University Business - August 2007 - (Page 16)

BEHIND the NEWS The Indestructible Bookstore ONLINE UNIVERSITIES ARE IN the business of building websites, not actual buildings. But that didn’t stop Grantham University (www.grantham.edu), a virtual IHE that serves about 10,000 students, from opening a 13,000-square-foot physical bookstore last May in Kansas City, Mo., where the university is headquartered. Housing more than 18,000 textbooks as well as Grantham accessories and apparel, “it’s the equivalent of a college bookstore,” says Joe McGrath, executive vice president of Grantham. But there is one big difference—this bookstore was not designed for students to use in-person. “It was really designed as a book distribution center,” McGrath says. Its location is key. “It’s only about 10 minutes away from the university’s Kansas City home base so if it’s necessary to have a book delivered there, it’s very convenient.” C O U R S E C A TA L O G U Tops in Student Debt Education Programs WITH THE PROBABILITY OF HIGHER ED INSTITUTIONS BEING HELD more and more responsible for ensuring that students understand the financial aid available to them, it helps to know colleges and universities that have already implemented successful student debtmanagement programs. The education loan guarantor USA Funds has recognized the following institutions with 2007 Excellence in Debt Management Awards: Best Program: International Academy of Design and Technology IADT is a private four-year college with a dozen campuses, with its main campus in Tampa, Fla. Student messages: Don’t forget to begin loan repayment on time. Maintain good credit and developing realistic budgets. Find out the advantages and disadvantages to loan consolidation. Student contact: Quarterly meetings with new students on financial literacy. Exit presentations for graduates and students who have withdrawn. Calls to remind graduates when loan repayment begins and to answer questions about repayment options. Borrowers contacted via MySpace.com when phone calls or e-mails produce no response. Results: Default rates are down, and students better understand their financial obligations. First Runner-Up: West Virginia University School of Medicine WVU’s medical school serves approximately 425 students within the public institution. Student messages: Get a picture of previous graduates’ debt. Budgeting, credit card management, credit scores, and cutting everyday expenses are important. Know how to get insurance coverage and find a financial advisor. Understand the basics of how money grows, stock market investing, and taxes. Student contact: Annual letter informing each student of current debt loan and estimated future payments. Hour-long personal finance presentation during orientation; second-year student presentation in the works. Three-hour session for graduating students. Voiceover presentations on student web portal. Results: Med students already have low loan default rates, but student reaction to the initiatives has been favorable. Second Runner-Up: Indiana Business College IBC is a private career school with 11 campuses and an online program. Student messages: Borrow conservatively. Understand your loan terms. Student contact: Multiple individual financial aid meetings with loan counseling. Delinquency letters for student borrowers, customized by campus and how late payments are. Delinquent borrowers phoned daily. Home or workplace visits arranged, if necessary, to facilitate payment. Results: Default rates are down, and the initiatives have helped improve student credit scores, increase retention rates, and enhance the levels of trust between IBC and its students. Information on USA Funds’ debt management resources can be found online at www.usafunds.org/financial_aid. —Melissa Ezarik McGrath said this was a much-needed facility. “We had a bookstore in our original home base of Louisiana, but a tidal surge from the lake put it under eight feet of water,” he says. As a result, the university lost close to half of a million dollars worth of books, McGrath says. “We wanted to find a place to rebuild it that would be impervious to floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes,” McGrath says. The bookstore’s new location in Kansas City’s SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground complex that’s home to more than 50 businesses and hosts a 10k race in the winter, seems to be a perfect fit. “Opening a bookstore 40 feet underground in an old limestone quarry has been quite an adventure,” McGrath says. —Alana Klein 16 | August 2007 universitybusiness.com http://www.grantham.edu http://MySpace.com http://www.usafunds.org/financial_aid http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - August 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Admissions
On the Hill
Future Shock
Independent Outlook
Facility Focus
Wanted: Foreign Students
Service With a Star
Beneficial Benefits
Addition By Subtraction
Report from EduComm 2007
Report Card
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - August 2007