Alumni Community Description
The alumni online community is a special section of Denver Seminary's web site devoted specifically to and exclusively for alumni. A complete list of features, as well as instructions on using these features, follows.
- Am I considered a Denver Seminary alumnus/alumna?
- Setting up and accessing your alumni account and the alumni group/community
- Editing your profile and changing your password
- Searching for other alumni
- Alumni Group news announcements
- Alumni Group discussion boards
- Sending messages to other alumni
- Adding a personal blog
- Adding a personal photo gallery
- Developing your "friends" network
- If you experience technical problems with the alumni group/community
Am I considered a Denver Seminary alumnus/alumna?
An alumnus or alumna of Denver Seminary is anyone who graduated from Denver Seminary, anyone who successfully completed 30 or more hours of credits at Denver Seminary, or anyone who received a Certificate of Completion (which are less than 30 hours, but are a completed program). If you qualify for alumnus status, but you are not listed in the alumni directory, please send your name, address, phone number, email address and years that you attended Denver Seminary to . We will confirm your status with the registrar's office. When we receive confirmation, you will be added to the alumni directory.
Setting up and accessing your alumni account and the alumni group/community
If you created an online community (also referred to as OurDenSem) account prior to April 28, 2008, you can access your alumni account the same way you access your online community account -- by using the "OurDenSem" link on the home page or the "Log In" link at the top of any page and the user name and password you chose when you created your account.
If you have not previously created an online community account, you will first need to send an email to to obtain your user name and password -- be sure to include your name, the email address you'd like associated with your account, and your graduating year for verification. Once you receive your user name and password, you can log in to Denver Seminary's web site through the OurDenSem link on the home page or by the "Log In" link at the top of any page.
Once you have logged in, you will see your "Me" page, which contains all of the information currently in your profile in the center column and links to other portions of the web site in the right-hand column.
Please note: by default, your profile information is available to view by those designated as your "friends," but you can change those permissions, if desired. (Learn more under "editing your profile" below.)
To access the alumni group/community information, click on "My Groups" from the right-hand column of your "Me" page and then click on "Alumni" from the center column. This will take you to the "Alumni Group home page."
Editing your profile
To edit your profile in the alumni community, first you must log in to OurDenSem. Once logged in, you are automatically directed to your "Me" page. This page shows your current profile information in the center column. To edit any of this information, add new information to this section, upload a photo for your profile or change permissions of who can see your information, click on the "Edit My Profile" link in the right-hand column.
A new screen will open inside your browser window. This is a secure interface, meaning that information you enter in this screen is encrypted for your secutiry. Use the links across the top of this embedded screen to select which parts of your profile you wish to add or update. Following is a list of the specific links with any applicable notes regarding each.
Please Note: If you make changes to any of these screens, you must click the "Save" button at the bottom of the screen or your edits will be lost. When you are finished, just click the "close" link in the upper right-hand corner of the embedded screen.
Contact
This screen allows you to change your name as it appears to the community and updates your personal contact information for other members of the community (permissions can control who can see this personal information as explained in a later section). We encourage you to keep your contact information current as it helps your fellow alumni and Denver Seminary stay connected to you.
While we do encourage you to keep all of your contact information up to date, the only fields that are required for your account are your name and your email address. (If no email address is listed for a given alumnus, it simple means that person has not yet joined the online community.)
Personal
This screen allows you to share personal information with other community members (this information can also be public or private based on the permissions you set, as described in a later section). Information may include your "nickname" your birthdate, a brief description about you, and various interests, hobbies, activities and favorites. Any of the information you enter here may be available for others to view based on the permissions you set.
While most of these categories are self-explanatory, some clarification should be added on the interests, activities and favorites boxes. These are a way for you to connect with others in the online community (even beyond the alumni group). Please use one or two word phrases in these boxes or specific book, movie or TV show titles or music goup/artist names. Each listing should be separated by a comma. The items listed in these boxes generate a way to search for people with common interests or likes, so, for example, if you list "gardening" as one of your activities, you will be able to search for other people who have listed "gardening" as one of their activities. The shorter and more generic your entries in these boxes, the more likely you are to find other people with similar interests (e.g., "reading" vs. "reading novels").
All of the information in this screen is optional.
Education
This screen allows you to include your educational background, which can be beneficial for connecting with others, is mandatory to be a part of the alumni group (except for system administrators), and can be helpful when networking with other alumni.
To add a school and a degree, just follow the instructions on the screen. If you did not actually graduate from Denver Seminary, please include the last year that you completed courses at the Seminary.
All alumni must have the following information, at minimum, in their education profile in order to be included in the alumni group:
- Level: graduate school
- School Name: Denver Seminary
- Class Year: [graduating year or last year courses were completed]
- Degree: [the degree you received from Denver Seminary, if applicable]
Any additional educational information is purely optional.
Work
This section allows you to add information about up to three employers. This may be a good way to connect with others who either worked for the same organization or who work in similar types of institutions. It can also be a great tool for networking with other alumni if you are searching for a job.
Feel free to be as detailed or general as you like in this section.
This information is completely optional.
Online
This section broadens your ability to share information with other alumni and members of the online community. You can include such information as a personal web site; any RSS feeds or Podcasts that you offer through that web site or other web sites (for example, if you are a teaching pastor and your church offers an RSS feed of your weekly sermons); and URLs to your Flickr or other online photo gallery.
All of this information is completely optional.
Groups
This section allows you to select which Denver Seminary Groups to which you belong. So far, the only group available at Denver Seminary is the alumni group. You are already a member of this group, so you do not need to do anything in this screen.
Picture
This screens allows you to upload an image from your computer for your profile. This is the image that others will see when they are searching the member directory or when they view information about you or your profile. It is recommended that these images be either .jpg or .gif files and that they be 100x100 pixels at 72dpi. Images that are not set to this size may be stretched or shrunk to fit, so it will look best if you set it to these parameters before uploading it.
While this is completely optional, please note that there is a generic image used for people who have not uploaded their own image. If you do not want this generic image to be used for your profile, you will need to upload an image. There is no way to "turn off" the default image.
Privacy
This screen allows you to set your privacy and email notification settings. While there are many groups listed in the "Groups" section, the only actual group that currently exists on Denver Seminary's web site is the alumni group (the other groups listed are a way to organize information on the web site, and do not contain any "members").
We suggest making information available to at the very least those people you have designated as "friends" in the online community. You may find, however, that it is an advantage for you to add the alumni group to the list of people who can view your personal information, as it is the only way that other alumni will be able to connect with you through the online directory. The selection "All Members" includes anyone, not just alumni, who have an account in OurDenSem.
You are invited to set your permissions however you choose, but we do encourage you to make your information available to all alumni so that other alumni can get in touch with you.
The email settings on this screen allow you to determine whether or not you want to receive email notification when someone requests that you join their "friend network" or when someone sends you a message through the online community. We recommend checking both of these boxes unless you plan to be in the community frequently. Receiving an email notification alerts you to activity related to you in the online community. You will only receive emails from the online community when someone requests you as a friend or when someone sends you a message.
Account (Changing Your Password)
The account screen allows you to change your password to access the alumni community. If your password was assigned by Denver Seminary, we strongly encourage you to change your password so that no one else can access your account.
If you ever forget your password, you can either click the "Forgot Password?" link on the login screen or send an email to to have a new password assigned to you.
Searching for other alumni
There are currently two ways to search for other alumni, and more ways will be added over the next several weeks. First, you must log in to OurDenSem. Then you can:
1. Search by name
From your "Me" page, which you will see when you log in to OurDenSem, you will notice a search box in the right-hand column. In that search box you can enter either a first name, a last name, or both a first and last name. The search results will appear in the center column.
2. Search for those in your graduating year
From your "Me" page, which you will see when you log in to OurDenSem, you will see, under the "Education" heading, your graduating year (or last year you attended if that information has been entered) as a link. You can click on this link and it will show you the names of everyone else who graduated in that year.
If the person you are looking for has the appropriate permissions set, you can click on that person's name to view his or her profile, including contact information and more. If permissions are not set for you to see that person's personal information, you will see a list of links with other options to get in touch with the person -- including sending a message through the online community, viewing their blog, seeing who is in their friends network, viewing their photo galleries (if applicable) or requesting this person as a "friend."
If you are having difficulty finding the alumnus or alumna you are looking for, feel free to send an email to for assistance.
Alumni group announcements
Any alumnus or alumna can submit a news announcement for viewing on the home page of the alumni group. News announcements can include anything from alumni marriage and birth announcements to books published, awards received, job changes and promotions, or whatever else you think other alumni might want to know about. New posts can be submitted by filling out this form. All new posts are reviewed for appropriateness to the community. Please allow 1-2 business days for posts to show up on the Alumni Group home page. If your post is not accepted for some reason, you will be notified.
If you would like to comment on any of the posts, you may do so at the bottom of the post -- just type in your comment, then click "Submit Comment". All comments are reviewed for appropriateness before being posted. Please allow 1-2 business days for comments to be approved.
Alumni group discussion boards
We have set up private discussion boards available only to Alumni. These boards can be viewed from the Alumni Group home page or by following this link (note that you must be logged in to our web site and be a member of the Alumni Group for this link to work). Complete instructions on posting to this message board/discussion forum are available in the "About this Message Board" section. If you have questions about the message board, please send an email to .
Sending messages to other alumni
When you are logged in to OurDenSem, you have the ability to send messages to other members. Please note that not all Denver Seminary alumni have an account in the Alumni Group, so some members may not receive messages you send to them through the online community.
To send a message, simply search for the alumnus or alumna to whom you wish to send the message. Under their profile picture and name, click the "Send Message" link. Type your message into the box and click "send".
If you opted to receive email notification when someone sends you a message, you will receive an e-mail as soon as a message is sent to you. To check your messages, just click the link in the email. If you are not already logged in to the web site, you will be directed to the log in page. Once logged in, in the right-hand column of your "Me" page, click the "My Messages" link to read your message(s).
If you opted not to receive email notification from your "Me" page, you will need to log in to see whether or not you have new messages. If you have unread messages, you will see a number in parentheses next to the "My Messages" link in the right-hand column. To read messages, simply click on this link.
Once you have read your messages, you have the option to either reply or delete the message -- simply click on the appropriate link.
Adding a personal blog
Everyone who is a member of the alumni community may have a personal blog. Blogs are short for "web log" and are like an online journal or diary that can be read by others. To create or post to your blog, simply log in to OurDenSem. From your "Me" page, click the "My Blog" link in the right-hand column. You are now able to view your blog posts, if any, and can add a new blog post.
Once finished, you can edit or delete your post as necessary.
Once you have add a blog post, readers to your blog can post comments to the posts to ask questions, make comments or offer congratulations.
Personal blogs are only visible to those who have logged in and cannot be read by the general public.
Adding a personal photo gallery
Everyone who is a member of the alumni community also has the ability to create personal photo galleries for others to view. To create a gallery, you must be logged in to OurDenSem. From your "Me" page, click the "My Galleries" link in the right-hand column. Click the "Add Gallery" link to create a new gallery. Choose a name for your gallery, then type in a description for the gallery. You can now begin adding photos to your gallery -- for those with slow connections, you might want to consider making sure that the file sizes for your images are not too large (we recommend in the 20-40kb range if possible). Follow the instructions for adding images, and your gallery is available for others to view.
Alumni may have multiple galleries.
Developing your "friends" network
Like Facebook, Denver Seminary's "friends" network helps you keep in touch with specific people that you know.
To invite people to be your "friend" in the community
Simply search for the person whom you want to be a "friend" and click the "Request as a Friend" link. When the person accepts the request, they will then show up in your "friends" list.
If you opted to receive email notification when someone requests that you join their friend network, you will receive an e-mail notifying you of the request. To check your messages, just click the link in the email. If you are not already logged in to the web site, you will be directed to the log in page. Once logged in, in the right-hand column of your "Me" page, click the "My Friends" link to approve or deny the request.
If you opted not to receive email notification from your "Me" page, you will need to log in to see whether or not you have new friend request. If you have unviewed requests, you will see a number in parentheses next to the "My Friends" link in the right-hand column. To approve or deny requests, simply click on this link.
To view those in your friends network
Simply log in and click the "My Friends" link in the righ-hand column. From your list of friends, you can click on the name or photo of any of them to view their contact information, send them a message, read their blog, view their photo gallery, etc.
You can remove a friend from your network at any time.
If you experience technical problems with the alumni group/community
Technical questions about the alumni group/community should be sent to .
