Agenda
Two days, two mandates.
Day one is about recovery and resilience. Day two is about diversification and the university of the future.
Day 1: November 26, 2026
REVENUE RECOVERY, STUDENT DEBT & FINANCIAL RESILIENCE
08:30 - 09:00 | SESSION 1
The University Business Model Is Changing: From Tuition Dependence to Financial Resilience
Opening Keynote
Key discussion points:
- Why the traditional tuition-funded model is no longer sustainable
- Diversifying income streams to build a resilient institutional balance sheet
- Aligning strategy, governance and data for long-term financial health
- The CFO's role in driving resilience, trust and stakeholder confidence
- Preparing for disruption: scenario planning and adaptive leadership
International Trend Spotlight
The OECD reports that public funding still accounts for the majority of higher-education expenditure across OECD systems, while universities are increasingly pursuing third-party funding, continuing education, international students and other forms of income diversification. However, diversification is not a simple solution: external funding can be competitive, volatile and sometimes fail to cover the full economic cost of research.
09:00 - 10:00
Global & African Higher-education Financial Trends 2026
What University CFOs Need to Be Watching Now
International Trend Spotlight:
- Declining public funding and rising cost-to-serve
- Growth in alternative credentials and lifelong learning models
- Tuition price sensitivity and enrolment volatility
- Digital transformation. AI investment and productivity imperatives
- Heightened focus on ESEO, transparency and impact reporting
African Trends
- Government funding constraints and competing national priorities
- Currency volatility, inflation and operating cost pressures
- Expanding youth population and demand for affordable access
- Infrastructure backlogs and technology gaps
- Emerging partnerships and new revenue opportunities across Africa
- Increasing interest in public-private partnerships
- Blended finance and impact investment
- Pressure to reduce the cost per student
10:00 - 10:45 | SESSION 2
The Student Debt Crisis: From Accounts Receivable to Institutional Risk
Key Topics:
- Student debt as a liquidity risk
- Historic debt versus current-year debt
- The "missing middle"
- NSFAS-related financial pressures
- Debt segmentation and predictive risk scoring
- Identifying students most likely to default
- Early-warning systems
- Digital payment reminders
- Flexible payment arrangements
- Third-party funding
- Debt recovery without damaging student success
- When to write off debt
- Debt provisioning and impairment
- Linking debt recovery to retention and completion
11:00 - 12:15 | SESSION 3
Revenue Leakage: Where Are Universities Losing Money?
Revenue Leakage Diagnostic Lab
- Student fee classification errors
- Unbilled services
- Incorrect exemptions
- Unauthorised fee waivers
- Accommodation leakage
- Residence vacancies
- Short-course underbilling
- Research-contract leakage
- Unreconciled payments
- Procurement leakage
- Payroll leakage
- Duplicate payments
- Manual processes
- Weak system integration
- Poor data ownership
- Fraud and financial misconduct
- AI-assisted revenue assurance
Practical Exercise: University Revenue Leakage Heat Map
Participants identify: Leakage → Financial impact → Root cause → Control weakness → Corrective action → Responsible executive
13:15 - 14:15
When a 'Healthy' University Still Has a Financial Sustainability Problem
Case Study: "Surplus does not necessarily mean sustainability."
- UCT recorded R$6.68 billion total revenue in 2024.
- Student debt was R$356 million, up from R$893 million in 2023.
- Income from contracts was approximately R$1.82 billion.
- In 2025, revenue is approximately R$1.5 million.
- In 2024, UCT recorded a R1.35 billion consolidated surplus.
- However, the unrestricted core operating segment reported a deficit of R$321 million.
Participants examine:
- Restricted versus unrestricted income
- Core operating deficits
- Research funding
- Student debt
- Investment income
- Personnel expenditure
- Cash flow
- Cross-subsidisation
- Structural versus temporary surpluses
- What the CFO and Council should actually monitor
14:15 - 15:15 | SESSION 4
The New Revenue Portfolio: 12 Ways Universities Can Make Money beyond Tuition
Move beyond the current list and explore:
- Executive education
- Professional certifications
- Micro credentials
- Corporate academies
- International students
- Research contracts
- Consultancy
- Technology licensing
- University spin-offs
- Commercial property and facilities
- Alumni and philanthropic giving
- Digital education
15:30 - 16:30
FROM RESEARCH TO REVENUE: CAN THE UNIVERSITY BECOME AN INNOVATION COMPANY?
- More than R1.5 billion in research contracts signed annually.
- More than R250 million in equity held in spin-off companies.
- More than R50 million in accumulated income from IP commercialisation.
- R4 billion in signed research-contract value in 2024.
- Six new spin-offs.
- Innovation Builder Fund Investment of R27.3 million into 52 projects since 2019.
16:30 - 17:30
EXECUTIVE PANEL
The University CFO's Dilemma: Cut Costs, Raise Revenue Or Change The Business Model?
- What are the most effective cost-optimization strategies without harming academic worth?
- Which revenue streams offer the highest growth potential with the lowest risk?
- How can universities transition from tuition-dependency to diversified income?
- What role should technology, partnerships and commercialisation play?
- How do we build financial resilience in an era of uncertainty and volatility?
- What leadership mindset and governance shifts are required?
Day 2: November 27, 2026
REVENUE DIVERSIFICATION, COMMERCIALISATION & THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FUTURE
09:00 - 10:00
THE AFRICAN UNIVERSITY AS AN ECONOMIC ENGINE
The emerging African university model includes:
- Skills-development platforms
- Innovation hub
- Entrepreneurial ecosystems
- Industry research partners
- Technology transfer institutions
- Regional economic anchors
- Talent pipelines
- Startup incubators
- Continuing education providers
10:00 - 10:45
INTERNATIONAL CASE-STUDY LAB
What Can African Universities Learn from International Revenue Models?
International Models:
United States:
- Endowment models
- Alumni giving
- Research contracts
- Technology licensing
- Executive education
United Kingdom:
- International student revenue
- Commercial research
- Continuing education
- Philanthropy
Australia:
- International education
- Industry partnerships
- Applied research
Europe:
- Competitive Research
- Furthering Industry Partnerships
- Life long Learning
11:00 - 12:00
AI + UNIVERSITY FINANCE: THE NEXT REVENUE & COST REVOLUTION
AI applications transforming university finance:
- Predictive analytics for enrolment & pricing
- Smart budgeting & forecasting
- Automated financial reporting
- Donor & alumni intelligence
- Research funding opportunity matching
- AI-powered cost optimisation
- Risk detection & compliance
- AI-driven student success & retention
- Dynamic pricing for programmes
- AI-enabled commercialisation
12:00 - 13:00
WITS: FROM UNIVERSITY RESEARCH TO COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS
Wits University is a leader in commercialising research through innovations such as AISynch (advanced air-quality monitoring) and Green Liptos Sustainable lipid technology for health and industrial use.
Key Metrics:
- Research
- Funding
- Spin-off
- Investment
- Impact
14:00 - 15:00
COST OPTIMISATION 2.0: RUNNING A UNIVERSITY LIKE A HIGH-PERFORMANCE ORGANISATION
- Zero-based budgeting
- Activity-based costing
- Cost-per-student analysis
- Programme profitability
- Shared services
- Procurement consolidation
- Energy optimisation
- Campus utilisation
- Digital transformation
- Workforce productivity
- Outsourcing
- Cloud technology
- AI automation
- Space optimisation
- Centralised purchasing
- Strategic supplier management
15:15 - 16:00
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY DASHBOARD
THE 20 NUMBERS EVERY UNIVERSITY COUNCIL SHOULD BE WATCHING
- Revenue concentration ratio
- Unrestricted operating margin
- Liquidity days
- Cash conversion
- Student debt ageing
- Collection effectiveness
- Cost per student
- Personnel-cost ratio
- Research-cost recovery
- Research income growth
- International-student contribution
- Continuing education contribution
- Commercialisation income
- Philanthropic income
- Alumni giving
- Asset utilisation
- Programme contribution margin
- AI/digital savings
- Revenue leverage
- Financial risk exposure
16:00 - 17:00
CLOSING MASTERCLASS
YOUR 7-POINT FINANCIAL RESILIENCE STRATEGY
- 1. RECOVER: Student debt | Receivables | Revenue leakage
- 2. PROTECT: Controls | Governance | Fraud prevention | Cash
- 3. OPTIMISE: Procurement | Staffing | Infrastructure | Technology
- 4. DIVERSITY: Professional education | Research | Consultancy | International students | IP
- 5. COMMERCIALISE: IP | Spin-offs | Licensing | Industry partnerships
- 6. TRANSFORM: AI | Data | Digital finance | Predictive analytics
- 7. MEASURE: KPIs | Dashboards | Stress testing | Scenario planning