Discover: the fixed-cost diagnostic that tells you if there’s a gap.

What Tier 1 actually is

A scoped contract analysis. We take your current bookstore agreement — outsourced, self-operated, or hybrid — and run it through the Value Gap Model: your actual net contribution percentage benchmarked against a peer set built from IPEDS, NACUBO, and NACS OnCampus Research, adjusted for enrollment band, Carnegie classification, and region. The output is a number, not an opinion — the dollar distance between what your contract returns and what your peer set says it should.

What’s included

Full commission-rate and category analysis against your gross sales definition, exclusions, and carve-outs — the language most institutions have never had independently reviewed. See One Roof, Four Stores for why a single blended rate hides more than it reveals. We identify minimum-guarantee enforcement gaps, digital displacement exposure (Inclusive Access and First Day Complete terms that often carry a lower remit than physical sales), and uncaptured category revenue running through licensees, athletics, or alumni channels outside the store’s own ledger.

What you get in writing

A findings brief stating your quantified value gap, the benchmark set it was measured against, and a direct answer to the only question that matters: is the gap large enough to justify going further. That answer is delivered whether it’s yes or no. See the ROI test for exactly how that threshold is calculated — it’s published, not a black box.

No operational disruption

Tier 1 works entirely from your existing contract and financial data. Your current operator is never contacted, nothing changes day-to-day, and your team is not asked to do anything beyond producing documents you already have. This is a desk diagnostic, not an audit of your staff.

Why it’s always first

Every later tier is gated behind a Tier 1 finding. Tier 2 begins only if the quantified gap clears a multiple of Tier 2’s own fee — the same logic gates Tier 3. That means your maximum exposure at any point is capped at whichever tier you’re currently in, and you never pay for strategy work before you know there’s something worth strategizing about.

Independence, in practice

NxtChapter is fee-only and institution-side only. We take no commission, referral fee, or compensation of any kind from Follett, Barnes & Noble College, or any other operator — which means the Tier 1 finding has no reason to be anything other than accurate. Read the full Independence Statement.

Funding

For HBCUs and Title III-eligible institutions, Tier 1 often qualifies as an allowable use of institutional capacity-building funds. Grant dollars flow to your institution and your grant administration — never to NxtChapter. See the Title III & grant funding guide and the HBCU funding pathways.

Timeline

Kickoff to findings brief typically runs a few weeks, not a quarter. The pace is set by document turnaround on your end, not by us.