This post was written exclusively for Social Tables by Rebecca Rutherford, Digital Content Strategist for Ungerboeck Software International
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State funding of public universities has fallen. New technology investments are costly but necessary to remain competitive. Tuition fees are as high as they can be. Expenses have been trimmed as much as possible. So what else can your university do to increase revenue?
As Stephen G. Pelletier says in his article, Rethinking Revenue, published by The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), “Today, every public college and university needs to think anew—and broadly, creatively and entrepreneurially—about how to generate income.”
Among the many ideas being circulated, increasing the amount of meetings and events being held on campus is starting to surface as one of the more lucrative opportunities for universities.
Find new business with local businesses
If corporations within your community are already looking to your university to help cultivate professional growth, they may also trust your university to help support some of their other professional endeavors, such as growing their business with meetings and conferences.
Many businesses realize the value of face-to-face meetings (with stats proving that an increase in face-to-face meetings can increase business revenue by nearly 25%). That provides a very compelling reason for businesses to facilitate more in-person events, which presents your university with an interesting opportunity to emerge as a unique venue for meetings and events.
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As David Eisler, president of Ferris State University in Michigan, states in an article evaluating the evolving university business model, “Being an effective and respected community partner is very important in the new environment.” You already have the right facilities and equipment to cater to
business needs on your campus. It may just be a matter of marketing your venue offerings in a new way to a corporate audience.
Uncover surprising new revenue opportunities through your events
You might find that your university’s peripheral event services excel so much that these additional services begin to surface as legitimate new revenue streams.
For instance, do your campus catering services stand out? This could really help with your income initiatives. Take UMass Catering as an example of a university that now brings in $2.5 million annually by catering 500-plus events.
If you manage the details appropriately and prove your university’s meeting management capabilities, there’s no limit to the number of new event opportunities that could arise.
Showcase your campus to new, never-before-reached audiences
You never really know where your next student or faculty member will come from, so by attracting new audiences to your campus for meetings, and by showing off all of the great things your institution has to offer, you are increasing your university’s visibility and the likelihood that word will spread about your institution.
Imagine this: A local professional attends a meeting held at a conference center on your university’s campus. This happens to be the first time this person has stepped on your campus, and they are impressed with your facilities and hears great things about your university’s academic programs. This professional also just so happens to have a child in high school who is in the process of exploring higher education options. Suddenly, your university is on the list of candidates, and could have just won a new student as a result of the use of your conference center.
Universities are combating increasing costs and decreasing revenues but the need to further the institution’s mission hasn’t changed. This means it’s vital to think of new and more creative revenue streams. Could more meetings on your campus mean new revenue streams?
The post How to Increase Revenue at Your University with Events appeared first on The Social Tables Blog.
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