Northwestern College
Small College, Huge Volume, No Problem
TouchNet Helps Northwestern Answer Higher Calling
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Private Christian college, founded in 1902
- Enrollment: Approx. 2,400
- Featured TouchNet technology: Commerce Management System
There are several American colleges and universities named Northwestern. Everyone knows the famous one, near Chicago, yet one of its much smaller namesakes is no small player when it comes to online commerce.
Like so many similar-sized TouchNet clients, Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn., used to deal with long lines at cashier windows, frustrated students and staff, and escalating costs associated with paper bills and refunds. In the TouchNet Commerce Management System, Northwestern found a single solution to those challenges, one that could also handle its unique and enormous non-student revenue stream.
Campus Profile
To understand how a school with around 2,400 students can take in millions in non-student payments each year, it helps to know a little history. Northwestern was founded more than 100 years ago on a philosophy of "faith, learning and living." Thirty credits of Bible study are integrated into every major. In fact, the famous Rev. Billy Graham, spiritual advisor to many U.S. presidents, presided over the college in the 1940s and '50s.
Sixty years ago, Graham launched the first of 13 listener-supported Christian radio stations now owned and operated by the college. Each relies on listener "Sharathons" to fund its annual operating expenses. Combined, they can generate 150,000 or more gift receipts per year.
Consensus: TouchNet
Northwestern and three other Twin Cities colleges formed a consortium for a recent ERP implementation. At the same time, the group shopped for campus commerce technology to hook up to their new ERPs. Out went the RFPs, in came the choices, and then a big decision to make.
The four schools vary in size, but all had the same goals:
- Automate and streamline the business office
- Improve online services to students, parents and other constituents
- Lock down data and get out of the credit card business
- Save more money, and make more of it
Under those criteria, the TouchNet Commerce Management System was the consortium's ultimate choice, with the Marketplace™ component sealing the deal for Northwestern.
"We looked a little harder at Marketplace, naturally. We saw how it could adapt to and interface with our own custom application to handle the growing online volume of Sharathon donations," said Jeffrey Wipf, project manager for Northwestern's Campus Technology department. "While other solutions would've been OK for the other schools, we're doing seven to 10 times their transaction levels. There were too many limitations with the other vendors."
ROI Right Away
Northwestern was the first in the consortium to implement the entire Commerce Management System. It didn't take long to generate early, positive returns:
- Bill+Payment™ eliminated 6,000 paper statements per year, equating to $23,000 in savings.
- Payment plan enrollment now generates in excess of $30,000 in new revenue annually.
- Implementing PayPath™ reduced credit card fees by $80,000 in the first year, and students are trending heavily to ACH.
Cashier lines are history, so staff hours are reduced and Northwestern is now ahead of the services curve with students and parents. All transactions are reflected in real time, so all users know exactly where they stand, and the school's reconciliation and data request nightmares are over.
If the figures above seem underwhelming, remember the radio stations. The local St. Paul-based KTIS alone has been known to raise as much as $4 million during a single Sharathon event. Equally important, the millions in donations now travel through the same certified PCI-compliant channels as the school's other revenue streams.
Yes, it created a streamlined, secure platform for Sharathons, but now the school has a single solution when other campus merchants want to jump aboard. There's no need to manage (and pay) multiple vendors, maintenance agreements and licensing fees. The platform is there, just waiting for new merchants.
"We have quite a lineup of new things in the works for Marketplace, both uPay and uStore sites," Wipf said. "TouchNet has already shown it can work for us, and work with us. We're looking forward to leveraging what has already proven to be a smart investment."
Northwestern College
Small College, Huge Volume, No Problem
TouchNet Helps Northwestern Answer Higher Calling
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Private Christian college, founded in 1902
- Enrollment: Approx. 2,400
- Featured TouchNet technology: Commerce Management System
There are several American colleges and universities named Northwestern. Everyone knows the famous one, near Chicago, yet one of its much smaller namesakes is no small player when it comes to online commerce.
Like so many similar-sized TouchNet clients, Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn., used to deal with long lines at cashier windows, frustrated students and staff, and escalating costs associated with paper bills and refunds. In the TouchNet Commerce Management System, Northwestern found a single solution to those challenges, one that could also handle its unique and enormous non-student revenue stream.
Campus Profile
To understand how a school with around 2,400 students can take in millions in non-student payments each year, it helps to know a little history. Northwestern was founded more than 100 years ago on a philosophy of "faith, learning and living." Thirty credits of Bible study are integrated into every major. In fact, the famous Rev. Billy Graham, spiritual advisor to many U.S. presidents, presided over the college in the 1940s and '50s.
Sixty years ago, Graham launched the first of 13 listener-supported Christian radio stations now owned and operated by the college. Each relies on listener "Sharathons" to fund its annual operating expenses. Combined, they can generate 150,000 or more gift receipts per year.
Consensus: TouchNet
Northwestern and three other Twin Cities colleges formed a consortium for a recent ERP implementation. At the same time, the group shopped for campus commerce technology to hook up to their new ERPs. Out went the RFPs, in came the choices, and then a big decision to make.
The four schools vary in size, but all had the same goals:
- Automate and streamline the business office
- Improve online services to students, parents and other constituents
- Lock down data and get out of the credit card business
- Save more money, and make more of it
Under those criteria, the TouchNet Commerce Management System was the consortium's ultimate choice, with the Marketplace™ component sealing the deal for Northwestern.
"We looked a little harder at Marketplace, naturally. We saw how it could adapt to and interface with our own custom application to handle the growing online volume of Sharathon donations," said Jeffrey Wipf, project manager for Northwestern's Campus Technology department. "While other solutions would've been OK for the other schools, we're doing seven to 10 times their transaction levels. There were too many limitations with the other vendors."
ROI Right Away
Northwestern was the first in the consortium to implement the entire Commerce Management System. It didn't take long to generate early, positive returns:
- Bill+Payment™ eliminated 6,000 paper statements per year, equating to $23,000 in savings.
- Payment plan enrollment now generates in excess of $30,000 in new revenue annually.
- Implementing PayPath™ reduced credit card fees by $80,000 in the first year, and students are trending heavily to ACH.
Cashier lines are history, so staff hours are reduced and Northwestern is now ahead of the services curve with students and parents. All transactions are reflected in real time, so all users know exactly where they stand, and the school's reconciliation and data request nightmares are over.
If the figures above seem underwhelming, remember the radio stations. The local St. Paul-based KTIS alone has been known to raise as much as $4 million during a single Sharathon event. Equally important, the millions in donations now travel through the same certified PCI-compliant channels as the school's other revenue streams.
Yes, it created a streamlined, secure platform for Sharathons, but now the school has a single solution when other campus merchants want to jump aboard. There's no need to manage (and pay) multiple vendors, maintenance agreements and licensing fees. The platform is there, just waiting for new merchants.
"We have quite a lineup of new things in the works for Marketplace, both uPay and uStore sites," Wipf said. "TouchNet has already shown it can work for us, and work with us. We're looking forward to leveraging what has already proven to be a smart investment."