Trackers, watches and IRC
Bruce
Also, Trackers are like an electronic form and as such are very powerful & flexible (esp since Mose's overhaul in v1.9) . I think you could easily build an Alumni Directory containing the fields you want using Trackers and use filters for searching.
Use the icon in the top right hand corner (looks like an eye) to set a 'monitor' on a Forum thread. You can manage these by sselecting Watches in your preferences menu.
I have found IRC support to be excellent for immediate help. Time zones are somthing to be aware of though esp for those of us in Aus, NZ etc as you need to catch the Europeans when they are awake 😉
http://tikiwiki.org/ConnectingToIrc
hth
Julie