Alumni Directory Project 2006-07 FAQ Is Harris Connect a legitimate company? Yes. Harris Connect is a registered member of the Better Business Bureau and a privately held firm that has been in business for over 40 years. Each year, they partner with hundreds of non-profit educational institutions (colleges, universities, public and private high schools) and membership organizations (fraternities, military associations, etc.) to assist them in substantially updating their databases of alumni and members. This resulting update enables institutions like us to effectively stay in touch with our constituents. This arrangement is conducted as a no-cost program for the non-profit. Why the change to an outside publisher? The biggest reason is that Harris Connect has the ability to collect data using ways that have traditionally been cost-prohibitive for the Alumni Association. Through the use of mail, phone calls, e-mails and Web, Harris will do a much better job of collecting data than we could afford, and the service is provided at no cost to the Alumni Association. In the past, the Alumni Association, due to its small staff and resources, wasn’t able to engage alumni interactively in the verification of their address and employer information. Yes, we printed a directory, but we weren’t able to one-on-one verify the information. We printed what we had on file, the data that we collected along the way, right or wrong, and we much rather do it interactively. We’re engaging in this project because it provides more value to alumni and to Mines. With the Harris project, we’re able to capitalize on the verification process to collect other information that we haven’t collected before, such as professional society affiliations and career industries. As a result, when we can foster connections at national conferences, we hope to do just that. Your membership in those organizations is important to us in that regard. One of the things that we’ve never included in our directory before is a career index, and we feel this is vitally important as a networking reference for alumni. Who profits from the directory sales? Harris would like to sell enough directories to be profitable in this endeavor, but they have a specific target in mind. If they make that target, the Alumni Association is contracted to receive some nominal royalties if their target is met. It is very important for to keep in mind that we are not in this arrangement to make money; we are partners for the updated data we hope to collect. When we have better data, alumni will benefit as well because it means that we can host better points of connectivity through employer and industry data, etc. What about privacy? The directory information is not sold nor used for commercial purposes, and is offered exclusively to alumni. A strict disclaimer is included in each directory, to inform the reader how the information may be used. Upon completion of the directory, the updated information will then be returned back to Mines to keep our records current. Our contract with Harris prohibits them from selling or sharing any of the information on our alumni. Alumni Associations cannot afford to alienate their constituencies with privacy abuse and our contract covers this adequately. It's not in Harris's best interest to violate our contract or any contract. They're the largest university publisher in the U.S. and violating privacy would be a serious deterrent to any of us doing business with them. In part, our very long contract with them specifies under the Confidentiality clause: "In order to ensure the confidentiality of the Client's [CSMAA] data, Company will (i) honor requests from alumni to be excluded from the directory... (ii) distribute a directory to only those alumni who place an order; (iii) not make the database available to any third parties, except for printer with which company has signed confidentiality agreement; (iv) assist Client in enforcement of the copyright of the directory by placing decoy listings in all sections...; (v) maintain and apply a company "do not call" list... Will the information collected be provided online as part of the online directory? Most of the information collected will get uploaded to our database and, as such, our online directory will be available to members, as it has been. The printed book has access advantages that won't translate well to the online directory. There will also be some statistical and historical information in the book that won't be on the Web in one convenient place. We will continue to honor any exclusions from online access, just as we have. The online directory is available to only dues-paying members of the Alumni Association. If I have an address update, do I need to provide that to Mines separately and to Harris for the directory? To ensure that both entities have what we need, we encourage you to update your information with Mines, even if you supplied an address change to Harris. Please use our secure online address update (https://www.oia.mines.edu/forms/information/information.htm).   After data collection by Harris, we will compare data based on date change and source, but it would be best to take a moment to make sure we have your address as it is currently. Because we invite our alumni to events and periodically send communications, such as Mines magazine, it’s best for us to receive your updates directly due to the long production window for the directory. What will appear in the directory? The Contents include: Letter from CSMAA Executive Director Mines at a Glance CSM Board of Trustees CSM Administration CSM Foundation Board of Directors CSM Presidents Faculty Frequently Used Phone Numbers CSMAA Mission Statement and Programs CSMAA Membership CSMAA Officers, Directors, and Staff CSMAA Regions and Sections CSMAA Presidents Number of Graduates by Year Number of Graduates by Option Degree Designations 2005-06 Graduate Placement and Salary Chart Special Honors and Award Listings     Honorary Degree Recipients by award year     Honorary Degree Recipients by name     Distinguished Achievement Medal Recipients by award year     Distinguished Achievement Medal Recipients by name     van Diest Gold Medal Recipients by award year     van Diest Gold Medal Recipients by name George R. Brown Medal Recipients by award year     George R. Brown Medal Recipients by name     Mines Medal Recipients by award year     Mines Medal Recipients by name     Melville F. Coolbaugh Memorial Award Recipients by award year     Melville F. Coolbaugh Memorial Award Recipients by name     Outstanding Alumnus Recipients by award year     Outstanding Alumnus Recipients by name     Young Alumnus/na Award Recipients by award year     Young Alumnus/na Award Recipients by name     Alumnus/na of the Future Award Recipient     CSMAA Honorary Members     CSMAA Life Members     Athletic Hall of Fame Directory Listings     Alpha     Class Year     Geographical     Career Networking Section Why do I need to call Harris Connect? For two reasons. First of all, Harris wants to make sure it has your correct information because sometimes typos are made or handwriting is unclear, so they'll want to verify this with you. Secondly, they will want to offer you the opportunity to reserve/buy a directory. If you don't want to buy one, just say so, but please verify your information to ensure accuracy. When will the directory be complete? Distribution is scheduled for early 2007. Thank you for your help in assuring the success of this very important project. Please direct any other concerns or questions to Anita Pariseau, Executive Director of CSMAA, at aparisea@mines.edu.