Student experience survey examines intentions to donate after graduation

Updated Sep 07, 2026

Updated, 7 September 2026: We checked accessible publisher methods and conclusions. Full statistical results were unavailable, so this briefing does not reproduce coefficients or validate the proposed hierarchy of influences.

What the study reports

Aftab Dean and John Graeme McLean used a bespoke Student University Experience Survey at English universities. The instrument contained 42 Likert statements and four demographic questions. Of 963 responses, 607 remained after incomplete or patterned responses were removed. Oxford and Cambridge were excluded.

The authors report relationships between donation intention and student-centred teaching, transferable skills, career and income confidence, and social experiences. The outcome was current students’ stated intention to donate, not later giving.

The observational survey does not establish that changing teaching, services or spending causes donations. A bespoke sample and instrument also cannot be treated as an NSS benchmark or a donor forecast. We have removed claims about excluded survey factors and mission-group differences that could not be fully checked against the statistical results.

Questions for institutional planning

Our suggestion is to define the decision before combining student experience and advancement evidence. A positive course experience, attachment to a university and the ability or willingness to donate are different questions.

Use local feedback to understand experience on its own terms, with clear collection purposes and reporting limits. Do not repurpose individual student comments into donor profiles simply because an aggregate study discusses giving. If a team wants to evaluate a change, choose outcomes that match that change and report uncertainty.

The NSS methodology explains our descriptive reporting approach. It does not validate donation predictions or establish returns on institutional investment.

Reference

Dean, A. and McLean, J. G. (2025). Creating future alumni donors: exploring critical aspects of an enriched undergraduate experience. Quality in Higher Education, 31(2), 223–244. Paper.