoring is the one area that is more challenging for us, and does need more admin work/effort to make it successful, unless you already have a proper mentoring programme set up. There are areas for improvement, but Graduway know this and are working on it. Overall, it's a great supplier, with a very good product.

Pros:

Bright, attractive, inviting interface. Easy to use. Regular new developments released.

Cons:

Search functionality. Homepage could do with restructuring.

An application that helps you in your daily life

Comments: Problems represented in the difficulty of communicating with customer service and language, as for the benefits, they are many, including ease of use and that it is free to use, security and preserves your data better than many similar applications

Pros:

What I admire most about the application is the ease of use, and the application mechanisms that help to understand the content of the application in an easy and smooth manner

Cons:

The least thing I liked about the application is the difficulty of communicating with customer service, in addition to the lack of many languages

Graduway makes our alumni relations programme more efficient

Comments: MGS launched the MGS Global Connect 15 months ago. During that time almost 3000 alumni have joined the platform including many new faces that have had little or no contact with the school for years. MGS have taken the credit for Graduway's work; our alumni feel that it is 'our' site and they are proud of it. The mentoring and job features have been particularly well received by our younger members. Interestingly, the most active users on the platform have been the over 65s. The most valuable aspect of the platform has been linked to the efficiency of our alumni relation and fundraising programmes. Members of the platform offer themselves as 'being willing to help' - they are declaring their support and love for our institution. This alone is a great metric of affinity and one that has enhanced our fundraising function. I thoroughly recommend the platform without hesitation and I am willing to talk to any prospective customer about my experience with Graduway.

Customer Service is amazing and responsive. Engagement with alumni has increased.

Comments: It is a localized place to not only connect socially like on social media but also to give them an added value of a jobs board and the ability to mentor each other.

Pros:

We have found that the biggest asset has been the jobs board. It is a central place that we can advertise for local jobs and advertise for jobs at our institution with our alumni. It gives the alumni an added value and gets them to connect with us in the process.

Cons:

The capturing of our alumni has been incredibly slow. We are a relatively small school as compared with the large universities and yet, we find that we do not have a lot of our alumni signing up. It would also be nice to use the Raiser's Edge integration if possible but unfortunately we have not visited that aspect yet.

It has helped bringing our alumni community together in a more visual way.

Comments: A location for alumni, to visually track our growing network.

Pros:

Statistics, photographs, links to current universities/companies, job posts. The fact that users themselves can create their own groups, etc.

Cons:

Guiding videos of the different uses could be integrated into the platform, on the admin side. There should be regular reminders for alumni members to update their email addresses. Jobs section should include the possibility of internship/other opportunities since our graduates are from a high school and not a university.

Graduway for UK School

Comments: We've been live with Grauway for seven months now to our whole community after a test period of six months and we've recovered so many lost alumni, engaged our older pupils with the presence of our office and established ourselves as a hub for the wider community. We'd been working in the same way for the past eight years with very slow progress. Since our launch with Graduway, progress has moved so quickly and engagement levels across the board have gone through the roof! We're delighted with the initial results and would recommend any institute looking to reconnect with the digital generation consider the platform as something which may help, alongside an integrated communications plan.

Pros:

the ease of use and the functionality which is very helpful for our office and aims

Cons:

the lack of flexibility in structure but it is understandable that there has to be a backbone of core functions that cannot be customised.

Amazing from both an admin perspective and user. Had wonderful feedback & incredible service.

Comments: Fantastic sign up rate with our alumni - great feedback & interaction. Over 5 mins spend per user. Global reach. First class, quick & professional service.

Pros:

Very intuitive for the admin person - also allows for users to post information & contact other users so very dynamic and interactive. Very functional with well thought our pages. The service from Graduway is like no other that I have experienced. Fast response times very effective & friendly.

Cons:

Like it all but maybe the newsletter could allow more flexibility in design. But he beauty of it is it is quick and easy to use allowing for a high frequency of distribution to end users.

Graduway Review

Comments: Overall, Graduway has helped our organization come full circle. You don’t stop being a part of our organization once you graduate or move onto the next level. You will always be involved and this software helps do just that.

Pros:

I like that this allows us to network with more alumni to keep them involved within our organization.

Cons:

I realize that this also focuses on donors, but I feel that sometimes it makes students and alumni feel as though they MUST donate as another main focus. Obviously we would love donations to keep our organization going, but I also aim to keep alumni involved through notification and updates.

A brilliant facility for widening and deepening alumni engagement

Comments: They've provided a platform which helps us to build community in a way that cannot be done offline; it will work hand-in-glove with our events programme when that re-commences post-pandemic.

Pros:

Ease of use and set-up, despite the many and varied things that it can do. Customer service is outstanding.

Cons:

Very little that we haven't liked so far.

Helpful platform for engaging and connecting with our alumni.

Pros:

The ability to communicate with our alumni and provide them with an opportunity to connect with each other.

Cons:

The scrolling and search features could be improved and there has been a delay in getting an app approved to work with iPhones.

The platform is sooooo user friendly. Many capabilities.

Pros:

The software is easy to maneuver. My example to others who have questions about the platform is, "It's much easier than Facebook, so stop putting too much effort in it. It's not necessary!!!"

Cons:

Photos/logos are distorted. The photos I upload to the album section look grainy. A profile picture should be mandatory for everyone who signs up.

Graduway has allowed us to connect with our alumni in an easy fashion

Pros:

Easy to use! We also enjoy that it is easy to explain others when promoting our website. While being able to do live walkthroughs as well.

Cons:

Perhaps it can be changed on the display side but pages may not be mobile friendly. It sometimes can be hard to see all information.

Very good-

Pros:

Good customer support-very responsive and helpful in providing advice on how to engage users to UCSF Connect

Cons:

Less customization abilities-desire to customize certain features but unable to do so. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities to customize in the future.

Graduway...or no way at all!

Pros:

User friendly, clean and simple design, and a robust offering of engagement avenues for our constituents to connect.

Cons:

That we haven't put in enough time to be able to utilize all that it has to offer. It is a time and staffing thing, but we could be getting more out of it.

Alumni Network Review

Comments: Graduway is an innovative company always looking to improve; their customer support has been excellent.

Pros:

Provides a way to connect alumni from around the world.

Cons:

It was designed for colleges and universities not necessarily a high school.