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1.3 University/College Industry

The Lazybones market is college students. Therefore, our success depends on
a solid understanding of the size and trends of the university/college industry.
We will touch on the industry’s revenues, but our main focus is on the numbers
of students (potential customers) in this market and, more importantly, the
numbers, sizes, and tuition costs of potential campus locations for Lazybones.
The university/college industry hit $425 billion in 2008. It is a mature industry
in a steady growth phase with revenues predicted to exceed the $500 billion
mark by 2012 (Exhibit1. 9).

Exhibit 1.9 University College Industry Revenue and Growth, 1997–2013
(projected beyond 2008) 16

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were an
estimated 11.2 million college students in the fall of 2007 and 2,629 four-year
degree-granting institutions in the United States. Of these, 1,633 had campuses of
over 2,500 students (Exhibit 1.10).

16 IBISWorld, “IBISWorld Industry Report: University Colleges in the U.S.”
September 22, 2008. http://www.ibisworld.com.ezproxy.babson.edu/industryus/default.
aspx?indid=1529.