Canonical sources: Portal philosophy, posture, and language live in
/docs/planning/champion-portal/source/README.md.
Use these sources (includingCHRIST_CENTERED__IDENTITY_STATEMENT.md) when writing specs or user-facing copy. Prefer quoting/paraphrasing over inventing new language.
Version: 5.0
Last Updated: April 2026
Audience: Executive Leadership, Product Managers, Marketing, Engagement Team, Engineers
Status: Beta Launch Ready — All 17 phases complete (Phase 9.6 email drip deferred to Backlog)Purpose: This is a living document providing a high-level overview of the Alumni Network portal for all stakeholders. Consult for strategic context, feature summaries, engagement model, and roadmap status.
The Alumni Network is a dedicated digital platform for Belmont University alumni — a place for every Bruin to stay connected to the university and to each other. Hosted at belmontalum.com, it serves as the external-facing complement to the internal Alumni Lookup system used by staff at alumnilookup.com.
The platform is built on an inclusive posture: every alum belongs here. “Champion” is not a gated title — it is recognition of what an alumnus is already doing to help other Bruins. The portal serves three concentric engagement tiers, from passive browsing to active community leadership.
| Audience | Description |
|---|---|
| Alumni (Tier 1 — Members) | Any Belmont alum who signs up. Browse, discover, connect, consume. 100% of users. |
| Alumni Champions (Tier 2 — Opt-In) | Alumni who choose to go deeper — completing a 2-minute role quiz to signal their willingness to help other Bruins. ~10% of users. |
| Community Leaders (Tier 3 — Promoted) | Champions who coordinate community activities and moderate discussions. ~1% of users. |
| Engagement Team | Staff who recruit, verify, and support alumni through the Lookup Portal. |
After graduation, alumni lose the built-in belonging they had at Belmont. They move to new cities, start careers, and quietly drift from the community that shaped them. There is no central home for Belmont alumni to find each other, coordinate activities, or stay connected to the university.
The Alumni Network provides one place to belong. It normalizes re-entry (“You still belong”), provides clear and small next steps, and progressively reveals deeper engagement opportunities as alumni are ready for them.
The Alumni Network gives every Belmont alum a home base. Instead of juggling emails, social media, and scattered forms, alumni log in to a single mobile-friendly site where they can find other Bruins in their city, join communities around shared interests, explore career resources, attend events, and participate in discussions. Those who want to go deeper can become Alumni Champions — recognized for their commitment to connecting and supporting other Bruins. Community Leaders coordinate their local communities. The Engagement Team gets visibility into alumni activity without manual tracking. It’s the difference between being on a mailing list and being part of a community.
From the canonical source documents:
This is the structural backbone of the portal. Rather than treating every user identically, the Alumni Network serves three concentric rings of engagement:
Posture: “You belong here. Welcome home.”
Focus: Reactive — discover, consume, connect
| Core Activities |
|---|
| Browse the alumni directory |
| Join communities (district, college, major, industry, affinity) |
| Browse events and career resources |
| Read discussions and news |
| Send connection requests to other alumni |
Promotional Mechanisms: Members have access to actions that Champions would do — and after performing them (submitting a news story, commenting on a discussion, submitting an event), they receive gentle nudges: “You’re already showing up like a Champion — why not make it official?”
Posture: “You’re already showing up — let us recognize that.”
Focus: Proactive — plan events, share news, connect actively, take role-aligned actions
Opt-in mechanism: Complete the Champion Role discovery quiz (~2 minutes). This is recognition of what they’re already doing, not a new commitment.
What they get:
Four Champion Roles (from canonical source: ALUMNI_CHAMPIONS__ROLES_FRAMEWORK.md):
| Role | What They Do |
|---|---|
| Community Builder | Create spaces of belonging — host gatherings, welcome newcomers, make introductions |
| Connection Advisor | Open doors — mentor, make introductions, forward job openings, share wisdom |
| Digital Ambassador | Amplify stories — share alumni wins, repost Belmont stories, celebrate people online |
| Giving Advocate | Inspire generosity — share impact stories, normalize giving, thank donors |
Posture: “You’re the boots on the ground.”
Focus: Enable Champions, lead communities, bridge to Alumni Engagement team
Community Leaders moderate discussions, approve content, pin announcements, and coordinate their community’s activities. They are assigned by staff and have additional permissions within their assigned communities.
The tier model is derived from existing data, not a new role or field:
| Tier | Detection |
|---|---|
| Community Leader | Has CL assignments (community_leader?) |
| Champion | Has completed role quiz (has_champion_role?) |
| Member | Default — everyone else |
The Cp::Champion model name stays the same internally. User-facing language defaults to “alumni” and “Bruins.” “Champion” only appears after opt-in and in celebratory moments.
| Pain Point Today | How the Portal Helps |
|---|---|
| “I don’t know who else from Belmont is in my city” | Searchable directory filtered by city, grad year, college, industry, and interests |
| “I want to connect but don’t know who’s open to it” | Connection request system with types (Say Hi, Career Advice, Networking) |
| “I have a great story or event but nowhere to share it” | Content submission forms for news and events, reviewed by staff |
| “I want career resources but don’t know where to look” | Career Center with downloadable resources, career events, and OCPD partnership |
| “I never hear what other alumni are doing” | Community discussion boards, news feeds, and event calendars |
| “I want to go deeper but don’t know how” | Champion role quiz reveals personalized engagement ideas based on natural strengths |
Pitch for Alumni:
“Your alumni community is your home base. Find fellow Bruins nearby, join communities around what you care about, and stay connected to Belmont — all from your phone.”
| Challenge Without the Portal | How the Portal Helps |
|---|---|
| “How do I know who’s in my community?” | See all verified alumni in your community with profiles |
| “How do I keep discussions on track?” | Moderate boards — hide, lock, pin posts |
| “How do I stay connected to the Engagement Team?” | Support threads with staff |
| “How do I welcome new members?” | See new members, pin welcome posts, community landing pages |
| Value Area | Impact |
|---|---|
| Visibility | Real-time view of alumni activity without manual tracking |
| Reduced Admin | Self-service profiles, content submissions, and community management |
| Verification Workflow | Clear queue for matching new signups to alumni records |
| CRM Integration | Profile changes exportable to BruinQuest in standard format |
| Engagement Tiers | See which alumni are Members vs Champions vs Community Leaders |
| Content Pipeline | Alumni submit news and events; staff review and publish |
This audience includes the President’s Office, Deans, the Provost, Board reporting staff, and other senior institutional stakeholders.
| Strategic Value | Impact |
|---|---|
| Alumni Retention | Active alumni stay connected longer |
| Decentralized Engagement | Scale beyond what staff can personally coordinate |
| Three-Tier Engagement Model | Visible progression from member → champion → leader |
| Measurable Community | Quantify participation for board reporting |
| Modern Experience | Mobile-first, social login — meets alumni expectations |
| Staff Capacity | Self-service scales engagement beyond what staff can directly coordinate |
What it does: Low-friction signup and progressive profile building.
What it does: Alumni own their profile information.
What it does: Helps alumni find each other.
What it does: Organizes alumni around shared attributes.
| Community Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| District | Metro area from ZIP code | Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas |
| College | Academic college | College of Music, Massey Business |
| Major | Academic major | Music Business, Nursing |
| Affinity | Clubs, organizations, interests | Phi Mu, SAAC, Towering Traditions |
| Industry | Professional sector | Healthcare, Entertainment, Finance |
| Custom | Staff-created for special purposes | “Class of 2015” reunion |
| National | Portal-wide (auto-join) | “Alumni Champions” |
What it does: Creates ongoing conversation spaces per community.
What it does: Enables alumni to connect and communicate directly.
What it does: Keeps alumni informed and enables them to contribute.
What it does: Provides career resources to all alumni.
/careers) — no login required to browseWhat it does: Provides daily role-aligned engagement ideas.
/roles) with all four Champion rolesWhat it does: Visual galleries for events and the community.
What it does: Keeps alumni informed of activity relevant to them.
What it does: Account management and self-service support.
What it does: Staff tools for managing the Alumni Network.
| Tool | Access Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Verification Queue | Portal Admin | Link new signups to alumni records via BUID |
| Champion Admin | Portal Admin | Browse/search/filter all champions; engagement scoring |
| CL Assignment | Portal Admin | Assign Community Leaders to communities |
| Event Management | Portal Admin | Create/edit/manage events with district/community targeting |
| News Management | Portal Admin | Create/edit/manage news posts |
| Content Submissions Queue | Portal Admin | Review champion-submitted news and events |
| Discussion Admin | Portal Admin | Moderate discussions, view analytics |
| Career Resources | Portal Admin | Manage downloadable career resources |
| Role Ideas | Portal Admin | Manage daily engagement ideas |
| Seeded Questions | Portal Admin | Manage discussion-sparking questions |
| Connection Analytics | Portal Admin | Connection program health metrics |
| Onboarding Metrics | Portal Admin | Signup funnel and wizard completion analytics |
| Community Management | Portal Admin | Community CRUD and member management |
| Action Items | Staff+ | Bell icon with pending tasks (verifications, flags, etc.) |
| Impersonation | Admin | “Log in as Champion” for support/testing |
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SHARED POSTGRESQL DATABASE │
├────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │ │
│ LOOKUP PORTAL │ ALUMNI NETWORK │
│ alumnilookup.com │ belmontalum.com │
│ (Internal Staff) │ (External Alumni) │
│ │ │
│ Roles: Admin, Portal │ Tiers: Member, Champion, │
│ Admin, Staff │ Community Leader │
│ │ │
│ Features: │ Features: │
│ • Alumni search │ • Profile management │
│ • Engagement tracking │ • Directory & search │
│ • Champion verification │ • Communities & discussions │
│ • CRM exports │ • Connections & messaging │
│ • Admin management │ • Events, news, career resources │
│ • Content review │ • Content submissions │
│ │ │
└────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Framework | Ruby on Rails 7.1.5.1 |
| Database | PostgreSQL |
| Frontend | Tailwind CSS (TailwindUI), Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus) |
| JavaScript | Import maps (no bundler) |
| Authentication | Devise with OmniAuth (Google SSO) |
| Rich Text | ActionText with Trix |
| File Storage | ActiveStorage |
| Hosting | Heroku |
| System | Integration Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| BruinQuest (Salesforce) | Export | Profile changes exported for CRM import |
| OAuth | Social sign-in for alumni | |
| Email (SMTP) | Outbound | Verification, notifications, digests |
| Entity | Purpose | Owner |
|---|---|---|
alumni |
Master alumni records from CRM | Lookup Portal (Staff-managed) |
cp_champions |
Alumni Network accounts | Alumni Network (User-managed) |
cp_communities |
Community definitions (7 types) | Shared |
cp_community_memberships |
Alumni-to-community relationships | Alumni Network |
cp_cl_assignments |
Community Leader role assignments | Alumni Network |
cp_connections |
Mutual connections between alumni | Alumni Network |
cp_connection_requests |
One-way connection requests | Alumni Network |
cp_message_threads |
Messaging conversations | Alumni Network |
cp_board_posts |
Discussion board posts | Alumni Network |
cp_events |
Events | Shared (admin-created or alumni-submitted) |
cp_news_posts |
News posts | Shared (admin-created or alumni-submitted) |
cp_career_resources |
Career resources | Lookup Portal |
crm_data_changes |
Unified changelog for CRM export | Shared |
cp_activity_events |
Activity tracking | Alumni Network |
cp_notifications |
In-app notifications | Alumni Network |
cp_role_ideas |
Daily engagement ideas | Lookup Portal |
Alumni edit their own tables (cp_*). Staff manage alumni records. The two connect through BUID matching. Alumni activity does NOT automatically update CRM data — staff review and sync as needed.
This is the narrative the portal guides users through:
| Step | Action | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Join the Alumni Network | Sign up, land in portal, welcome experience |
| 2 | Complete their profile (75%+) | Profile wizard and edit — the obvious first thing to do |
| 3 | Discover communities | Understand the site is community-driven: find alumni who share your journey |
| 4 | Join 2+ communities | Explore what communities offer: discussions, news, events, members |
| 5 | Discover career resources | Application, resume, interview resources; career events; alumni career network |
| 6 | Discover other alumni | Browse directory, see recommendations, find alumni in communities |
| 7 | Send 3+ connection requests | Connect for career or reconnection purposes |
| 8 | Discover the Champion opportunity | Understand they can go deeper by opting in; roles reflect their natural posture toward helping |
| 9 | Take the Champion Role quiz | Choose a Champion Role — transition to Tier 2 experience |
| 10 | Contribute to communities | Comment on discussions, add topics, submit news/events, welcome new members, invite others |
| Role | Portal | Primary Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Alumni (Members) | Alumni Network | Profile, directory, communities, discussions, events, career resources |
| Alumni Champions | Alumni Network | All above + role-aligned contribution prompts, recognition signals |
| Community Leaders | Alumni Network | All above + community moderation, announcements, support threads |
| Engagement Team | Both | Verification in Lookup, content review, oversight in Alumni Network |
| Admins | Lookup Portal | User management, data exports, system config, full admin tools |
| Workflow | Frequency | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Verify new signups | Daily | Engagement Team |
| Review content submissions | As submitted | Engagement Team |
| Moderate boards | As flagged | Community Leaders (escalate to staff) |
| Manage events/news | As needed | Engagement Team |
| Export profile changes for CRM | Weekly | Engagement Team |
| Manage communities/CLs | Monthly | Engagement Team |
| Metric | Target | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 conversion rate | 10% of verified alumni | Champion opt-in health |
| Tier 3 coverage | CL in every active community | Community leadership density |
| Journey progression | >60% reach Step 4+ | Onboarding effectiveness |
| Content submissions per month | Growing trend | Alumni contribution level |
| Metric | Target | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Signup completion rate | >80% | Measures onboarding friction |
| Monthly active alumni | >60% of verified | Community health indicator |
| Connection requests per month | Growing trend | Relationship formation |
| Discussion posts per month | Growing trend | Community engagement depth |
| Events submitted by alumni | Growing trend | Decentralized coordination |
| Metric | Target | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Uptime | >99.5% | Alumni expect availability |
| Page load time | <2s on mobile | Mobile-first experience |
| Dashboard queries | Optimized via lazy loading | Performance at scale |
17 feature phases delivered. Phases 1–17 are complete. One item deferred to Backlog: Phase 9.6 (onboarding email drip campaign). Phase 6 delivered activity metrics and CSV exports; community health dashboards and PDF reports moved to Backlog.
| Phase | Name | Status | Key Deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foundations | ✅ Complete | Auth, profiles, directory, dashboard, messaging, events, news, communities, notifications (16 sub-phases) |
| 1C | Role Selection & Quiz | ✅ Complete | Champion Role quiz, profile wizard integration |
| 2 | Community Leadership | ✅ Complete | CL roles, admin CL assignment, permissions, action items |
| 3 | Discussion Boards | ✅ Complete | Per-community boards, national board, moderation, analytics, public landing pages, Google News layouts (11 sub-phases) |
| 4 | Mobile-First Cleanup | ✅ Complete | Mobile consistency, design alignment, UX polish |
| 5 | Pre-MVP Updates | ✅ Complete | User state alignment, non-alumni support, contacts→connections, recommendations, photo albums |
| 6 | Reporting & Insights | ✅ Complete | Activity metrics and CSV exports delivered; community health dashboards and PDF reports moved to Backlog |
| 7 | Career Center | ✅ Complete | Self-serve career hub, resource downloads, staff admin, analytics |
| 8 | Notifications & Digests | ✅ Complete | Unified notification preferences, discussion triggers, digest scheduling, immediate templates, web push notifications |
| 9 | Onboarding & UX | ✅ Complete | Enhanced wizard, seeded questions, admin CRUD, metrics, welcome content, trust-first access (9.6 email drip deferred to Backlog) |
| 10 | Connections | ✅ Complete | Connection requests, connection-gated messaging, contacts migration, admin metrics |
| 11 | Champion Role Dashboard Card | ✅ Complete | Daily idea packs, roles page, admin CRUD, 115 seed ideas |
| 12 | Source-Alignment Review | ✅ Complete | Full audit of user-facing text against 20 source documents; inclusivity framing |
| 13 | Progressive Dashboard & Engagement Tiers | ✅ Complete | Journey engine, tier detection, progressive disclosure, activity feed, nudge engine, milestone celebrations |
| 14 | Alumni Content Submissions | ✅ Complete | News/event submission forms, admin review queue, conversation threads, attribution |
| 15 | Design Consistency Pass | ✅ Complete | Visual consistency pass for all cp/ views — border radius, card headers, typography, gradient cleanup |
| 16 | Legal & IT Compliance | ✅ Complete | Policy pages, consent flow, education privacy controls, account deletion, data export, CAN-SPAM, security headers, age attestation |
| 17 | Champions Landing & Legacy Cleanup | ✅ Complete | Public /champions landing page, generic landing refresh, legacy signup retirement, staff data catalog |
Phase 13 transformed the dashboard from a static feature catalog into a journey-aware, tier-conscious, narrative-driven experience:
| Feature | Priority | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Alumni Business Directory | High | “Hire a Bruin” discovery |
| Native Mobile App | High | iOS/Android with push notifications |
| Newsletter Tool | Medium | Staff-curated newsletters |
| Real-Time Messaging | Medium | WebSocket live chat |
| Map View | Medium | Geographic alumni visualization |
| Advanced Search | Medium | Saved searches, complex filters |
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard performance with progressive disclosure | Low | Medium | Lazy loading with Turbo Frames; /home built and deployed with Turbo Frame lazy loading |
| Database scale | Low | High | PostgreSQL proven; optimize queries as needed |
| Mobile browser compatibility | Medium | Medium | Progressive enhancement; test on real devices |
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low alumni adoption at launch | Medium | High | Pilot with engaged alumni first; iterate on UX |
| “Champion” framing feels exclusionary | Medium | Medium | Phase 12 audit aligned all copy; 3-tier model leads with “alumni” |
| Community Leader bandwidth | Medium | Medium | Start with light moderation; automate seeded content |
| Primary developer is also Director of Alumni Engagement | Medium | High | Thorough documentation; architecture designed for handoff |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Alumni | Singular AND plural. Any Belmont graduate. (Never “alumnus” or “alumnis”) |
| Alumni Champion | An alum who has opted in via the Champion Role quiz — Tier 2. A recognition, not a gated title. |
| Alumni Network | The external portal at belmontalum.com for all alumni. (Internal/docs only — avoid as a proper name in user-facing copy.) |
| Almost Alumni | Current students/graduating seniors with a BUID but no degree records yet. Auto-converts when degree is added. |
| Bruin | Any Belmont alum (informal, friendly). |
| BUID | Belmont University ID — primary alumni identifier. |
| BQID (Contact ID) | BruinQuest ID — CRM identifier, format: C-000000000. |
| Champion Role | One of four behavioral types: Community Builder, Connection Advisor, Digital Ambassador, Giving Advocate. |
| Community | A grouping of alumni by shared attribute. Seven types: district, college, major, affinity, industry, custom, national. |
| Community Leader (CL) | A Champion assigned to lead a specific community. Tier 3. |
| Community Leadership Council (CLC) | The collective body of all Community Leaders. |
| Connection | A mutual link between two alumni enabling messaging. Always mutual (both parties). |
| District | Metro area from ZIP code (Nashville, Atlanta, Dallas). User-facing term for geographic communities. |
| Email Verified | Account status after confirming email — can log in with limited access. |
| Champion Verified | Full account status after staff links BUID — full portal access. |
| Engagement Team | Belmont staff who recruit, verify, and support alumni. |
| Lookup Portal | Internal staff tool at alumnilookup.com. |
| Membership Type | Account classification: alumni, almost_alumni, faculty_staff. |
| Region | Large geographic area (Southeast, Midwest) — internal reporting only, NOT user-facing. |
| Tier | Engagement level: Member (Tier 1), Champion (Tier 2), Community Leader (Tier 3). |
Facebook groups work for casual conversation, but they don’t provide: a searchable directory, connection requests with types, content submission with staff review, community structure with leader permissions, profile data that exports to CRM, privacy controls for contact information, or ownership of member data. The Alumni Network coexists with Facebook — alumni can use both.
LinkedIn is excellent for professional networking, but has no alumni-specific identity, no city coordination tools, no integration with Belmont systems, no content submission workflows, and no community moderation.
That’s the current approach. The result: staff spend hours on manual coordination, alumni feel isolated not connected, there’s no visibility into who’s active, no self-service profile management, and city coordination happens in scattered threads.
The Alumni Network’s value isn’t any single feature. It’s the integration: sign up → immediately see your community → find alumni → connect with them → contribute content → get recognized for it. One place, one login, one community.
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| JOBS-TO-BE-DONE.md | User motivations and job prioritization |
| phases/README.md | Phase index with status |
| development/DESIGN-GUIDELINES.md | Visual design standards |
| development/LANGUAGE_STYLE_GUIDE.md | Voice, tone, word choices |
| source/README.md | Canonical source documents index |
| ai/ | AI context bundle for Claude Project |
| BACKLOG.md | Feature Backlog with specifications |
Document maintained by the Alumni Engagement and Engineering teams. Last updated April 2026.