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Crystal Springs Uplands School
Crystal Springs Uplands School
Hillsborough, CA
Round –
Fall 2005Project Type –
Full teamProject Focus –
Operations ReviewOrganization Type –
EducationOrganization
Crystal Springs Uplands School (CSUS) is an independent, coeducational college preparatory school located on a 10-acre suburban campus on the San Francisco Peninsula. CSUS enrolls 350 students in grades 6-12.
Project Objectives
CSUS operates a summer enrichment camp for children entering grades K through 9 One of the goals of the camp is to generate income to support the school's regular academic year; however, the program did not meet financial targets for two years in a row. CSUS looked to ACT to help in the following areas:
- Improving the economic performance of the summer camp and enrichment program, looking specifically at curriculum offerings, scheduling, and pricing
- Determine if the Peninsula Bridge Gateway Program fits with the school's mission and whether CSUS should continue to support the program
Project Overview
Examine financial performance of summer programs
Evaluate optimal use of facilities during summer months with the following assumptions: should contribute financially, preserve intangible benefits, and not deter from CSUS brand/reputation
Two-Part Project Structure
Short-Term Team (Harvest Low-Hanging Fruit):
- Conducted interviews, reviewed programs: enrollment patterns, marketing initiatives, and competition
- Delivered report and recommendations to improve current operations without major structural changes (January 2006)
Long-Term Team (Focus on Creative Alternatives):
- Examined creative use of facilities and programming; more in-depth financial analysis, review of competitive landscape and demographics
- Delivered final report regarding analysis and ideas for summer data collection (June 2006)
- Team did not make a formal recommendation regarding continued support of the Peninsula Bridge program as it was felt this was a complex issue tied to the mission and values of the CSUS vision for diversity outreach and community support that was outside the scope of optimizing the summer operations and could be considered as a second project regarding best way to support diverse students in the local community.
Key Recommendations
Marketing:
- Invest more in marketing
- Track key management information
- Refine communication strategy
- Simplify offerings
Operations:
- Provide more supervision for younger campers
- Cut under-enrolled courses
- Balance offerings to reduce internal competition<
- Reconsider loss leaders on financial basis
- Consider changing camp length. Market strongly prefers shorter camps
ACT Project Team
Project Leader
Project Leader