<研究論文>大学と卒業生との関係構築における学生同窓会の意義 --日本と米国の学生同窓会を比較して--

Abstract

米国の大学には学生によって構成され、大学と学生・卒業生・同窓会を繋ぐ様々な活動を行っている「学生同窓会(Student Alumni Association)」が多数存在する。一方、日本において学生同窓会がある大学は2大学のみである。本稿の目的は、日本と米国の学生同窓会の論理構造を比較検討することによって、大学と卒業生との関係構築における学生同窓会の意義を明らかにする。本稿では立命館アジア太平洋大学校友会学生実行委員会と米国の学生同窓会の論理構造の比較を通してその意義を明らかにする。本稿から日本に得られた示唆は、大学が実現すべきことを明確にし、大学と学生同窓会とのコミュニケーションを通じてそれらを学生や卒業生に伝えることである。また米国の学生同窓会は、大学スポーツやコミュニティサービスといった大学の諸活動と有機的な連携を確立していることも明らかになった。大学や同窓会の後継者たるリーダーを育てるシステムとして学生同窓会のような仕組みが日本にも求められる。

The purpose of this paper was to find the significance of student alumni associations for alumni relations by comparing and examining the logical structure of Japanese and the U.S. student alumni associations. We explored two research questions: 1) What kind of logical structure does the student alumni association consist of? 2) What is the significance of student alumni associations for alumni relations? As a result, we found that the U.S. universities clearly recognized that student alumni associations foster future university members or alumni association leaders. Our findings regarding the significance of student alumni associations were as follows: (1) to ensure the continuity of "student involvement" and "alumni's contribution", and (2) to form a university community through leadership development. The student alumni associations provided a new network for students and alumni as a point of connection with students and society. In that process, universities train future leaders who understand university activities, such as what kind of support the university needs and why it is necessary to connect with the university. The most important implication for the future of Japanese alumni relations is to clarify what universities need to realize through student alumni associations and communicate effectively with their students and alumni through their student alumni associations. Moreover, the U.S. student alumni associations involve students, alumni and other stakeholders and promote university sports and community services. Student alumni associations need to establish an organic link between their activities and the university's activities.