Wright State University Foundation Connect (University Connect) was designed by the Wright State University Foundation in partnership with QME Spotlight as a tool to assist higher education expand revenue streams by facilitating simplified relationships with their corporate partners. 

Build trust * Add value * Deepen engagements * Generate revenue

Solutions

One-stop shopping – According to the National Association of Corporate Relations Officers, a “one-stop shopping” approach is highly attractive to companies as it simplifies and accelerates access to university resources^*. University Connect offers opportunities for your corporate partners to access all of the following (and more) in one place:

1)    Faculty Expertise – University Connect offers its higher education partners a chance to enhance their faculty recruitment and retention efforts by providing faculty a platform on which they can promote their areas of expertise outside their scholarly community through friendship, volunteering or in return for compensation.

2)    Workforce Development – University Connect is flexible enough to direct inquiries for internships/co-ops to your centralized Career Services center or to unit-based centers. Additionally, University Connect can be personalized to have inquiries include required major(s), class year, minimum GPA, etc. to a request. 

University Connect can also connect to your existing alumni website or LinkedIn page in the event a mid-career professionals are the credentials desired.

3)    Laboratory Space – As higher education grapples with a shrinking population of college degree seeking students, leveraging underutilized assets like laboratory facilities is a way to enhance corporate relationships, generate revenue, and expose current students to real-life corporate research. University Connect provides a platform on which external users can research, book and pay to use laboratory space at your university. 

4)    Meeting Space – Much like laboratory space, universities have classroom and event space that tends to go largely underutilized. University Connect offers your university a platform where external parties can research, schedule and pay for these spaces. 

University Connect is flexible enough to allow users to see catering restrictions your campus may have, as well as connect users to your catering provider(s).

5)    Research (Grants/Contracts)/Tech Transfer – One of the great challenges on college campus’ is connecting research/tech transfer with the corporate relations office. University Connect allows corporate partners to engage with both simultaneously, as well as allowing those responsible for maximizing the impact of a corporate relationship to track these engagements.  

6)    Continuing/Executive Education & Professional Development – Academic offerings that do not count towards a degree often times stress a registrar’s office that is committed to meeting the needs of traditional students.

University Connect not only offers a platform where these types of courses can be scheduled, offered and paid for, but also a place for certificate/stackable certificate programs to be managed.

7)    Business Services – On many college campuses, schools encourage faculty advised student groups with specific expertise to offer their services at a fee. Students acquire real-world experience by helping “corporate clients” solve problems that they may not have the personnel/bandwidth to address on their own.

University Connect provides a platform to amplify these services by providing a platform where potential clients can research, schedule and pay for these services.

8)    Capstone Projects – Capstone/Senior Design projects where students demonstrate/showcase their academic acumen are becoming more popular in many academic disciplines. Companies have shown that they not only appreciate the opportunity to challenge students through Capstone projects but have also shown their willingness to fund these projects.

University Connect offers a platform where corporate partners can post opportunities that meet the specific requirements to qualify as a Capstone project, including funding the project(s). This offers individuals or groups of students more choices and a non-internship/co-op engagement with a potential employer.

User Friendliness – In a world where companies like Uber and VRBO provide an online platform to connect asset owners with those desiring the use of those assets, why is higher education not doing the same?  Providing your corporate partners with a platform where they can identify, schedule and pay for university assets is the type of user friendliness our world has come to expect. 

Integration – Data that can’t be integrated into an existing system(s) can create more problems than opportunities. University Connect has been intentionally designed to make exporting data for all advancement, finance and IT systems with import capabilities. 

Employee Turnover – Personal relationships are paramount to successful corporate relations efforts, but what happens when the representative from either the corporation or university transitions out? University Connect’s online platform not only bridges this gap, but in the event of a pandemic or other unforeseen situation, University Connect provides seamless connectivity to corporate partners, existing and new.

Multiple relationships – Imagine going shopping and having to go to different stores in the same shopping center for each of the following: frozen foods, produce, cereal and your favorite libation(s). If you wouldn’t relish that opportunity, why are so many higher education institutions making their corporate partners manage multiple relationships in multiple locations across their campuses? University Connect takes all potential components of a relationship and puts them in one place, enhancing your corporate partner’s experience.   

Relationship management – While personal relationships are critical to successful corporate relations results, turnover is inevitable. University Connect offers a complement to personal relationships by offering online access to amenities 24-7. Also, by having a structured online presence, new or growing companies that may not have been on your radar can self-identify by registering to access online offerings versus potentially finding themselves in the vacuum of unit-based relationships where “you will need to speak with them if you want that” can sabotage a greater level of engagement.  

Value add – Over the years corporate philanthropy has become directly correlated to the value a strategic university partnership adds to the company. University Connect not only simplifies this process by seamlessly connecting companies with university assets, but it also provides the tracking of engagements indicative of established and mature relationships that lead to philanthropic support.

^*https://www.nacrocon.org/assets/docs/publications/NACRO_whitepaper_five_essential_elements.pdf