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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
July 17, 2025

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Co-Locate and Consolidate to Create Connected Campuses

Grow in Place Rather Than Add More Space Where Students Will Succeed

You can share spaces, support services, staffing, and technology systems within your institution and with external partners. This reduces costs while improving outcomes such as retention, graduation, and career placement rates.

From Volume 53 Number 3 | April–June 2025

Abstract: Colleges and universities have a traditional way to meet new needs. When there is a new research initiative, degree program, or student support function, institutions add space. Despite good intentions, their siloed structures, poor strategic planning, and history of continuous expansion mean that institutions adapt by adding. The result: Campuses are overbuilt and underutilized. Instead of shared spaces and seamless, supportive experiences, we’re left with sprawling campuses and spiraling costs. With enrollments, research funding, and our climate all changing, it’s time for a new model and a new mantra: Grow in place rather than add more space.

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Report

Published
July 3, 2024

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When City Parks Are Your Quad

Urban Campus Planning for Safety and Well-Being

This is a SCUP Fellow Research Project Final Report for the 2022–2023 program. This report explores how the urban campus can best support student development in a safe, yet open environment.
Abstract: How can the campus best support student development in a safe, yet open environment? On an urban campus, these concerns are intensified: There is much more localized activity for students to engage with in their city environment, and many more stakeholders influence how the institution can assert itself in that environment.

In this 2022-2023 SCUP Fellow research report, Joel Pettigrew reflects on how campus edge dynamics and student sense of security play out at several urban campuses. Pettigrew weaves together his operational understanding of campus life with a design understanding of how planners and architects approach the campus to explore how these “two languages” inform student security and well-being, and notes in conclusion that there are many research threads yet to follow.

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Conference Recordings

Published
November 2, 2022

Reckoning with Entangled Histories

Higher Education and Slavery

In this symposium, four institutions will share their approaches to these complicated questions and how they’re continuing the conversation around the legacy of slavery on their campuses.
Abstract: American higher education institutions have a long, complex history with slavery that shouldn’t be ignored. Reckoning with these historical ties—from slave-owning namesakes to the enslaved laborers who constructed campus buildings—generates difficult questions for colleges and universities:
  • How do we honor those who were enslaved?
  • How do we recognize our role in the history of slavery as a means of learning from the past to guide our future?
In this symposium, four institutions will share their approaches to these complicated questions and how they’re continuing the conversation around the legacy of slavery on their campuses.

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Conference Recordings

Published
October 26, 2021

Rejuvenation

Investing in Existing Residence Halls for Bright Futures

In this session, we'll provide you with practical strategies that you can apply at your institution as you explore the possibilities of renovating existing student housing facilities.
Abstract: Almost every institution has existing residence halls that they could upgrade for a fraction of the cost of building new. As institutions seek to meet student housing needs, they should consider renovating existing buildings as a viable strategy for creating state-of-the-art facilities. Taking this path can extend building life, attract students, and save capital. In this session, we'll provide you with practical strategies that you can apply at your institution as you explore the possibilities of renovating existing student housing facilities.

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Conference Recordings

Published
June 16, 2021

Integrating Place and Pedagogy to Foster Active Learning

What Works

Planners from four universities will explore how active learning environments are evolving on their campuses, leading to more engaging learning experiences and improving student outcomes.
Abstract: Over the past year the pandemic has brought many challenges to higher education as well as opportunities to shape future learning spaces. Planners from four universities will explore how active learning environments are evolving on their campuses, leading to more engaging learning experiences and improving student outcomes. Come join us for a lively discussion about how space optimization, thoughtful furniture selection, and strategic technology implementation all contribute to the design of “the perfect active learning classroom”.

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Partner Content

Published
April 1, 2021

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Resilience in the Great Outdoors

Exploring the Future of Outdoor Learning Environments on Campus

Before the Fall 2020 semester, the Siebel Center for Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign partnered with architects and engineers to lead a virtual design charrette focused on extending the life of outdoor campus spaces as learning environments. They also reached out to schools around the country to learn about their recent experiences with these spaces.
Abstract: While adopted as a safer near-term solution, outdoor learning environments now seem likely to play a larger role in long-term planning. Schools will now use lessons learned during the pandemic to think more critically about outdoor campus space as an integral component of classroom education and to support student wellbeing. Before the Fall 2020 semester, the Siebel Center for Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign partnered with architects and engineers to lead a virtual design charrette focused on extending the life of outdoor campus spaces as learning environments. They also reached out to schools around the country to learn about their recent experiences with these spaces.

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Conference Recordings

Published
March 10, 2021

2021 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2021

Centering Wellbeing and Whole Student Health on Campus

Join us as we take a deep dive into three universities’ recent campus projects aimed at promoting student health and share takeaways at critical junctures of the integrated planning processes.
Abstract: Today's students are facing unique health challenges, which means that next-generation student health facilities must maximize accessibility and deepen service offerings that are attuned to student needs and behaviors. In this session, a panel featuring three different universities will discuss how they're reorganizing campus space and resources to prioritize student health and wellbeing. Mapping wellbeing onto different types of campus space is an important and timely development in campus planning. Join us as we take a deep dive into three recent campus projects aimed at promoting student health and share takeaways at critical junctures of the integrated planning processes.

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Webinar Recordings

Published
August 26, 2020

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Construction on Campus

This webinar will focus on how higher education campus construction is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its positive and negative implications on construction sites on the MIT and Northeastern University campuses. Panelists will share case studies of how on-campus construction has changed, the new supply chains, and staff management consideration.

This is part of the series “Less Talk, More Action: Tactical Topics to Return to Campus.”

Abstract: This webinar will focus on how higher education campus construction is impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its positive and negative implications on construction sites on the MIT and Northeastern University campuses. Panelists will share case studies of how on-campus construction has changed, the new supply chains, and staff management consideration. They will review construction opportunities due to the pandemic, and how to plan for modifying existing facilities to respond to evolving campus needs.

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Conference Recordings

Published
July 20, 2020

2020 Annual Conference | July 2020

Improve Implementation and Innovation With Project Management

We will share how University of Illinois has introduced project management tools and processes to help stakeholders implement plans and use resources more effectively.
Abstract: Often people leading the implementation of new initiatives or response plans have enthusiasm and dedication, but lack specific skills, tools, and methods necessary for success. We will share how University of Illinois has introduced project management tools and processes to help stakeholders implement plans and use resources more effectively. You'll learn how providing a defined path from idea to implementation ensures initiatives are evaluated and prioritized, resources are deployed effectively, and projects are supported correctly.

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Webinar Recordings

Published
June 24, 2020

Coffee Chat: Planning for Fall Revenue

The pandemic changed the higher ed landscape, and as we look ahead, this discussion will help you think through enrollment challenges, discuss tuition increases, examine current perceptions of the value of an online education, and consider financial aid for fall 2020.
Abstract: The pandemic changed the higher ed landscape, and as we look ahead, this discussion will help you think through enrollment challenges, discuss tuition increases, examine current perceptions of the value of an online education, and consider financial aid for fall 2020.

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