Learning Resources

Abstract: This article explores the application of interdisciplinary translational design (ITD) as a method to overcome disciplinary silos, enhance collaboration and integration across various fields, and promote a culture of respect and cooperation. ITD facilitates the creation of adaptable, technology-rich environments supportive of future-oriented research. Emphasizing practical applications and the integration of diverse expertise, ITD is presented as a transformative approach to educational facility design, fostering more effective interdisciplinary interactions and optimized research outcomes.

Abstract: First generation and marginalized students often have difficulty accessing campus services. Holistically supporting students through integrated services so that they feel valued, respected, and included is critical to graduation and retention rates. The University of Arizona (UA) radically transformed access to student services, bringing together previously disparate services into the co-located Student Success District that renews existing campus assets into accessible, flexible, human-centric spaces. This session will share a model for bridging strategic and facilities planning with universal principles and qualitative and quantitative metrics for leveraging existing programs and building resources to improve student outcomes.

Abstract: In order for institutions to support students’ desire for engagement and impact within their local, regional, and national communities, they must plan and design spaces that foster instruction, discourse, and invention. This session will evaluate Thurgood Marshall Hall on its promise as an integrated scholar-practitioner community within the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Do Good Campus for social impact education. After a year of occupation, we’ll share how we conducted a qualitative assessment of the building with a wide cross-section of stakeholders and how the resulting lessons will impact the campus’s ‘Do Good’ mission and inform future planning and design.

Abstract: Rapidly changing users and technology paired with long project timelines requires institutions to think ahead and implement innovative strategies for creating new, high-end engineering facilities. Campus facilities must be nimble and ready to support multiple types of students. At the forefront of the AI technology revolution, George Mason University is undertaking large construction projects to serve a spectrum of undergraduate, masters, and doctoral students and create ecosystems of academic, industry, government, and community users. We’ll share planning strategies for AI technology learning spaces, practical solutions for designing future-focused facilities, and ways of promoting collaboration and connection across multiple communities.

Abstract: “In 2013 TRU established ‘increasing sustainability’ as one of its five strategic priorities for 2014-2019. This Strategic Sustainability Plan (SSP) is aligned with the university’s strategic plan, and provides a focus for TRU’s efforts toward sustainability over the same period. The SSP is comprehensive in nature, and includes more than 130 recommended strategies across four key focus areas: Operations & Planning, Advocacy & Engagement, Learning, and Administration. The SSP is intended to provide a framework for each TRU department and operational unit to incorporate sustainability initiatives into their own planning processes (the structure of the plan is illustrated on the opposing page). . . . Unlike some strategic documents, the plan takes a comprehensive approach of documenting strategies over the next 5 years. These strategies are not all the responsibility of one department or office, but rather are shared among many. This comprehensive approach will allow each office or department to see where and how it can play a role in TRU’s sustainability journey.”

Abstract: A high-level document enumerating the institution’s five strategic goals and strategies for achieving each goal. The goals are framed as increasing and enhancing each of the following qualities:

1. Student Success
2. Intercultural Understanding
3. Research Capacity
4. Entrepreneurial Capacity
5. Sustainability

Abstract: There is a growing interest in examining the relationship between active learning spaces and development of soft skills. The overall goal of this research was to evaluate the gains, if any, in the collaboration skill development of students who experienced part of their undergraduate or graduate learning within active learning spaces at Thomas Jefferson University, and to attempt to pinpoint the factors contributing to that.

To meet the goal, the researcher designed a study to assess perceived impact of use of active learning spaces, targeting alumni. Although many such studies rely on reflections from current students during or shortly after their use of learning spaces, the unique contribution of this research is that it gathered impact perceptions of learning spaces from persons after they experienced collaborative work activities in their career settings beyond academia.

Abstract: While universities recognize the need for change, establishing an environment conducive to change requires time and movement through stages. In this article, I examine different tools and processes that can pave the way for innovation or change. These processes became evident in my research on the emergence of an interdisciplinary policy school jointly established on two campuses where previous models did not exist. The change came about because there was a confluence of forces that promoted it; these factors were strong enough to negate the barriers. There were key actions undertaken by the universities that promoted the change, including systematic program review, university-wide integrated planning, the appointment of an executive sponsor who had social and political capital, and the establishment of a “grassroots” working committee comprising faculty who were passionate about the initiative. However, there were equally important practices and policies that hindered the movement forward; these included institutional procedures that required multiple levels of approval in a lock-step process and the many facets of resistance to change. For universities contemplating a change agenda, the implementation of some of these processes and tools could potentially be beneficial in moving forward.