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I hope it's okay if I piggyback on this thread.  

I wasn't able to find any discussion of the new US News instructions in the recent list discussions.  We just received the copy from our IR office last week, and it is significantly different in that they are departing from the "follow CAE/CASE VSE" language and instead spelling out their own definition, and their own definition is a bit... wonky.

I'm hoping I am successfully attaching the full "instructions", but here is the questionable excerpt:

"196.) What was the number of 4-Year Undergraduate Degreed alumni who were legally contactable in academic year 2021-2022. Restrict to alumni who hold one or more 4-year undergraduate degrees, but no other type of degree or certificate such as associate's degrees and graduate degrees."

We are unsure whether to interpret this literally, or whether to assume they have poorly worded it (underlined italicized section for emphasis).  My IR colleagues are leaning toward literally as everything else in the instructions seems so precisely worded.  My concern is that we do really well with alums who love us so much they stay for a graduate degree (as I am sure most of us do), and those are likely some of our most loyal donors, so participation could appear to take an unexpected hit this year if we follow this very literally.

Curious how others are responding!  We are seeking clarification but don't expect we'll hear back before the June 6th deadline.

Attachment(s)

Alumni Giving for US News 2023 Instructions.docx   25 KB 1 version