Many factors go into student success, such as retention rates, college affordability, student preparedness, student engagement, etc. By supporting the whole student, schools can improve outcomes and help students persist. However, initiatives with campus-wide support produce the best results. Whether a campus initiative or a bookstore initiative, communication is vital to its success.
As student expectations for convenience continue to evolve, so must college stores. Changes to the way course materials are handled and delivered have a big impact on the overall student experience with your bookstore. Recently, we sat down with the Associate Director of Kennesaw State University Bookstore Kimberly Holland to discuss the changes the store made to its course material distribution and how it benefits the students.
College stores serve their campus community as a retail and social hub. From the moment students are accepted all the way to graduation, the store is a constant presence in students’ college life. However, what happens after graduation?
The college store is more than just a bookstore. It can be a total support system for the entire campus. Innovative stores create opportunities to better serve their campus community. Recently, we sat down with University of Minnesota Bookstores’ Marketing Manager Kari Erpenbach to discuss how their Tech Time courses have helped engage the campus community and increase store traffic.
The college store industry is changing. From buyback to course material delivery, college stores must evolve to continue meet the needs of campus. We recently sat down with Kurt Kaiser, assistant director of textbooks at Colorado State University Bookstore, to discuss how their store has met new challenges and saved students more than $4.1 million.
It is that time of year again. Seniors are getting ready to take their final tests as undergraduates. The college store has been part of their higher education experience from their first year to their last. Make sure your college store is prepared to give these students the send off they deserve.
Located on the main campus of the University of Kansas, the KU Bookstore serves a large student population. As other stores closed and the online student population grew, KU Bookstore’s customer base ballooned. The sheer volume of people being directed to their store made it increasingly difficult to provide all students with the great service they expect. To help streamline the textbook purchasing process, the KU Bookstore made some changes to incentivize online ordering.
Research shows that students who feel a connection to their new school and other students during orientation are more likely to persist and graduate. With a national first-year retention rate of only 61%, colleges and universities can utilize orientation to help students develop that sense of fitting in and connection, which can lead to improved retention. Why is student orientation so important to student success and retention, and how does the University of Connecticut’s orientation program connect students to the University, its campus resources and fellow students.
The Campus Store at the University of Utah has been making headlines lately with their Charity Round-up Program. In the five years the bookstore has been running the program, they have raised more than $54,000 for a wide range of campus organizations — just under $24,000 was raised in 2018.
College fan gear is a staple in student closets. Wearing logoed apparel to class, to run errands, to big game day events and even for a night out, Generation Z students want collegiate apparel that is versatile, affordable and comfortable. However, students also gravitate toward specific style trends. If they can’t find what they are looking for on campus, they will shop elsewhere.
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