When it
comes to the campus store at colleges and universities, serving the needs of
students and faculty is more important than generating revenue in the eyes of
auxiliary directors.
In a recent
survey, 85% of auxiliary professionals with oversight of the campus store said
the store’s main purpose was as a service provider for students and faculty.
While making money from the store was still a high priority for 68% of respondents,
service was far and away a more critical function.
The survey,
conducted by OnCampus Research, part of the indiCo services at NACS, also
showed that 88% of auxiliary administrators thought the campus store should
ensure students have access to all the course materials they need right on the
first day of class. Some 72% also gave a high priority to low prices on course
materials.
Auxiliary
directors don’t view sales of course materials as a source of revenue.
According to the survey summary, “most administrators do not expect to generate
revenues through course materials sales, with just about half of respondents
indicating revenue as a priority, and the majority of those respondents ranking
it only as moderately important.”
Being able
to ensure a high level of service to the school community was the main reason
55% of auxiliary directors said they chose to continue institutional operation
of their campus store.