League for Innovation in the Community College Spring 2020 | Page 9
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Some of the largest financial returns can come from pursuing
new markets for your existing academic programs, such as
students living in underserved areas, veterans, and/or those
who already have bachelor’s or advanced degrees.”
Campus lands are a timeless asset with revenue potential.
In the right market, you can sign long-term land leases for
office, residential, or retail development. You can share
revenue from a professional sports stadium, or even build
an entire town around your campus, like Simon Fraser
University’s UniverCity, expected to generate a $150
million endowment. In the pursuit of energy efficiency and
sustainability, some campuses have drilled natural gas wells
on campus or built wind turbines or solar farms, sometimes
selling surplus energy back to the regional grid.
Realizing campus revenue potential requires
entrepreneurial thinking and sound management in
ancillaries, but won’t disrupt the academic status quo.
COMMERCIALIZING ACADEMIC ACTIVITY
Research universities have been transferring technology to
the private sector for a century, but even if your institution
isn’t poised to license medical breakthroughs or launch
the next Silicon Valley, you may profit from applied
research, or offering lab services or human resources
consulting to corporate clients. Hundreds of campus-based
entrepreneurial incubators help launch new ventures, often
in exchange for rent, equity, royalties, or future philanthropy.
Your college can realize revenue not just from research
activity, but also from teaching and learning activity. Some
colleges sell or raffle houses built by their construction
trades students as a learning exercise. There is seldom
much profit in operating a campus restaurant, but Niagara
College has established learning enterprises, including a
culinary institute, commercial greenhouses, aesthetics spa,
teaching brewery, winery, and distillery, that collectively
contribute as much as $1 million annually.
Commercializing research or learning activities will require
faculty champions and long-term commitment, but won’t
meet as much cultural resistance as pursuing new markets.
PURSUING NEW MARKETS
Some of the largest financial returns can come from
pursuing new markets for your existing academic programs,
such as students living in underserved areas, veterans,
and/or those who already have bachelor’s or advanced
degrees. Building on the needs of part-time students might
require fundamental changes to program delivery and
timetables, such as extended hours, monthly session starts,
compressed delivery, or online learning. For example, a
burgeoning $2 billion online program management industry
offers a range of revenue-sharing models.
In many countries, international students are the revenue
mother lode. Colleges hire foreign agents, establish
pathway programs with multinational partners, license
their programs to foreign institutions, and even establish
overseas campuses. International ventures are risky,
though, facing global competition and volatile market
conditions, from currency fluctuations and natural disasters
to military conflict or political fallout.
Some community colleges generate millions in revenue—at
very strong profit margins—through continuing education,
apprenticeship programs, customized workforce training,
or custom credentials for sector councils and industry
associations. You might even find potential in employee
tuition plans, like the partnerships Moraine Valley
Community College has with UPS and Valencia College and
other education partners have with Disney Aspire.
Like any entrepreneur, a campus CEO seeking revenue
has to weigh institutional strengths, market demands, and
competition. The most transformational opportunities often
require a significant culture shift across your institution,
increased tolerance for market-driven thinking, and respect
for the entrepreneurial mindset.
Ken Steele is President, Eduvation Inc.
SPRING 2020
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