When tuition hikes stopped being the golden ticket, colleges turned dormant spaces into dollars and intellectual property into profit. Now, in an era of flat enrollments and rising costs, institutions are leaning into untapped assets—from real estate rentals to alumni platforms—to plug budget gaps and fuel innovation.

Picture Sweet Briar College, a small liberal arts school in Virginia that nearly shut down in 2015. Today, it draws income from literary retreats, hydroponic lettuce sales, and even horseback riding lessons. It recently hosted a $950 per person writing retreat on campus.

Whittier College in California pulled in $700,000 in 2023 from weddings, yoga retreats, and film shoots, up 40% from the year before. And the Rhode Island School of Design earned $206,000 in 2024 by renting out gallery space, dorms, and a beachfront farm for high-end events.

These creative uses of campus property not only bring in unrestricted revenue but also serve as marketing tools for prospective students and community goodwill, according to a 2024 Wall Street Journal report on emerging campus monetization strategies.

Real Estate Revenue

Colleges and universities are increasingly partnering with private developers to monetize underused land and facilities. These public-private partnerships, or P3s, typically involve long-term leases for student housing, mixed-use retail centers, or even hotels built on campus-owned land.

According to a report by Plante Moran Cresa, a real estate advisory firm, schools are using P3s to “maximize the function of existing facilities” and reinvest proceeds into academic priorities. Institutions like the University of California and Arizona State University have used this model to expand housing without incurring public debt or raising tuition.

Non-Degree Programs Step Up

While traditional online degrees remain essential, many institutions are pivoting toward microcredentials, industry-recognized certifications, and stackable skills programs. These offerings, often created in partnership with employers or aligned with workforce needs, can yield higher margins than traditional degrees.

According to Encoura’s August 2024 Wake-Up Call report put out by the educational consultant, schools are seeing more substantial returns from targeted, short-form learning than from broad online degree expansion. “It’s not just about scaling enrollment anymore,” the report notes. “It’s about smart program design, rapid iteration, and high-impact outcomes.”

Commercializing Innovation

Universities have long been centers of discovery, but now, more are turning to patents, startups, and licensing as steady revenue streams. Schools like the University of Michigan and the University of Utah have created innovation districts and tech transfer offices that help faculty bring inventions to market.

Rainforest Innovations, the technology commercialization arm of the University of New Mexico, reported in 2023 that it had generated more than $500 million in research funding and helped launch dozens of startup companies. According to its annual report, these ventures created hundreds of jobs and delivered tens of millions in annual economic output for the state.

Alumni-Fueled Engines

Institutions are also rethinking alumni giving, not as a one-time ask but as a sustained engagement strategy. That means hosting affinity networks, creating alumni boards with real influence, and offering value-added services like job placement and lifelong learning.

According to a 2024 report by Ruffalo Noel Levitz, women now drive 85% of high-net-worth charitable decisions, yet comprise only 28% of university board members. Engaging underrepresented alumni groups through leadership pipelines and shared-governance roles has been shown to significantly increase giving and long-term loyalty.

Task Forces, Trust, and Transparency

Experts agree: one-off strategies aren’t enough. Sustainable success depends on integrated planning across departments—finance, advancement, facilities, and academics.

Deloitte’s 2025 U.S. Higher Education Trends report stresses that “revenue innovation must be balanced by trust-building across constituencies.” Institutions that establish cross-functional teams to pilot, measure, and scale revenue projects are seeing better returns and less resistance. These teams evaluate mission alignment, ROI, and long-term viability before launching new ventures.

Risk, Reputation, and Rising Costs

Of course, not every monetization strategy is risk-free. Real estate projects can burden schools with debt or zoning challenges. Online programs require significant upfront investment in technology and faculty training. And pushing alumni toward transactional models can backfire if relationships feel disingenuous.

Economist Howard Bowen’s revenue theory of cost remains a cautionary tale: the more revenue a university earns, the more it tends to spend, often escalating fixed costs without solving core budget issues. Responsible growth, not expansion for its own sake, is key.

Unexpected Ways Colleges Are Making Money

1. Vanderbilt Intern Housing – Vanderbilt University turns empty summer dorms into short-term rentals for out-of-town interns working in Nashville hospitals and companies.
2. RISD Wedding Venue Rentals – Rhode Island School of Design rents out galleries and beachfront farmland for upscale weddings and corporate events.
3. Sweet Briar’s Equestrian Business – Sweet Briar College runs horseback riding programs and hosts riding events, open to the public, bringing in recreational revenue.
4. Endicott College’s Campus Inn – The college operates an on-campus inn for weddings, conferences, and family stays, generating more than $2 million annually.
5. Georgia Tech’s Hotel and Conference Center – Operated on-campus as part of a P3 agreement, the center hosts events year-round and earns commercial revenue.
6. University of New Mexico’s Rainforest Innovations – A tech transfer and business incubator helping faculty and students launch startups and license patents.
7. UC Davis Olive Oil Center – The school runs its own olive oil production from student-grown olives, selling premium bottles to support agricultural programs.
8. Cornell Dairy and Ice Cream – Cornell operates a dairy that sells ice cream, cheese, and milk made by students learning agricultural sciences.
9. University of Kentucky’s Bourbon Science Program – Offers training in fermentation sciences and partners with distilleries for research and licensing opportunities.

Arizona State University’s Film Studio Rentals – ASU’s film program rents its professional studios to indie filmmakers and commercial productions when classes aren’t in session.

The Future

The era of tuition-driven growth is fading. In its place, universities are drawing on everything else they have—land, knowledge, networks, reputation—to build diversified, sustainable revenue streams.

Institutions that succeed will do so by remaining mission-aligned, involving key stakeholders, and investing in programs that offer both fiscal and social returns. Higher education is here to stay, and is learning how to sell its spare conference room to do it.