The Constituent Management Team within Advancement Services maintains the responsibility of updating biographical information as follows:

Address Change Information – Any undeliverable mail or notification of address changes should be forwarded electronically or physically to the Office with the information concerning the date of change and source of the information. Notations should be made for telephone number changes or changes of address that identify whether it is for the home residence, business address, or secondary residence. Upon receipt of this information, Constituent Management Team will verify the changes and enter the information in GAIL.

Unknown Address – If addresses in GAIL are incorrect, notification should be sent to the Constituent Management Team so that the information can be flagged and tracers sent to attempt to locate the correct information.

Contribution Information – Daily contributions from donors provide another resource for information concerning address, phone numbers, employer information, and marital status. Checks, correspondence, and documents sent with contributions provide a means of updating and verifying donor information. These data are then recorded in GAIL.

Name Changes – Any name changes resulting from marriage or divorce should be reported to the Constituent Management Team. Names are listed in the historical file for record keeping purposes. Engagement and marriage announcements provide a signal for the Constituent Management Team to seek verification from the family or individual being discussed, which may be by phoning, e-mail, or mailing a questionnaire.

Reporting Deaths – Obituaries are monitored daily to learn of deaths. If an obituary is received from a news clip that contains the date of death, no further verification is performed. If the death cannot be substantiated through the newspaper, the Social Security Administration will be contacted to verify the death. In the event this does not provide the verification, the team will call the individual’s tracer information and local funeral homes but will not call the individual’s family for verification unless all previous steps have been exhausted. The date of death is entered on the individual’s record in GAIL, and if the date is unknown but the death is verified, the death date is listed as unknown. If verbal notification of a death is received, the Constituent Management Team will use the same procedure to verify the death.

Additional Information – Other information maintained in GAIL includes family relationship information, professional, civic, philanthropic and social boards information, awards and honors, fraternity and club organization, and campus and alumni activities.

Lost Alumni – If an address/phone number is unknown, the Internet, electronic and print phone directories will be checked for current information. If the listing is different than what is in GAIL, a tracer will be sent or a call made to verify the alumni’s information. Electronic White Pages, Phone Disc on CD-ROM, and Directory Assistance are other resources used in locating lost alumni. This procedure takes place as time permits.

Registrar’s Files – Degree information, including class year, major, degree received, parent information, and school activity, is transferred from the Registrar’s file to GAIL upon a student’s enrollment in school. The team has authorization to access the Registrar’s files to verify information. No information is provided concerning financial aid or academic success. No information is provided for those records with restricted access.

Last Updated on May 20, 2022