Turning a new page

Augsburg Now magazine survey: What you told us

This past summer, Augsburg College participated in a national higher education magazine survey developed by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. This survey has been used by more than 350 college and university magazines across the United States, allowing Augsburg to compare its results with national benchmarks.

Auggies are connected 

Survey respondents confirmed that Augsburg Now strengthens their connection with the College. In fact, 80 percent of respondents older than age 35 agreed with this notion, and 70 percent of respondents under age 35 agreed as well.

Magazine readership

Most respondents indicated that Augsburg Now was the No. 1 way they get information about the College, and 82 percent said they read all or most of each issue.

Most respondents said they prefer to read the printed version of Augsburg Now, although some favor digital formats.

Top actions taken as a result of reading the Augsburg Now

It is exciting to learn that a third of respondents indicated that the magazine prompted them to recommend Augsburg to others. One of the primary objectives of the magazine is to equip Auggies to act as advocates of the College, so this result was of particular significance in measuring the impact of the magazine.

Readership, connection, and format

The magazine will build on its strengths in order to maintain high readership levels and the strong connection that the magazine helps Auggies feel with the College. Augsburg will continue publishing the magazine in both print and online versions, but those who prefer a digital format are encouraged to let us know their preference for receiving notifications instead of printed editions.

Topics of interest

The topics of greatest interest across all age groups align well with the College’s Augsburg2019 strategic vision, which states that, in 2019, Augsburg will be a new kind of student-centered, urban university that is small to our students and big for the world. Stories about student achievements, alumni in their professions, and campus facilities and growth illustrate our commitment to educating for lives of purpose, being “at the table” with our partners and neighbors, and building a vital and sustainable institution. In addition to those topics, the magazine will continue to include events, speakers, obituaries, and class notes given that these topics garnered strong response rates, especially among readers over 35 years of age. See augsburg.edu/Augsburg2019 for information about the strategic plan.

Renaming the magazine

Although the name of the magazine was not specifically addressed in the survey questions, the time has come to rethink the name of the publication. “Augsburg Now” served well for decades, but in an age of digital communication, a publication that comes out three times per year cannot reasonably include information about what’s happening at the moment. As a result, the plan is to announce a new name for the magazine in the summer 2015 issue and officially change the masthead in the fall. Look in the summer issue for more information about these future plans for the Augsburg College magazine!

Subscribe to NOW@Augsburg

For the past few years, Augsburg’s alumni relations staff has published a monthly email newsletter and blog called “NOW@Augsburg,” which features stories about Augsburg alumni, upcoming events, fundraising milestones, and College accolades. Visit augsburg.edu/alumni/blog for past newsletter content, or email langemo@augsburg.edu to sign up for the monthly email newsletter if you are not already receiving it.