Hi Brad,
In my experience, there's not necessarily a universal best practice so much as a set of internal practices that institutions apply based on culture, engagement strategy, and how "preferred college" is operationally used.
Historically, many shops default to the first degree earned because it's objective, stable, and aligns with alumni identity at scale. Many alumni engagement programs are built around the idea that undergraduate alumni tend to have the strongest affinity and loyalty. That approach is still very common and entirely defensible. That said, I'd strongly encourage supporting a constituent-centric model where an alum's stated preference can override any system default. You specifically referred to the preferred college rather than a preferred degree or year, and this is an important consideration because it can follow how the alum identifies within the institution, alongside other preferences and affinities we increasingly try to capture and respect.
From a best practice standpoint, I'd argue the decision is less about which default you choose (first, highest, or most recent) and more about ensuring the logic is intentional, documented, and consistently applied, that alumni have a clear way to express their own preference, and that the preference is clearly annotated and respected across advancement functions once captured.
If you do decide to revisit or change preferred college logic, I'd recommend proactively communicating the change to alumni, explaining the rationale, and explicitly invite them to indicate a preference. This can improve data quality and reinforce trust and respect. You should also proactively communicate internally so frontline staff and partners understand how overrides should be used and trusted.
Original Message:
Sent: 2/2/2026 5:20:00 PM
From: Brad Reardon
Subject: Preferred College - Multiple Degrees
Hello,
My understanding is that the best practice when setting the preferred college for alums with multiple degrees is to default to the college of the first degree earned. Is this still the case, or are any advancement teams setting preferred college to the most recent or highest level degree earned? We have always used first degree earned and are curious if thinking on this has shifted.
Thank you!
Brad
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Brad Reardon
University of Montana Foundation
brad.reardon@supportum.org
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