There are hundreds of thousands of high school graduates applying every year to enrol in a degree program at universities across Australia. Their choices are influenced by the curriculum in the course itself, the career opportunities after they graduate and the conditions of their learning environment. Students typically enrol in a course for 3-5 years and universities stand to earn at least $10,000 a year from each student that enrols in a degree.

The one factor that can greatly improve the universities chances of gaining new students is improving the learning environment. The first thing that comes to mind with the university’s business administrators is that the capital investment that’s required to improve the aesthetics of the university’s learning environments can amount into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

There are some other cost-effective ways, such as the following.

Upgrade the lighting in the learning environments to LED lighting.

Students are known to excel in learning environments that have been retrofitted with LED luminaires. Unlike incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs, LED lights tend to provide more uniform lighting, thus presenting a cleaner and more appealing environment. The blue luminaires, which emit over 4000 lumens tend to emit light that is similar to natural sunlight. This type of light keeps students more alert and attentive in the learning environment.

For the university, the improvement in the learning environment should lead to students performing better and gaining more opportunities after graduating. Furthermore, the university should gain more future enrolments off the back of positive student academic performances.

Universities have the opportunity to leverage on-bill funding and subsidies from their local government. This means that they can receive discounts on the lights that they purchase and can pay off the expense over a set period of time, rather than forking out a lump sum.

Keep the university looking clean by investing in maintenance.

Cleanliness goes a long way. The university should encourage students and staff to preserve the cleanliness of the university so that there are fewer distractions that could impair their study. Additionally, the university can invest in more maintenance staff to ensure that the university’s indoor and outdoor facilities are clean.

Keep the university’s buildings and infrastructure freshly painted.

One of the cheapest ways to make the university appear more impressive is by regularly applying new coats of paint on the exterior and interior of the university’s buildings. Buildings that have graffiti or that are damaged can impair the student’s learning environment by causing distractions. Additionally, it might deter prospective students from attending the university since the duty of care that isn’t shown in their building maintenance could also transfer to students.

Improvements in these areas could net your university thousands or millions of dollars in extra revenue. Do a site audit of your university’s learning environments and assess which areas should be improved to maximise your student enrolments and performances in the future.