101 smart revenue generators

University Business, Dec, 2006

10. Turn to outsourcing--but not by bringing vendors on campus. Rather, consider supplying the labor. Rural Sourcing, a startup company, is working with at least five colleges to provide inexpensive IT help for U.S. businesses in rural areas. The company's goal is to keep jobs in the United States while giving students some real-world work experience and preventing brain-drain in rural areas. Kathy B. White, founder and president, started the company in her hometown of Jonesboro, Ark., also home to Arkansas State University.

11. Shop around for health insurance. Although Saint Mary's College (Ind.) officials had sought new bids for several years with limited success, last year they used a broker. Three carriers, including the school's current one, got involved in a pricing battle for the business. The result was a decrease in premium costs of 10.8 percent this year, plus a rate cap guarantee for the next two years.

CAMPUS CARDS/FINANCIAL SERVICES

12. Put a seal of approval on car insurance and life insurance carriers. University at Albany, part of the State University of New York system, has select insurance company partners that are allowed to market to alumni. The alumni association receives royalties.

13. Get credit. Bank of America (formerly MBNA) and Chase both offer school-branded cards to alumni. Each school negotiates its own contract, which can range from a one-time donation for a new account, to funds for each purchase. Funds are generally used to finance alumni department activities.

14. Draw up incentive programs that increase usage of campus cards. Consider services such as banking, shopping, and restaurants. The first year of Georgia Institute of Technology's incentive program, which rewards students for funding their one-card accounts at the start of the school year, deposits increased by a total of more than $1 million to $4 million. Students who deposit $500 in their BuzzCard accounts at the beginning of the year receive $50 for campus retail food operations and $50 to use during evening hours at two restaurants located in the student center. Students now put more money on their BuzzCards and spend more money on campus. The program has also attracted outside support, with Atlanta-based Coca-Cola joining in as a sponsor.

15. Link your campus card program with a national retail network. About 100 colleges and universities partner with Student Advantage, a national discount service, and, in turn, earn a portion of the student membership fees. Schools that partner with SA offer discount cards to students, or incorporate the SA logo and program into an existing campus card program. Students pay a minimum of $20 per year to enjoy such discounts as 15 percent off of Amtrak fares or 10 percent off of online Target purchases. (Multi-year programs have higher fees.) The IHE receives 20 percent of the student membership fee.

16. Streamline financial aid refund processing. Pace University (N.Y.) works with Higher One, a refund management and banking services company, to produce a weekly report on refunds. The disbursements, which were once issued by check only, are now available to students via a wire transfer to accounts that are linked to a debit card. Since the system is automated and electronic, Pace saves money on accounting, reconciliation of refund amounts, and mailing costs. The school receives a percentage of any purchase for which the debit card is used. Pace now processes its refund checks at less than half the cost it used to pay, and revenue generated from the debit cards has tripled over three years.