Copy of Standards Project

The NACS Foundation Standards Project is a multi-year undertaking designed to ensure that independent college stores have access to the data and tools they need to be successful.  

A Necessary Project

The college store industry is being disrupted by a variety of factors including changes in higher education and the evolution of both course materials and retail. College stores and college administrators need better tools by which they can measure the store's performance in order to maximize their success. Developing unified, industry-specific standards and meaningful metrics will aid store leaders in educating and sharing important information with institutional leadership and other key constituencies.

Direction and Planning

As the architect of this project, the NACS Foundation sees the Standards Project as an opportunity to provide a common framework resulting in actionable items that can be used to measure store success against comprehensive and objective industry benchmarks. The NACS Foundation is investing significant resources in the software and process on which this project is being built. We expect the outcomes of the Standards Project to benefit our entire industry and increase the ability of independent stores to remain viable and successful which will, in turn, directly benefit the vendors that serve the college store market. 

The NACS Foundation Board of Directors selected financial performance standards as the initial priority in part because it is a potential area of risk, especially for smaller stores. “Knowing your numbers” and the ability to communicate financial results effectively to a campus administrators is absolutely essential. Stores that are unable to do this are at a disadvantage in many ways and can be perceived as weak by compared to a lease-management alternatives. Participation in industry-wide financial surveys and benchmarking the store's results are critical.

The Need

A project of this nature has been a topic of interest and discussion for many years. Other non-academic campus entities have established industry standards, as has "traditional" retail, but college stores have not received the same detailed, industry-specific tools. 

Previous tools that have been developed for campus stores have been subject-specific focusing on only one area of running a campus store rather than providing the holistic approach that will be available through the NACS Foundation Standards Project. 

The lack of a single, industry-wide repository for store performance and customizable dashboards and reports has kept campus stores at a disadvantage. Up until now, outputs from attempts at benchmarking have offered static reports and snapshots that do not allow the necessary freedom to update and manipulate data in ways that truly meet a store’s needs. 

The Solution

Creating a large-scale project that will evolve to include all aspects of the college store operation will proactively meet the needs of the industry by developing tools, resources, and education focused on the specific operational areas that will help stores the most. These include financials, staff management, course materials, retail technology, customer service, and more. The goal is for stores to be equipped with the data and tools that provide a detailed account of their current status along with their historical data with all areas linking to professional development and education opportunities. 

The NACS Foundation Standards Project will allow for greater alignment within the college store industry as well as with all relevant campus audiences. College stores are complex entities requiring special expertise and are not always understood or appreciated by the administration and the many other stakeholders you serve. Likewise, establishing industry standards for collegiate retail is a complex project with many moving parts and a variety of stakeholders. Consequently, this endeavor is expected to a number of years to develop completely. 

An important element of the project is a relationship with the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). CAS is a well-known and well-respected organization in higher education that comprises over 40 national campus-related organizations including student unions, financial aid, orientation, student health, advising and counseling, campus law enforcement, and dormitories. These organizations work with CAS to develop standards of professional practice to guide practitioners and institutions. There are many ways the resulting standards can be applied including self-assessment, assisting in the development of new programs, and educating graduate students entering higher education as a profession.

Additionally, this project serves to further align NACS and the NACS Foundation as partners in cultivating and creating education and research that is essential to the continued success of the college store industry. This ongoing partnership will allow tailor education to meet the exact needs of the industry we serve. 

Financial Standards

Understanding the current financial performance of your store as well as being aware of your institution's expectations for your store's financial goals are key to the success of your independent college store. The NACS Foundation Board of Directors has set financial standards as the initial focus of the Standards Project since these are the main yardstick used to measure the store's performance. As the first step in this process, the following financial standards have been set and were endorsed by the NACS Foundation Board of Directors:

1

Goals

All college stores must communicate with the campus administration and clearly understand the administration’s goals and expectations for the store’s financial outcomes, on a spectrum that ranges from maximizing profit to break-even or institutional subsidy, including promotion of student affordability initiatives and related pricing strategies.

2

KPIs

College stores must routinely monitor financial results of the operation, comparing store location(s) and merchandise categories to prior year and budget, and including the 12 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

3

Monitor

College stores should also measure and monitor balance sheet financial results whenever possible at the store level.

4

Benchmarking

College stores must benchmark financial results against other campus stores by participating with one or more credible and comprehensive industry financial surveys sponsored by an industry association, identifying areas with opportunity for improvement, and developing a detailed action plan.

5

Understand

College stores must understand the financial KPIs that are tracked and benchmarked and communicate those financial results with analysis and commentary to the campus administration or store’s board of directors, depending upon the ownership structure.
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