Learning Resources

Abstract: With the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events continuing to increase across the country, the need for resilience planning is more critical than ever before.

Numerous campuses across the California State University (CSU) system have direct experience with wildfires, extended drought, floods, extreme heat, public safety power shutoffs, hurricanes, and sea level rise. The CSU is currently working toward increasing resilience in response to catastrophic events through systemwide technical guidance resources on building and infrastructure design and retrofit. These extreme conditions further prompted the need for vulnerability assessments systemwide and coordinated climate resilience planning and investment activities.

Using the activities of CSU climate action and adaptation planning, Wallace’s SCUP Fellows project sought to achieve three (3) primary objectives:

Review planning documents and policies that consider climate resiliency governance versus climate resiliency implementation.
Identify key stakeholders to develop a primer for addressing and incorporating campus-community implementation priorities.
Raise awareness with the broader higher education planning community to collect feedback and share model practices.
Join 2022-2023 SCUP Fellow Tamara Wallace as she shares her findings to help you and your team proactively plan for climate change to mitigate risks, prevent damage, and ensure continued learning from lived experiences.

Abstract: In 2018, the Institutional Effectiveness Office at Kaua‘i Community College developed and administered community and workforce surveys to better understand current and future educational needs of residents and employers on Kaua‘i. These single island surveys highlighted the need for a comprehensive neighbor island survey to collectively advocate for additional online post-associate degree programs that best align with and support these geographically isolated communities. This project demonstrates how surveys can be used to inform decisions and integrated planning across multiple scales within a university system, especially in regards to distance education.

Abstract: Higher education experienced extraordinary challenges in 2020 and tackled them head on with agility and creativity. Transformative leadership can help our institutions thrive even in the face of a world health disaster, its attendant fiscal challenges, and systemic racial and social injustice. This presentation will demonstrate how leaders can surmount these obstacles by aligning strategic priorities for the future. Come learn how to work across boundaries, differences, and beliefs while intentionally developing the essential skills and abilities you need to strengthen your institution and community.

Abstract: The external environment confronting colleges and universities continues to rapidly evolve, driven by lingering effects of the pandemic, changing demographics and student preferences, a complex governmental funding environment, and exposure to a broad array of macroeconomic conditions. Moody's will discuss the financial outlook for the higher education sector over the next two years and beyond. Within that context, they will review how they assess the financial health of individual institutions, which are better situated to thrive and which may struggle, and trends in capital funding strategies.

Abstract: HBCUs have a tradition of providing affordable, culturally accessible higher education to minority and first-generation students as they support disadvantaged communities. The evolution of planning, partnerships, and pedagogy at HBCUs provides lessons for any stressed institution. United Negro College Fund and HBCU college leaders will examine enrollment, instruction, student success, historic preservation, and fundraising in a post-pandemic world and explore how we can transform these challenges into successes. Join the panel for an engaging discussion about physical, academic, financial, and operational strategies for reshaping and strengthening HBCUs and apply lessons learned to address diversity, equity, and inclusion at your institution.

Abstract: Early in the pandemic, the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) took deliberate steps to communicate, engage, and collaborate with its campus and surrounding neighborhood. These actions included health and safety measures and programs, channels for addressing concerns, and efforts to meet basic campus and community needs. This session will focus on how the university encouraged adherence to health and safety guidelines by using a framework emphasizing culture, education, compliance, and support. Come learn how Pitt fostered a sense of community and belonging, created volunteer experiences, and motivated students to comply with health and safety rules during a public health crisis.

Abstract: The education sector is excluded from the 16 official “Critical Infrastructure Sectors” managed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. As the world grapples with a pandemic, this omission lays bare a disconnection between critical infrastructures serving daily life and the ground plane of learning and knowledge creation on which they are built; such a severing between ground plane and structure does not bode well for the entire assembly. For us to flourish as a society, higher education institutions—already grounded in a landscape of learning and knowledge creation—need to be a foundational support to essential infrastructures sustaining daily life in communities small and large.

Abstract: As a campus built on standards of social justice and experiential learning, Roger Williams University used COVID-19 as an opportunity to think creatively about ways to serve its community.

True to its inclusive mission, the school showed its character throughout the crisis and its planning, coming up with personal ways to connect with prospective families, support off-campus communities, and open pathways to learning.

Abstract: With climate change bringing dramatic demographic, economic, and weather changes, universities and colleges must be prepared for risks to the campus's buildings, landscapes, and infrastructure that could disrupt operations. This session explores the intertwined concepts of risk management and resilience planning. You will learn about best practices in campus resilience planning, and try a simple resilience assessment tool for identifying, prioritizing, and planning for potential risks. You can take this useful Excel-based tool back to your institution to identify the top risks that should be prioritized in campus planning efforts.