University Business December 2006 - (Page 50)

Smart 101 Revenue Generators and Money-Saving Ideas 22 22. Drill for dollars. To paraphrase the Rolling Stones, the University of Akron's diate 25 percent increase in out-of-state tuition revenue, with no negative impact Ohio supplemental revenue plan is all right in fact it's a gas. The university has on the number of out-of-state students. been drilling natural gas wells around campus and selling the gas to local en- 28 28. Run a half-off sale on tuition. Lebanon Val- ergy companies. The school predicts the gas wells will become a steady revenue ley College Pa. a liberal arts school, began a discount source in a few years. Each well costs about $325,000 to drill but an annual profit program 17 years ago, amid predictions that lowering of $60,000 to $120,000 is expected after three to six years. tuition would lead to financial ruin. To the contrary, an 23 23. Sell surplus goods on eBay. Oregon State, Penn State, Michigan State, and internal study revealed that revenue rose 113 percent, Washington State are just some of the schools selling items online. Penn has while costs increased only 9.6 percent since launching sold everything from pianos to doughnut machines. The University of Wisconsin the program. Known as the Presidential Scholarship opted to eschew eBay and start its own auction site, which brought in $280,000 Program, students in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class during its first year. receive a half-off tuition scholarship; those in the top 20 percent get one-third off tuition; and those in the top 30 percent receive one-quarter off. 24 24. Get institutional researchers' intellectual property out there. Corpora- 29 29. Invest in your website. The web is considered the single most important tions are in the market for new products and technologies. One way to find them tool in the college search process, according to Carnegie Communications, which is through UTEK www.utekcorp.com , a firm that helps schools set up patents for conducted on online survey on e-communications among 5,400 college-bound their discoveries and assists in finding public companies look- students. Still, many IHEs have disjointed, poorly designed sites. Is it time to ing to purchase them. The company calls itself an intellectual give pages housed in disparate departments a unified look? Are new graphics property matchmaker. the University of Maryland patented a needed? Consider, also, a content management system or other software to help technology used for early detection of lung and other forms organize the process. The outlay may be well worth the boost in enrollment. of cancer, while Emory University Ga. patented a receptacle designed to help safely transport sterile and used sharp in- 30 30. Use software to help in decision-making. The Admissions department at struments. Institutions may receive royalties from their pat- Auburn University Ala. saves time and money by using a program designed to ents as well as cash from UTEK's acquisition company. enhance diversity among its accepted students. Called Applications Quest, it was 25 25. Think spinoff. Ball State University's Digital Middletown Project is a wireless created two years ago by a faculty member. The software is designed to do a initiative designed to test the educational and social value of delivering high- holistic scan of applications. All aspects of the candidates in an applicant pool bandwidth wireless technology to local elementary schools in Muncie, Ind., sur- are compared, including GPA, race, gender, hometown, and other attributes. The rounding homes, and Ball State itself. The DMP generates $500,000 to $1 million in software then makes recommendations. annual revenue through the Office of Wireless Research and Mapping, a business 31 31. Boost enrollment through a distance learning division. The Boston Uni- spun off from the wireless project. As a bonus, the Office of Wireless Research versity Division of Extended Education serves nearly 3,000 enrolled students in and Mapping provides an opportunity for Ball State students to get work experi- undergraduate, graduate, and professional development programs. Its criminal ence to make them more marketable, and for faculty to do applied research in justice master's degree is the most popular program of its kind in the world; en- their areas of study. rollments grew from 45 to more than 400 in three years. The school's distance- 26 26. Do research for area businesses. Catawba College N.C. conducts chemical learning programs are an important revenue source, grossing $15 million per analysis and research projects for area businesses and industries through its on- year, more than making up for enrollment fall-off in part-time, on-campus night campus laboratory, CARL Catawba Analytical Research Laboratory . Businesses pay and weekend courses. a fee for students to conduct company research using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques. The students benefit also, earning money and getting exposure to RETAILING work-world applications. Participating businesses can use an independent lab for 32 32. Partner with booksellers. Students who can't find objective analysis, have access to instrumentation and laboratory techniques with- a book at the library or who want their own copy can be out purchasing equipment, and have a pipeline for recruiting future employees. directed elsewhere. The University Library of the Univer- sity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign launched its Buy a MARKETING/BRANDING/ENROLLMENT Book program in late June, providing students with links 27 27. Use market research to provide direction on enrollment. For one client to local and online booksellers. Some sellers including Amazon.com pay a institution, Stamats Communications used a tuition-pricing study to help guide small percentage to the University Library for each sale made through the links. how much it could charge out-of-state students. The result was an almost imme- Caution: State and other requirements may mean it takes some time to launch a 50 | December 2006 universitybusiness.com RevGen.indd RevGen.indd 50 11/17/06 4:05:06 PM http://Amazon.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business December 2006

Table of Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Future Shock
Admissions
Financial Aid
On the Hill
EDUCAUSE 2006 Highlights
Technology Spending Survey '07
101 Smart Revenue Generators (and Money-Saving Ideas)
Parking: A Lot To Look At
Engaging Alumni Online
One River, Not Two Streams
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business December 2006