(Fiction question) My protagonist is a founder of some universities. How does he inflation-proof his universities?
As per Fluther rules, I cannot mention his name nor book title, but this is an Alternate History novel I have planned.
When he founds the Kansas Institute of Technology in 1900, he sets the rate for tuition at $5/credit hour, and room-and-board at $10/month.
To reward high-achievers, the university offers discounts to anyone who achieves a 3.0 GPA or higher, in a sliding scale, until a GPA of a 3.91–4.0 earns them a free ride. (However, that top of the achievement scale only slashes the room-and-board by half, so students can become university employees to help pay the other half.)
The founder wishes to keep the tuition rate at $5/credit-hour for as long as possible, and room-and-board $10/month.
How does he secure funds to stave off rising costs in order to delay hikes for as long as he can?
Also, how does he improve the efficiency of the university’s operation so that the operating costs stay low for as long as possible?
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He will advertise worldwide to anywhere that speaks English, to draw in students all over the world to study at KIT. The coffee and school-supply shops on the first floors of nearly every building will secure revenue.
The residence halls’ dining centers (which are buffet-style, as nearly every one of them are), will charge by-the-pound to take food out of the facilities. That will be another profit pipe.
Another major revenue source is advertisements on the walls and sidewalks of KIT. (たか 篠原 will make sure that the sidewalks’ paints are non-slippery.)
All the advertisements will be relevant to education and school supplies somehow, and maybe other categories just so long as they’re not detrimental to education. Advertisements will be paid on a bidding basis.
When a prime ad location is sought after by many advertisers, the highest bidder wins the spot for a semester, then pays a renewal (or participates in another auction.)
When the college needs to secure more funding, they open up new spaces for ads. (Sides of buildings, walls inside them, more sidewalk spaces, and etc.)
Eventually, even the doors of each residence hall dorm room become open to accept ads (while also giving the occupants a cut of the revenue.)
If all else falls short, since our protagonist starts the story with immense wealth, he’ll still endow the university whatever it takes it keep propping it up while charging the same low rates, while funding the R&D necessary to figure out how to keep the University self-sufficient without succumbing to inflation.
He secures funding from the government as well as research contracts from private corporations and offers education for free, as it should be.
Isn’t that wretched book finished yet? Do your own research, please.
@gailcalled I think each novel in the series will span two years in the story, and the protagonist is due to pass away in 1990.
@ragingloli Yes, Raging, he will give a tuition discount to high-achievers, and depending on other merits and etc., scholarships will pay for the other half of the room-and-board. I did mention that anyone who scores in the 3.91–4.0 GPA range will get a free tuition ride, and half-price on the room-and-board.
Yes, the government will help, and I’m sure his universities will get a good load of research contracts.
(On the opposite end of the spectrum, to discourage under-achievement, his universities will charge a sliding tuition surcharge to anyone who has below a 2.0 GPA, until a 0.0–0.09 causes the student to owe double their usual tuition and room-&-board.)
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