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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
August 20, 2025

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Adopting a Human-Centered Approach to Change

Prioritize the Perspectives and Experiences of Those Individuals Who Will Be Affected

By: Nicole H. Gahagan, EdD

The people impacted by change must be involved throughout the change lifecycle and empowered to navigate change every step of the way.

From Volume 53 Number 4 | July–September 2025

Abstract: When change in higher education isn’t managed in a human-centered manner, institutional leaders are unlikely to see the outcomes they intended to achieve. That’s because they didn’t invest enough in involving and supporting the individuals expected to operationalize a new strategy. Nobody wins in these situations: Executives, employees, and students all lose out on the benefits a change initiative could have produced. In this book excerpt, the author shares why strong change leadership must be at the helm of cultivating an environment where innovation is embraced and managed with compassion for the humans who are being asked to think and work differently.

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Conference Presentations,Conference Recordings

Published
June 4, 2025

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Designing for Intentional Community: Dartmouth’s Housing Transformation

By: Ben Carlson, Principal, Goody Clancy | Lisa Ferreira, Principal, Student Life Practice Leader, Goody Clancy | Joanna Whitcomb, Director of Campus Planning, Dartmouth College

Planning processes must be versatile and nimble to accommodate changing priorities.
Abstract: Planning processes must be versatile and nimble to accommodate changing priorities. This session will show how a design team developed a flexible data visualization tool that allows Dartmouth University to play out scenarios as priorities change over time. As Dartmouth renews its plans, we'll provide a comprehensive look at how the team considered parity, distribution, and student wellness in a three-part planning effort. Discover how you can apply our data visualization tool to describe complex variables to stakeholders, as well as use scenario planning to align cost, student experience, and institutional goals over the course of your plan's realization.

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Report

Published
May 23, 2025

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The Future of University Planning in 2040 (and Beyond)

I Used Foresight Analysis to Help SCUP Look Ahead, Adapt, and Innovate

By: Lisa Jasinski, PhD, President, Associated Colleges of the Midwest

This is a SCUP FellowResearch Project Final Report for the 2023–2024 program. This report explores how foresight analysis can be used to prepare and plan for uncertain futures in higher education.
Abstract: In this SCUP fellowship project, Lisa Jasinski applies strategic foresight methods to explore what university planning could look like in 2040—and how we can better prepare for it today.

Informed by environmental scanning, futures thinking, and stakeholder engagement with SCUP members and campus leaders, she developed four plausible scenarios grounded in current trends such as AI, climate change, political polarization, and declining public trust. These scenarios aren’t predictions; they are planning tools that help teams and organizations stress-test strategies, surface assumptions, and engage in meaningful future-focused conversations.

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ebook

Published
May 19, 2025

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Essential Practices for Organizational Change in Higher Education

By: Nicole Gahagan, EdD

Filled with guidance, recommendations, examples, and tools, this book is a practical manual for anyone seeking to lead change in a college or university.
Abstract: Higher education is infamously change-resistant. What’s needed is a new methodology: human-centered change. Informed by research and honed by practice, human-centered change is a flexible, pragmatic approach that works within higher education’s unique structures, practices, and culture. This book guides change leaders and practitioners through the application of human-centered change. A practical manual, it provides mid- and senior-level administrators the essential practices, examples, recommendations, and tools they need to lead change in their colleges or universities.

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Conference Presentations

Published
April 8, 2025

Designing for Intentional Community: Dartmouth’s Housing Transformation

Abstract: Planning processes must be versatile and nimble to accommodate changing priorities. This session will show how a design team developed a flexible data visualization tool that allows Dartmouth University to play out scenarios as priorities change over time. As Dartmouth renews its plans, we'll provide a comprehensive look at how the team considered parity, distribution, and student wellness in a three-part planning effort. Discover how you can apply our data visualization tool to describe complex variables to stakeholders, as well as use scenario planning to align cost, student experience, and institutional goals over the course of your plan's realization.

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Webinar Recordings

Published
February 5, 2025

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Building the Capacity for Planning: The Integrated Planning Competencies

By: Sadie Wutka, Director, Content Development

Integrated planning in higher education requires a broad set of skills, knowledge, and qualities. Some of these might seem obvious (like planning knowledge).
Abstract: Integrated planning in higher education requires a broad set of skills, knowledge, and qualities. Some of these might seem obvious (like planning knowledge). Others may be less so—particularly expertise related to “soft” skills or human skills, like communication or collaboration.

Build capacity for integrated planning more efficiently with SCUP’s Integrated Planning Competencies. This framework identifies the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for successful integrated planning across the institution. We will provide an overview of the competencies, describe how they were developed, and share insights from competency research.

Whatever planning activities you’re involved in—whether you’re responsible for planning across your institution, coordinating your institution’s next strategic plan, implementing your campus master plan, working within your department to improve student success, etc.—an integrated planning approach is key. Join us and demystify the skills, knowledge, and dispositions you need to get there.

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Blog Post

Published
August 9, 2024

Slight Differences and Lots of Similarities

Two Conference Presenters Both Advocate for Developing and Improving Planning Culture

By: Melodie Greer, MEd, Bryn Athyn College

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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

By: Joel Pettigrew, MA, Higher Education Administrator and Strategist

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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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
May 24, 2024

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Planning Takes Tragedy to Triumph

Removing a Campus Wall Raised Community Engagement and Neighborhood Support

By: Timothy Shippey, MArch, and José Ramón Tagle, MArch

After the 2017 earthquake in Mexico City, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey underwent a transformative rebuilding process. Civic engagement was prioritized, resulting in buy-in, support, and representation from the community.

From Volume 52 Number 3 | April–June 2024

Abstract: After the 2017 earthquake in Mexico City, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey’s campus underwent a transformative rebuilding process that emerged as a pedagogical prototype for the university system. This article explores the design strategies that prioritized civic engagement, resulting in buy-in, support, and representation from the community. It also describes the methodology behind blurring the boundaries between the university and its surroundings through lean principles in set-based design, strategies for resilient building, and insights into effective collaboration.

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Conference Presentations

Published
March 5, 2024

Residential Life and Safety at the Intersection of Town and Gown

By: Patrick Killilee, University of Pennsylvania | Michael Schade, Atkin Olshin Schade Architects

Colleges and universities must adapt to changing issues around student safety and determine how to address these concerns while maintaining connections with the local community.
Abstract: Colleges and universities must adapt to changing issues around student safety and determine how to address these concerns while maintaining connections with the local community. This session will discuss the University of Pennsylvania’s (Penn) Stouffer Hall, a recently renovated residence hall that exemplifies the evolution of attitudes towards community, security, and student life on campus. Come learn how to create programs for increasing community engagement, address housing security concerns, and align residential life and building goals with current attitudes around safety.

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