If you have an educational philosophy that you want to share with students, you may be motivated enough to create your own university based on its inherent values. As with any other business, getting started is challenging, but the most challenging thing is meeting all regulatory requirements that ensure students an appropriate educational experience. Likewise, you will have to decide if you want a physical or virtual location, the latter being a cheaper option because you will have less overhead, but it requires good technical knowledge. Financing will be your biggest obstacle, and it's one that you should consider from the start. If you are still interested, in this article you will find some guidelines to help you determine if it is the right thing for you.
Note: This article applies to the United States. While some of the generalizations apply in other countries, do more research to find out what the requirements are in your own jurisdiction.
Steps
Method 1 of 6: Determine the purpose of the college
Step 1. Determine your niche and create a mission statement
Reflect on your reasons for creating a university. What is the lack of current educational institutions in your locality (or even around the world) that you think you can add or improve? What do you have to offer in your educational philosophy, curricular approach and teaching methodologies?
- Browse existing colleges that are similar to the one you would like to create. What do they offer now that you also want to offer? How would you tailor your offerings to attract more students than existing universities? Tuition-paying students and their sponsors will want to fully understand what sets your curriculum apart from others.
- Be careful to offer cheaper prices than other universities. This may seem like a reasonable idea until you realize how expensive it can be to provide an education. Unless you have a lot of funds, avoid mentioning it as one of the main reasons for starting a university.
Step 2. Establish solid reasons for creating the university
Your fundamental mission statement should include reasons for creating the college, educational focus, and curriculum and goals.
Share your mission statement with your friends and family to evaluate their thoughts and ideas. Ask them if it is completely clear to them. Ask them to tell you if it stands out as a college they would like to go to or send their children to. Use their feedback to ensure clarity of objectives and build your own verbal pitch that allows you to explain the university to the people you want to get advice from and promote the university to potential funders
Step 3. Decide if the university will have real facilities or will only be virtual
You can offer virtual courses from real locations and you can also combine both options. Please note the following:
- Real venues can be expensive to operate, especially when you start out. The facilities should be adapted to the number of students you think will attend the courses. Likewise, you must cover all the needs for safety, health, insurance and other regulatory matters. Location is important too - students prefer safe areas where they can walk and bike, which usually means finding a location in a more expensive area. Do a lot of research before deciding on a suitable location.
- Virtual courses are only a good option when you are just starting out because the overheads are lower. With this in mind, you will need to have good technical expertise (or a good IT team), excellent security and privacy protocols, plenty of server space, and contacts for students to resolve access issues and other issues around the clock. of the day, 7 days a week. Course design will require knowledge of what works and what doesn't, and you won't have much room for error in an age when people expect technology to work properly and smoothly from the start.
Method 2 of 6: Get Advice and Financing
Step 1. Seek the advice of professionals with experience in creating a university
Look for experts who can help in business, finance, and education. Meet with the founders of other colleges for specific guidance and suggestions on how to handle the obstacles you will encounter.
Step 2. Look for financing options to determine if you can continue with the process
If you are creating a non-profit university, look for foundations or people who are interested in donating to help a university. Make presentations to build community support.
- Research your college start-up grant options. These will vary depending on your region and jurisdiction, so do a thorough search to try to gather as many options as possible. Naturally, look for people who feel that your educational philosophy is consistent with their own thinking about the purpose of education.
- Check with state and local government representatives to see if they are interested in supporting a new university due to the economic and cultural benefits of the region.
- Look for options like grants and loans if you are operating a for-profit institution.
Method 3 of 6: Prepare a Business Plan
Step 1. Make a business plan
Your business plan should include details about your philosophy, operating plans, budget, financing, and educational plans.
Method 4 of 6: Meet regulatory and foundational requirements
Step 1. Find out what the requirements are for an educational institution in your state
Start with your state department of education. You will most likely need to apply for a license to operate. You may be approved for a provisional license to create the university and then be asked for additional information for a final or continuing approval. Once you have researched the licensing requirements for your state, you can determine when you should submit your application for approval to operate a university.
Step 2. Form founding committees
You can found a founding committee made up of fellow participants and supporters to get advice and information. This committee should be made up of people with a variety of experience in areas such as law, education, and business.
You will need to recruit a formal board of trustees if you are going to operate as a non-profit organization
Step 3. Incorporate and file nonprofit status
You will present the status of your business entity in your area, usually through the Secretary of State.
If you live in the United States, for example, you can make a non-profit 501 (c) (3) status election through the IRS at www. IRS.gov
Step 4. Finalize your financing options
- Secure loans, grants, or donations.
- Hold fundraising events for additional support.
Step 5. Develop the infrastructure
The design of your policies and procedures will be guided, to a large extent, by the regulations of the state and the department that oversees the creation of universities and institutions of higher education. This is why the previous step of the investigation was so important.
- The infrastructure includes operational, educational, curricular, business, legal, hiring, training, admission and enrollment procedures.
- Determine the location. Will the university be virtual, will it have a physical location, or both?
- Decide on the grades and classes that will be offered. Some will be determined by the requirements of your state. Develop a college curriculum based on your state's requirements for awarding degrees.
- Get started networking, interviewing potential teachers, and hiring key staff members. You can hire teachers based on the number of students enrolled, but you will need to have a pool of qualified teachers to get started.
Method 5 of 6: Advertise the College
Step 1. Advertise the university
Advertising is essential to recruiting students. Referrals from people is an important way to start publicizing college, so tell your friends to tell their friends. Hand out great brochures and create a website to help spread the word quickly and easily.
- Create a website to network, share your educational philosophy, and inform students about the programs. Also, make use of social networking sites like Facebook, Google+, and Twitter to increase your reach.
- Provides information on admissions and financial aid. You may want to offer a scholarship to entice students to apply. Make sure the offer fits your budget.
- Hold information sessions and events to attract interest.
- Advertise online and offline through newspapers, magazines, publications, blogs, and brochures. The scope of advertising you do will depend on the budget you have.
Method 6 of 6: Get Accreditation
Step 1. Apply for accreditation
Accreditation is an essential step for universities because it will differentiate your institution from so-called “diploma factories” that do not have adequate educational programs and do not meet the educational requirements to issue diplomas or degrees.
- You can apply for accreditation once you have students and have started teaching courses. Accreditation is a process in which the institution is reviewed by a peer review group to determine the quality of the program you offer.
- If you live in the United States, the US Department of Education has a list of regionally and nationally recognized accrediting agencies for online higher education.
Warnings
- Running an educational institution is a competitive business. Many people are on a very tight budget. The more dubious the budget, the more prone to failure your institution will be, as any indication of financial problems can cause students to miss or cancel their enrollment.
- This article presents a very basic guide to the process of creating a university. It is important that you speak with legal and financial advisors to determine the appropriateness of creating a university based on your fundamental objectives, financing, current situation and other challenges that you may face. This endeavor is not easy and will require a lot of energy, perseverance, and determination to be successful.