Colorado Mountain College eNews

Colorado Mountain College’s new Facebook Alumni Network provides a gathering place for former students

They’re from all over – from as far away as South Korea and as close as Colorado.

They’re Colorado Mountain College alumni who are in touch via the Internet and – so far – they’re more than 300 strong.

The CMC Foundation, which is responsible for the college’s alumni affairs, officially launched the Colorado Mountain College Alumni Network on Facebook in October. The Facebook page replaces the alumni page that was part of the college’s Web site, and can be found at www.facebook.com/CMCAlumni.

Alison Limoges of the CMC Foundation said that the goal is to use technology to link the college’s alumni.

“The foundation wants to help alumni stay connected with their former classmates, faculty and staff at CMC,” Limoges said. “We’d also like to make our alums aware of CMC’s latest jobs, new classes, cutting-edge programs and our educational and fun events.”

To help launch the page and direct alumni to the new site, the CMC Foundation staff e-mailed all the alumni for whom they had addresses. Krysta Brubaker, of the CMC Foundation, said moving the site makes it more accessible to the college’s former students, faculty and staff.

“We’ve had a Web site for a few years that wasn’t seeing much activity,” Brubaker said. “So many people across the globe are on Facebook on a consistent basis, which helped us make the determination to reach out to our alums where they’re already comfortable, versus asking them to come to us.”

The potential number of CMC alumni fans on Facebook is in the many tens of thousands. Through the years, whether they are graduates with degrees, locals taking classes or others who’ve participated in distance learning, all these people are considered Colorado Mountain College alums – and therefore, all are eligible to join CMC’s Facebook alumni page.

Because community colleges attract so many different kinds of learners, from degree-seekers to lifelong learners to those wanting to earn their GED, it’s common practice for community colleges to consider anyone who’s taken a class as an alum.

With Colorado Mountain College’s community participation rate of 13 percent – nearly five times the state benchmark for people who’ve taken a class at their local community college – the chances are strong you know many CMC alumni. Or are one yourself.

Sara Fowler, the college’s marketing and communications editor, said Facebook is a valuable resource for colleges.

“Facebook is a great platform for higher education because it encourages discussion,” she said. “In this case, it gives alumni an easy way to reconnect with Colorado Mountain College. Plus, many of them are already active on Facebook on a daily basis, so it’s convenient for them to get involved.”

Colorado Mountain College’s main Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/ColoradoMtnCollege, has more than 1,500 fans and caters to current as well as former students.

Who’s a CMC alum?

As is the case with most U.S. community colleges, anyone who has taken any Colorado Mountain College class, credit or noncredit, is considered to be an alumnus. So you don’t need to have a CMC degree or certificate to join in the fun.

Go to www.facebook.com/CMCAlumni to get started.