Learning Resources

Abstract: With the entire academic community scrambling to establish what higher education looks like this fall, planning has been even harder than usual. And yet the pandemic opens opportunities to consider an entirely new set of choices previously unavailable to those guiding their institutions forward. Each and every urgent decision being made on campus today has the potential to define an entirely new future campus. The drivers for those decisions may or may not be creating a desirable new future.d

Abstract: Institutions have determined through surveys and research that building design and location significantly affect first-year student's happiness and academic success. In response, they are implementing significant changes to on-campus housing. Understanding how different housing models influence first-year students allows institutions to provide students with a strong social foundation that can significantly affect recruitment and retention. We will share examples of rapidly changing student expectations and prepare you to assess your student housing offerings and evaluate their relationships to student success.

Abstract: On-campus living has been linked to student success and is a key factor in admissions decisions. As campuses look to expand and improve their housing inventories in a challenging fiscal environment, there are more options than ever available. One institution will share its recent experiences with several of these options. The University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell has more than doubled its on-campus housing inventory in the past five years using a combination of P3, real estate acquisitions, and conventional construction. This session will compare the relative benefits and particular challenges in utilizing these types of housing delivery methods. Come learn from campus facilities planning and student affairs officials, who will address the pros and cons of different delivery methods (P3, purchase/renovation, and conventional construction) from the perspective of up-front costs, operating and maintenance factors, student experience, and functionality.

Abstract: Public discussion of higher education costs frequently confuses price with expenditure. This article examines factors associated with increases in the sticker price of a college education and the expenditures incurred by institutions in delivering that education. The discussion suggests that while growth in college tuition is real, access to higher education has not been reduced. Moreover, data indicate that colleges and universities have been responsible fiscal stewards in containing costs over which they have control.

Abstract: Campus chapels once bespoke a school’s curriculum, defined the student body, contributed to ambiance, and served as a recruitment tool for parents looking to religion to influence their children’s character. As schools strayed from their religious roots, encountered pressing program needs, and faced funding concerns, many of these rarely used buildings fell into disrepair. In the last few years, efforts to preserve an institution’s heritage, maximize space, and address spirituality have led schools to consider restoring and reusing campus chapels. This article focuses on keeping the chapel’s original design intent while capitalizing on its strengths to upgrade the building and supplement its usage.

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.

Abstract: Drawing on recent survey data from the National Wildlife Federation and other publications, this article explains what an environmental management system is and identifies its components; examines how environmental management systems have been applied and adapted to higher education settings; reports on trends in implementation; and illustrates how the environmental management system can help in planning green campuses. It addresses such issues as environmental policy, training, compliance, performance evaluation, staffing, and assessment within the higher education context.

Abstract: Colleges and universities are faced with increasing demands for accountability and performance data with respect to faculty activity and productivity from diverse audiences and constituencies, ranging from academic planners and legislators to parents and taxpayers. This article argues that different audiences have different information needs and that a one-size-fits-all approach to describing faculty activity and productivity is both inappropriate and potentially harmful. Concrete strategies are proposed for providing appropriate information to these disparate groups.

Abstract: This paper revisits anaylsis done in the 1996, using data from the Delaware Study of Instructional Costs and Productivity. That analysis found that tenured and tenure track faculty generate a much larger proportion of undergraduate teaching activity then might be expected in light of public criticism of American higher education. The 1996 methodology is replicated using data from two most recent iterations of the Delaware Study. The result is a three year trend line that more clearly indicates how much faculty really teach, and associated coast and productivity measures.