Learning Resources

Abstract: Higher education planners recognize the crucial role that active learning spaces play in improving student outcomes, but identifying the specific characteristics that make these environments most beneficial for student success is still an evolving process. Representatives from two institutions—one private, the other public—will share their experiences and highlight the planning tools they use to assess active learning spaces aimed at powering student gains. Come join us for an engaging and interactive session that will provide you with critical, campus-tested planning tools that you can use in your own classroom assessment to improve your campus learning environment. This webinar was brought to you by the SCUP Mid-Atlantic region.

Abstract: Historic separations that defined higher education are dissolving: research is more interdisciplinary, online and on-campus learning are converging, wet and dry labs are blending, teaching and research overlap, and academia forges relationships with corporate partners. Institutions, by improving how they connect what they offer, how they are organized, and how they operate, can build value and agility to better assist their people on campus. Real-world examples in this white paper from Knoll and brightspot strategy discuss how campus spaces support student success, including how to fully use the campus; creating spaces that sustain diverse and flexible ways of working; thinking phygitally; and creating environments where today’s purpose-driven and entrepreneurial students (Gen Z) will thrive as they prepare to enter the workforce.

Abstract: Having had the opportunity to shadow the president of the University of Maryland at College Park for her ACE Fellowship just prior to the onset of COVID-19, Deputy Provost Juanita Cole of National Defense University got a firsthand look at the difference in crisis responses taken by two unique institutions with distinctive missions.

Those differences now extend to recovery planning. Hear about the juxtaposition of two very different universities working and planning through the same event.

Abstract: Examine a number of cases where Butler University (a private institution) leveraged relationships with public and private partners to provide value to students and the greater community.

Abstract: On the average campus, office space accounts for more square footage than classrooms, instructional and research labs combined. Accordingly, its design and utilization can have significant campus impact. This panel discussion addresses the challenges that institutions face when rethinking their approach to workplace design. We will provide guidance on planning, programming, and design strategies to align workplaces with educational mission, respond to fiscal pressures, and compete for talent.

Abstract: The “Greater College Park Initiative” is a signature multi-year effort in President Wallace Loh’s leadership and administration to continue positive town/gown relations with development that enhances both the university campus and surrounding communities.

This talk provided an overview of University of Maryland's (UMD) strategic plan and how it is supported by the five-year update to the university’s facilities master plan, approved in 2017. It discussed current local and regional planning initiatives as well as campus and community development projects, including the associated partnerships and collaborations with municipal, organizational, and private-sector partners.

Abstract: Today, the amount of space devoted to research at research universities exceeds that of classrooms and class laboratories. This research space portfolio presents important policy and management challenges. As stewards of this portfolio, universities must address issues of funding the construction of research facilities, equipping and maintaining them, allocating and accounting for space used for research, and managing, in broadest terms, the physical and administrative infrastructure in which research is conducted. As this article illustrates, managing the balance between the growing demand for and the supply of research space is complicated. To address the issues of research space, universities have developed a variety of space management methods to fit their unique research missions, priorities, and operational culture. This article provides important insights into this little studied aspect of higher education space planning. The article is an overview of research space management across the U. S. on general campuses and in health science centers. It is based on interviews with senior administrators in selected research universities conducted specifically for this study, information about research space management available on university documents on the Internet, and on the work of Ira Fink and Associates, Inc. in programming research facilities on a multitude of campuses nationwide.

Abstract: Although some educators think that e-learning is a transient fad, we argue that, far from disappearing, it has gone mainstream, and is quickly becoming part of the everyday fabric of traditional higher education institutions. However, contrary to another widely-held view, e-learning is not just fully online education, but rather encompasses a large set of teaching options that institutions must adopt and adapt. A successful venture into e-learning, therefore, should begin not with technology decisions, but with a strategic planning process that allows an institution to choose the e-learning alternatives that best meet their vision and business goals.