League for Innovation in the Community College Spring 2020 | Page 7

ADEMIC ENTERPRISE: nue Streams for Your College BY KEN STEELE Nonetheless, necessity can be the mother of compromise: Even the ancient monastic orders farmed their lands and sold grain, liquor, ale, cheese, and honey to support their holy missions. In recent decades, colleges and universities have explored hundreds of revenue opportunities, with varying success. Some ventures were too risky, failing to generate more income than expense, while others failed through an overabundance of caution. The most promising new revenue opportunities for your college will depend upon its history, culture, resources, context, industry partnerships, and competitors—and some unpredictable global forces. In general, though, I counsel college leaders to look for alternative revenue in four ways: monetizing the affinity of your stakeholders, leveraging the potential of your campus, commercializing your academic activities, and pursuing new markets for training and education. SPRING 2020 5