The contract glossary.

Blended commission rate

A single percentage applied to all store sales regardless of category. The central flattening mechanism — see One Roof, Four Stores.

Net contribution %

What the institution keeps per dollar the store sells. Outsourced: the effective commission rate after every tier, exclusion, and carve-out. Self-operated: the fully burdened operating margin. The unifying term of the Value Gap model.

Value gap

(Benchmark net contribution % − actual net contribution %) × gross revenue, plus the digital displacement gap and uncaptured category revenue. The measured distance between what the store returns and what the peer set says it should.

Burden basis

Whether a store P&L carries its full costs — occupancy, utilities, IT, benefits. A store that “breaks even” unburdened may be a loss carried elsewhere in the budget. Every NxtChapter finding states its burden basis and normalizes the benchmark to match.

Uncaptured category revenue

Value the store generates that never reaches the institution’s ledger: unenforced minimum guarantees and commission-base exclusions in outsourced contracts; merchandise volume running through third-party licensees, athletics, and alumni channels in self-operated ones.

Benchmark of one

Measuring a store only against its own prior contract or prior fiscal year. A trend line tells you whether you improved; it cannot tell you whether you’re good.

Category carve-out

Contract language pricing one category (typically branded merchandise or digital materials) at its own rate instead of the blend.

Digital displacement gap

Commission revenue lost when sales migrate from commissioned physical channels into digital programs whose terms remit less — or nothing.

First Day Complete

An operator program bundling all course materials into a per-term charge. Its revenue-share terms often differ materially from store commission terms.

Gross sales definition

The contract clause defining which revenue counts toward your commission. Exclusions here (digital programs, buyback, café sales) quietly shrink the commissionable base.

Inclusive Access (IA)

Digital course materials billed through tuition or fees at negotiated rates. Affordability tool and commission question at once — the terms decide which dominates.

MAG — Minimum Annual Guarantee

The floor payment the operator owes regardless of sales. Only protective if shortfalls are invoiced and the level is reset as the store grows.

Peer-set construction

The fixed rules deciding which institutions your benchmarks are drawn from: enrollment band, control, residential profile, store model. Fixed before analysis, always.

Benchmark vintage

The collection date of a benchmark figure. Digital-era terms move fast enough that undated benchmarks are unusable.

T4C — Termination for Convenience

The right to exit the agreement without cause on stated notice. Its presence, notice period, and any penalty define your real leverage at every window in the expiration checklist.