Alumni Database Data Standard¶

Goal¶

Keep records consistent enough to support approved alumni programs while collecting only information KTP can responsibly maintain.

Minimum record fields¶

Field	Purpose	Requirement
System record ID	Stable internal reference without using an email as the identifier	Required; system generated
Chapter	Connect the alumnus to the correct KTP chapter	Required
Membership status	Distinguish alumni from active or other approved statuses	Required; controlled value
Graduation year or range	Support cohort-level programs and verification	Recommended; allow unknown
Preferred communication status	Record whether outreach is allowed and through which approved method	Required before non-administrative outreach
Engagement interests	Mentorship, speaking, recruiting, chapter advising, events, or no outreach	Optional and alumnus-controlled
Industry or functional area	Match approved professional programs	Optional; use broad categories
Geographic region	Support regional programs	Optional; avoid exact home addresses
Source and chapter verifier	Explain where the record came from and who validated it	Required
Last verified date	Identify stale information	Required
Restriction or deletion status	Ensure suppressed records are not reintroduced accidentally	Required when applicable

Exact field names and controlled values must be documented in the National-restricted system schema before production use.

Do not collect by default¶

Personal home addresses
Government identifiers or identity-document images
Personal financial, health, academic, disciplinary, or demographic information
Passwords, recovery codes, or credentials
Unstructured private messages or notes about an individual
Employer information gathered through scraping or without a valid purpose
Sensitive categories merely because they may be useful later

If a proposed program needs additional information, document the purpose, audience, retention period, consent method, owner, and approval before collecting it.

Explain what KTP is collecting and the intended uses in plain language.
Make optional engagement interests genuinely optional.
Record the date and source of the preference.
Respect no-contact, channel, and frequency preferences.
Do not interpret public professional information as consent to enter an outreach program.
Obtain additional approval before sharing a record with a company, sponsor, or outside organization.

Data quality rules¶

Use one record per alumnus and preserve stable record IDs during updates.
Normalize chapter names and statuses using approved controlled values.
Record “unknown” rather than guessing.
Preserve the source and last-verified date for every material update.
Review possible duplicates before merging; preserve the strongest verified source.
Do not overwrite a restriction, deletion, or no-contact status with a chapter import.
Keep free-text notes to a minimum and never store unsupported opinions.

Lifecycle¶

Stage	Required control
Collection	Approved purpose, minimum fields, notice or consent where required, authorized source
Validation	Chapter and status check, duplicate review, controlled values, source recorded
Use	Role-based access and use consistent with the recorded purpose and preference
Review	Periodic stale-record and access review; request correction when appropriate
Restriction	Stop non-required processing when an alumnus opts out or a record is disputed
Deletion	Follow approved retention and deletion policy while preserving only necessary suppression evidence

Public reporting¶

Public documentation may use approved aggregates—such as participation ranges or number of chapters represented—only when the result cannot identify individuals. Small groups should be combined or omitted.

What to adapt¶

The final schema depends on the approved platform, law, school agreements, and National policy. Changes to purpose or sensitive fields require broader approval; routine corrections do not.