Learning Resources

Use Evidence to Plan Facilities That Drive Student Success

By: Elliot Felix

In this article, the author draws upon research from his book How to Get the Most Out of College to highlight the evidence that campus planners and designers can use to help drive student success.

Abstract: Colleges and universities are in the midst of a transition from an access mindset to a success mindset, and campus facilities can play a role in this shift. Institutions don’t have to guess at how—a large body of research can and should inform how we plan, design, and operate our campuses. In this article, the author draws upon research from his book How to Get the Most Out of College to highlight the evidence that campus planners and designers can use to help drive student success.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Rochester, Arizona State University-Tempe
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Learning Environments, Student Experience, Student Housing, Student Retention, Student Support Services

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Campus Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse

Leverage These Tools to Achieve Your Planning and Sustainability Goals

By: Meaghan Finney, MS, and Michael Patrick, M.Arch, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

By integrating historic buildings into your campus planning, their continued reuse can help solve some of the specific challenges facing university planners today.

From Volume 50 Number 4 | July–September 2022

Abstract: Historic campus buildings are often perceived as a burden, but by integrating them into your campus planning, their continued reuse can help solve some of the specific challenges facing university planners today, specifically in the context of sustainability. There are numerous case studies that demonstrate the successful adaptive reuse of varied campus buildings as well as an undeniable body of evidence showing the benefits of such an approach in working toward carbon neutrality. As long-term stewards of their built environments, colleges and universities are uniquely positioned to realize enduring savings from investing in the energy performance of existing buildings.

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Conference Recordings

Published
July 15, 2021

2021 Annual Conference | July 2021

Go Outside! Learnscapes and Optimizing the Spaces In Between

By: Heidi Creighton, BuroHappold Engineering | Julie Hendricks, University of California-Santa Barbara | Alice Kimm, JFAK Architects | Mia Lehrer, Studio-MLA

In this session, we'll discuss how to connect structure, landscape, and sustainability to counter VUCA and establish stable and productive learning environments that enhance performance, creativity, and wellness through connections to nature and newly-expanded views and perspectives.

Abstract: Pandemics aren't going away, which is why institutions must invest in permanent outdoor learnscapes to optimize educational outcomes. In this session, we'll discuss how to connect structure, landscape, and sustainability to counter VUCA and establish stable and productive learning environments that enhance performance, creativity, and wellness through connections to nature and newly-expanded views and perspectives. Come discover new ways to transform your outdoor campus spaces with wellness-oriented designs to offset enrollment decline, maintain stable learning conditions, and stabilize class sizes.

Institutions Mentioned: University of California-Santa Barbara
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Learning Environments, SCUP 2021 Annual Conference

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Conference Recordings

Published
April 30, 2021

2021 Pacific Regional Conference | April–June 2021

Mindful Redesign for New and Effective Learning Environments

By: Alice Kimm, John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects (JFAK) | Collette Creppell, Chapman University | Heidi Creighton, BuroHappold Engineering | Mia Lehrer, Studio-MLA | Julie Hendricks, University of California-Santa Barbara | Jennifer Milliron, LMN Architects | Helen Chu, Stanford University | Leesa Beck, University of California-Santa Barbara | David Gier, University of Michigan | Royce Smith, Montana State University – Bozeman | Timothy Waters, Sextant Group / NV5 Engineering & Technology

Join us to discuss what our campuses are planning for the immediate and distant future of teaching and learning.

Abstract: This session will focus on how changes in academic planning—accelerated in large part due to COVID-19—are resulting in new physical and virtual frameworks for learning. These range from enhanced online platforms to flexible hybrid environments, including the reappropriation and redesign of ‘found spaces,’ such as valuable and underutilized exterior zones on our existing campuses. Join us to discuss what our campuses are planning for the immediate and distant future of teaching and learning.

Institutions Mentioned: Chapman University, Montana State University – Bozeman, Stanford University, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Planning Types: Academic Planning, Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Flexible Learning Spaces, Learning Environments, Online Learning, SCUP 2021 Pacific Regional Conference, Teaching and Learning

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The Connected Campus

Building Long-Term Value and Agility by Connecting Offerings, Organizations and Operations

By: Elliot Felix, MArch

Campus environments play a vital role in student success. By making changes to their combination of spaces, institutions can respond to the shifts transforming higher education. Elliot Felix shares how colleges and universities can prepare for a more blended world by bringing together the digital and physical, enabling greater diversity and inclusion, and implementing flexible structures, staffing, space, and services. Sponsored Content: Knoll and brightspot strategy.

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.

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Conference Recordings

Published
August 28, 2020

2020 Pacific Regional Conference | August–October 2020

Curriculum Redesign

Evolving Practices for Virtual and Physical Learning

By: Jeffrey Ashley, Thomas Jefferson University, 2018–19 SCUP Fellow | Scott Montemerlo, Teknion | Peter Hendrickson, University of California-Los Angeles | Royce Smith, Montana State University-Bozeman | Leesa Beck, University of California-Santa Barbara | Jennifer Milliron (Moderator), LMN Architects

This session will explore how institutions can move away from “crisis teaching” and towards a mindfully-redesigned and thoughtfully-delivered curriculum spanning a range of models, from virtual to hybrid to in-person learning.

Abstract: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions have been making pedagogical changes that will impact the long-term future of higher education. This session will explore how institutions can move away from “crisis teaching” and towards a mindfully-redesigned and thoughtfully-delivered curriculum spanning a range of models, from virtual to hybrid to in-person learning. Institutions must quickly adapt their curricula in order to provide quality education in a post-COVID era. Come learn how you can prepare your institution to meet current needs and future challenges in learning through sharing ideas and experiences with your peers.

Institutions Mentioned: Thomas Jefferson University, University of California-Los Angeles, Montana State University – Bozeman, University of California-Santa Barbara
Planning Types: Academic Planning, Campus Planning, Information Technology Planning
Tags: COVID-19, Learning Environments, Online Learning, Response Planning, SCUP 2020 Pacific Regional Conference, Teaching and Learning

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“A Moment of Grace”

Integrating Sustainability into the Undergraduate Curriculum

By: Peter W. Bardaglio

The author examines how four institutions—Northern Arizona University, Emory University, Berea College, and Ithaca College—are incorporating sustainability into their curricula.

From Volume 36 Number 1 | October–December 2007

Abstract: The sustainability movement in higher education has made considerable headway in the areas of research, campus operations, and community outreach, but has been less successful in bringing about curricular reform. To promote greater thinking about sustainability in the undergraduate curriculum, this essay explores three main questions: What are the implications of sustainability for higher education? What are some noteworthy examples of institutions incorporating sustainability into the curriculum? And, what can we learn from their experiences? The author advocates implementation of a "third order" learning model, emphasizing deep learning, a participative process which takes the form of continual exploration through practice.

Institutions Mentioned: Northern Arizona University, Emory University, Berea College, Ithaca College
Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Experiential Learning, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Science / Engineering, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM), Sustainability (Environmental), Teaching and Learning

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Improving Assessment of Space Utilization in a Transdisciplinary Research Environment

By: Ben Huey,JoAnne Valdenegro

The valuable transformation of discrete scientific research so that it is more frequently interdisciplinary “challenges traditional approaches to space management.” The Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University is trying to directly link what is actually happening in joint spaces, which may not always parallel the users’ faculty affiliations.

From Volume 34 Number 4 | July–September 2006

Abstract: This article describes a method for attributing research expenditures directly to assigned space that avoids the difficulties with traditional approaches that have arisen from the growth of interdisciplinary research activities where the attribution of research to the faculty member or unit is not strongly correlated with the location where the research is performed. The emergence and growth of new transdisciplinary research activities that not only connect research from traditional disciplines but also form the unifying theme around which a whole new area may form depends in part on reducing traditional barriers to space allocation and encouraging the creative efforts of everyone contributing to meet research space needs. Projects may be distributed across several rooms, some of which are shared with other projects. We seek to attribute credit for such efforts using approximations from existing data to avoid exacerbating an already onerous data collection challenge. The pilot version and a second iteration of the project have been completed with worthwhile results. A new analysis is currently underway with further improved data collection, an enhanced database, and a more systematic process.

Institutions Mentioned: Arizona State University-Tempe

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Solving Campus Parking Shortages: New Solutions for an Old Problem

By: Adam Millard-Ball, Patrick Siegman, Jeffrey Tumlin

Recent major enrollment and construction trends on campus mean that, once again, the demand for parking is increasing at the same time as supply is being eroded. Universities and colleges, however, are able to achieve more integrated parking and transportation policies than are other large institutions.

From Volume 33 Number 1 | September–November 2004

Abstract: Universities and colleges across the country are faced with growth in the campus population and the loss of surface parking lots for new buildings. The response of many institutions is to build new garages with the assumption that parking demand ratios will remain the same. Such an approach, however, can be extremely expensive—upwards of $2,000 per net new space annually. In many cases, a mix of parking and demand reduction programs—such as shuttles, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and financial incentives not to drive—can accommodate growth at a lower cost per trip. A balanced approach will also tend to support other goals, from improving town-gown relations to maintaining debt capacity. Demand management strategies have been employed by institutions for many years. However, it is less common for a cost-benefit analysis to be undertaken comparing them with new parking construction. Using examples from universities in California and Colorado, this article demonstrates a methodology to inform basic decisions on the amount of parking required to cater to campus growth, which can be incorporated into campus master planning.

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The Road Less Traveled: Sustainable Transportation for Campuses

By: Will Toor

The high costs of parking expansion have propelled many institutions toward a transportation demand management strategy to shift many trips from single occupant automobiles to other modes of travel.

From Volume 31 Number 3 | March–May 2003

Abstract: This article provides a survey of innovative approaches to campus transportation in the United States. The high costs of parking expansion have propelled many institutions toward a transportation demand management strategy, using parking pricing, transit passes for students and employees, and investment in bicycle infrastructure to shift many trips from single-occupant automobiles to other modes of travel. These institutions have experienced multiple benefits, including lower transportation costs, lower environmental impacts, and improved community relations.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Maryland-College Park, Stanford University, University of California-Davis, University of California-Santa Barbara, The University of Montana, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Vermont, Cornell University, University of Washington-Seattle Campus, University of California-San Diego

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