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?
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?
Topics: bookstore events, college stores, college bookstore
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.
Everyone on campus has a stake in student achievement — including retailers. College advisers, tutors and faculty should focus on excellence, of course. But it’s easy to overlook how non-academic settings like the college bookstore might facilitate retention and graduation. A strong collegiate retailer does more than sell textbooks and supplies. It functions as a full-fledged student service.
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.
Topics: graduation, bookstore events, college stores
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.
Topics: course materials, textbook delivery, textbooks
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.
Topics: college retail, college stores, student hunger
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.
Topics: college bookstore, Gen Z, college fan gear
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.
Topics: college stores, gen z trends, gen z characteristics
Everything comes back in style. You have probably heard or even said this adage at some point in your life. From clothes to music to hairstyles, certain trends make their way back into the limelight time and time again. Right now, vintage fashions are experiencing a rebirth at the hands of Generation Z.
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