courtesy : Alumni
Purpose of lists of alumni
If you are a new Wikipedia editor please remember that the purpose of a list of notable alumni is always to provide useful information about a school and its alumni, and never to promote either an individual or a school. Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of personal biographies or a tool for self-promotion. Additionally, because our goal is to build an encyclopedia that treats every subject fairly and accurately, lists of alumni should maintain a Neutral Point of View. For example, editors should neither ignore infamous alumni nor overstate the connection of famous alumni to the educational institution. For more information regarding Wikipedia’s purpose and policies, please see Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not, Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, Wikipedia:No original research, Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Notability.
Inclusion criteria
A person should be included as a “notable alumna or alumnus” if the person would qualify for an article in his or her own right under Wikipedia: Notability (people)/WP:BIO. By implication, this means that each person listed in a “notable alumni” or “notable alumnae” section should have a wikilink, either red or blue.
Thus, people who have their own Wikipedia articles should generally be listed under “notable alumni” (if there is such a section at all), and people who do not have an article should generally not be listed unless the reason they don’t have an article is because, although it would qualify under WP:BIO, the article simply hasn’t been created yet.
Individuals receiving honorary degrees should generally not be included, unless the awarding is itself notable. In all cases, honorary degrees should be identified as such.
It is possible that some institutions would have so many notable alumni, that including all of them in the main article would be inappropriate. This guideline is not meant to govern that situation. (If the total number grows very large, it would probably be appropriate to simply offer a few emblematic examples and create a separate article for the full list, or simply not have a section on “notable alumni”.)
An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students (alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools), fraternities, and sororities often form groups with alumni from the same organization. These associations often organize social events, publish newsletters or magazines, and raise funds for the organization. Many provide a variety of benefits and services that help alumni maintain connections to their educational institution and fellow graduates. In the US, most associations do not require its members to be an alumnus of a university to enjoy membership and privileges.
Additionally, such groups often support new alumni, and provide a forum to form new friendships and business relationships with people of similar background.
Alumni associations are mainly organized around universities or departments of universities, but may also be organized among students that studied in a certain country. In the past, they were often considered to be the university’s or school’s old boy society (or Old boy network). Today, alumni associations involve graduates of all age groups and demographics.
Alumni associations are often organized into chapters by city, region, or country.
