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Edit: I forgot to add the alumni websites to the annotated bibliography. This has been fixed.

Alumni networks tend to function primarily for the benefit of the college or the university itself. Colleges and universities rely heavily on donations to aid programs that would otherwise go unfunded in today's economy. Interviews and alumni profiling are important aspects of the alumni network for the college and university.

The Alumnae network of Bryn Mawr College performs many import activites that allow the college to function. Alumnae provide essential funding to the college that pays for renovations, scholarships, art collections, and other services that benefit students as well as dealing with interviews with prospective students. They also provide a network for jobs, which you can see at https://athenasweb.brynmawr.edu/brynmawr/auth/login. Smith college alumnae network provides similar benefits as well. They organize funding, alumnae trips, volunteer opportunites, interviews, and rally a strong network of women who can support future graduates. A bigger coed school like UC Davis also has an alumni network with similar functions to Bryn Mawr and Smith. An alumnus can volunteer, donate, and enjoy networking opportunities.

Bottom line:

Networks benefit both alumni and the colleges they represent. Alumni networks thus are an important aspect of choosing a college because of the opportunities that extend beyond obtaining your BA (or BS).

Annotated Bibliography for Alumni web sources:

Alumnae Association of Smith College. Alumnae Association of Smith College. Smith College. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <https://alumnae.smith.edu/index.php>.

Greenfield, Wendy M. ed. The Alumnae Bulletin. Aug. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. <http://www.brynmawr.edu/alumnae/images/bulletin/aug09/AugustBulletin.pdf>.

Regents of the University of California, Davis campus, The. Cal Aggie Alumni Association. University of California, Davis. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.    <http://www.alumni.ucdavis.edu/s/787/start.aspx>.

These websites host forums, profiles, online donations, and more for alumni to use. Most of them feature online versions of their alumni magazines that provide print forms of alumni profiling, news about the college that would pertain to alumni, and commentary by alumni about other alumni, the college, or news. Most importantly, these websites allow the alumni networks of each college to more easily and conveinently connect.

 Annotated Bibliography for other web sources:

 Hoffman, Jan. "Rah! Rah! Resume!" The New York Times. 31 July 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/fashion/02alumni.html>.

 This article relates the importance of alumni netwroks in helping alumni find jobs years after they graduate. Colleges hope to renew old loyalties and gain donations from alumni that they help. Web seminars or "Webinars" help to counsel alumni in searching for jobs. Connections for jobs through other alumni can also be found. In general, alumni networks are there to serve alumni while also serving the college.

 Tozzi, John. "Alumni Networks: Knotting the School Tie." Business Week. 12 Mar. 2008. Web. 16 Nov.          2009. <http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/mar2008/sb20080312_224018.htm>.

 David Hernandez got laid off from his job at Eron in 2001. He decided to start his own company, Liberty Power. A few years later, the company is worth $193 million. He built his company's mangement team from his alumni network. Bussinesses centered around bringing alumni together to network have sprung up based on such circumstances as Hernandez. Tozzi uses such examples to suggest using (but not abusing) alumni connections to find bussiness partners, investors, or employees.