Universities are becoming less important with such a wealth of information for free online. So how can a university, we will say The University of Findlay, use this technology to there advantage. Well let me use an example:

The Lemonade Stand Theory

Two 11 year old girls set up two different lemonade stands. The first one is your typical lemonade stand. A card table, chair, Countrytime lemonade jar, a huge pitcher, ice, cups. A sign on the front of the table reads, “lemonade for 25 cents.” We have all seen this type before, probably even done it.

The second lemonade stand is a bit different. It still has a card table, a chair, but there are no pitchers, no Countrytime lemonade, no plastic cups. What it does have however is a giant bowl of fresh lemons, ice, a nifty little hand held juicer, and glasses. The one thing that really stands out however is that the sign on front of the stand says FREE LEMONADE. And because the girl has to pay for the lemons, she puts a tip jar on the table.

You’re driving by and see both lemonade stands. Instead of stopping and paying a mere quarter for a lemonade, You decide to try the free lemonade. The 11 year old girl greets you and asks for if you would like a glass of lemonade. Of course you say yes. The girl begins by setting up the glass and filling it with ice, but instead of rushing through, she asks how your day is going. The 5 minute conversation takes place as she squeezes each lemon into the glass. You have just got off work and it is nice to talk to someone, even if its a 11 year old girl. She asks if you would like sugar but says its better without.You take your time drinking the lemonade and am truly satisfied. Refreshing. You pull out your wallet and decide she deserves a tip, but instead a measly dollar, You reach for your 5 because you have felt she was genuine with you.

A line has started forming of people wanting the free lemonade. She didn’t rush you through the conversation or the lemonade making process. She was ok with having a line. That line was just part of her strategy. When people would drive by, they seen the two lemonade stands and assumed that the one with the line was better. And because she was genuine with each customer, even a dollar tip was 400% more than what her competitor was making on each customer. Sometimes free makes you more money.

Ok back to the original example of the universities.  How could The University of Findlay stand out from its surrounding colleges. How about offering free classes? I know what you are saying, this is a different circumstance and nobody is going to give a “tip” for a free class. Understandable, but how about instead of offering a full class, the university has graduate assistants, who are already working for the college, teach a one night a week basic class in their major. For instance, why not have a graduate assistant in the MBA course teach Business 101 for half a semester, one night a week, for the community. And to make it competitive, offer it to the first 60 people each night.  Have you figured where I’m going with this yet?

After the eight weeks is up, you might have 10% of the class ready to enroll at the college to further pursue this field. You have sparked enough interest to motivate someone to make the jump. How much did it cost the Univ? Nothing really! the GA was already working for a professor, the room to hold the classroom isn’t costing anything. No need to have books, just use online information, powerpoints, etc.

Not to ramble, but now those 60 community members can tell their friends how they are going to a business class at the U of F for free once and week. Some might say negative things about the class, but most are going to be proud to tell their friends that they are attending a college level course.

Private traditional universities have not embraced the use of technology yet. Powerpoints, email, software, etc are not strategical uses of technology but rather operations. When those who are driving the strategy of the universities catch on, it wil be too late for most. Instead, an “outside the box” ideology needs to be ingrained into those leaders now. This example could hold true to any field of interest. Not only would the university become even more personable to the community, but would also give those students more access to whats available in their community.