Learning Resources

Abstract: Times of rapid change can interrupt operations and implementation efforts. Preventing this requires an ability to quickly adapt our programs and offerings to the changing landscape. Unfortunately, operational complexity and the disorienting nature of uncertainty become a hurdle to rapid response. Either we get overwhelmed trying to identify all that needs to change, or we respond haphazardly, missing crucial details.

Contingency planning can help. It is a method for preparing for potential changes that identifies how operations and action plans need to shift in response. It can also be used to respond to changes after they happen.

The Campus Contingency Planner is a template for lightweight, rapid contingency planning. It guides you through a process that identifies the impacts of change, how decisions during contingency planning will be made, and the operational components of programs and offerings that will need to be adapted in response.

Whether you manage student-facing programs (like academic programs or student affairs activities), or direct services that are internally supportive (like space management or IT), the Campus Contingency Planner can help you respond to change with flexibility, minimizing disruption and moving your institution forward.

Abstract: This session will illustrate how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human Intelligence (HI) combine to create Collaborative Intelligence (CI), which will transform and disrupt every process and practice it touches. Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is building on its track record of preparing students for the future by leveraging CI and a clean sheet design approach to create a revolutionary new instructional model. To harness the power of CI, institutions must reinvent their approach for crafting and executing strategy to create a sense of urgency for change, engage many participants, provide transformation tools, and change culture.

Abstract: Higher education leaders carry the responsibility of vision and building new strategic directions for colleges and universities. This session will provide a deep look into one leader's decades of experience and share ways to become a strong, successful administrator at any level. Come learn the ways in which leadership is more than a title and discover how to assess your own skills and knowledge, as well as the best ways to position those findings for current and future roles.

Abstract: Since the average presidential tenure is now fewer than six years, campuses need to design and implement circumspect planning which will prove stable even in the event of leadership changes. Using examples from eight institutions across the U.S., this session explores the challenges to campus strategic planning when new leadership arrives. Campus constituencies will be able to weather the uncertainties of a presidential transition through a detailed understanding of commonly experienced impacts on campus planning.

Abstract: Alvernia University can provide inspiration for planners who must undertake the difficult task of transforming their institution in turbulent times. In four years, Alvernia University has raised $25 million in external support, garnered a $400 thousand grant, and raised enrollment by more than six percent. This session will detail Alvernia University’s transformation strategy, which has radically changed how the university educates students and supports regional economic development. The Alvernia approach offers a proven model that institutions can adapt for their own transformation efforts, cutting plan development and implementation time.

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.

Abstract: A strategic plan is supposed to “bring the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” Almost every college or university has such a plan because accreditors and governing boards require one. The question is: Why do so many higher education institutions seem to be unprepared when they take drastic actions (e.g., eliminating programs, cutting faculty and staff members, etc.) in uncertain times? The author studied more than 250 colleges and universities and suggests the answer in this article.

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.

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.

Abstract: Brian Rosenberg, the author of “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It”: Resistance to Change in Higher Education, argues that improvements in higher education are needed—which is certainly not a controversial or surprising outlook. However, he also says many institutions are on an unsustainable financial path, which makes the imperatives for change more urgent. What exactly needs to be addressed and how dramatically, though, is a matter of one’s perspective. The reviewer observes that in most cases, sustainable changes have been ongoing but incremental, not transformational. Some stakeholders might celebrate that fact. In other corners, this is not enough, and so frustrations abound.