League for Innovation in the Community College Spring 2020 | Page 9

“ 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 7