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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
August 18, 2025

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Strategic Alignment for Degree Completion

Leverage an Integrated Planning Approach to Improve Credit Momentum and Student Success

By: Nicole DeCapua, EdD, Mildred Mihlon, PhD, and Tracy Louisse S. Chacon, MEd

By coordinating cross-functional teams, employing real-time data, and strengthening communication systems, a university bolstered student retention and completion without requiring new funding or staff.

From Volume 53 Number 4 | July–September 2025

Abstract: This article presents how a small, resource-constrained university leveraged integrated institutional planning to launch a 30-credit completion strategy that significantly improved student momentum, graduation rates, and institutional planning culture. By coordinating cross-functional teams, employing real-time data, and strengthening communication systems, the university built a scalable and sustainable framework that bolstered student retention and completion without requiring new funding or staff. This case offers a roadmap for similarly situated institutions aiming to align credit accumulation initiatives with broader strategic goals to drive measurable student success outcomes.

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Planning for Higher Education Journal

Published
July 16, 2025

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Keeping the Focus Month by Month

Improve Stakeholder Engagement and Outcomes with a Goal Communications Calendar

By: Tina Dee, MS

By strategically aligning monthly communications with its institutional goals, Muskegon Community College increased its connection with students, employees, and the community while reinforcing a shared sense of ownership.

From Volume 53 Number 3 | April–June 2025

Abstract: Muskegon Community College’s (MCC) Goal in Focus communications program reshaped stakeholder engagement and strengthened institutional alignment, driving more effective strategic outcomes. Grounded in the Society for College and University Planning’s Integrated Planning Competencies, our approach fostered a planning culture that is transparent, adaptable, and collaborative. By strategically aligning monthly communications with its institutional goals, MCC increased engagement with students, employees, and the community while reinforcing a shared sense of ownership. A goal-focused communications calendar enriches sustainability, builds relationships, strengthens alignment, and improves preparedness for change.

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Conference Presentations

Published
April 7, 2025

When City Parks Are Your Quad: Urban Campus Planning for Safety and Wellbeing

Abstract: As security remains of paramount concern for campus communities, how should institutions thoughtfully engage the urban fabric? Urban campuses are constrained by their verticality and publicly-permeable urban edges. This session will delve into a 2023 SCUP Fellows report with additional updated analysis of campus responses and overreach to protests this past year. In-depth analysis of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles through a lens of student development theory will provide you with insight into student wellbeing and sense of security through campus design.

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Conference Presentations

Published
April 2, 2025

Reimagining Safe and Affordable Student Housing for a Dense Urban Campus

Abstract: Campus housing is foundational for student retention and academic success, yet it's often beyond the means of many students. To address the growing crisis of student homelessness, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) developed an affordable, co-housing model that changes the conversation around equity and diversity. In this session, we'll explore the unique programmatic elements necessary for developing an equitable campus community. This case study will introduce a new model for vertically integrated co-housing solutions that you can apply on your campus when planning affordable housing projects that enhance student life and learning.

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Conference Presentations

Published
July 22, 2024

Transforming Streets into Bustling Places for Campus Life

By: Adriana Akers, Associate | Aaron Olsen, Assistant Director | Lara Rose, Principal

Many institutions are rethinking the presence of vehicles on campus and facing a need for more sustainable and multi-purpose circulation spaces.
Abstract: Many institutions are rethinking the presence of vehicles on campus and facing a need for more sustainable and multi-purpose circulation spaces. Once a traditional city street running through the University of Oregon campus, this session will examine Thirteenth Avenue's re-imagining as a multi-modal open space that supports student life. This is a transformative concept grounded in rigorous analysis and integrated planning. We'll encourage you to think critically about existing campus corridors, renew circulation systems and residual open spaces to support student life, and inform design approaches to your unique campus development challenges.

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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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Blog Post

Published
October 5, 2023

Listen Up Leaders

Two-Way Communication Is Important in Establishing Trust

By: Apryl Motley, CAE, SASM

To gain additional insight into strategies for establishing trust between stakeholders and their leaders, we turned to Sonia Alvarez-Robinson, associate vice president for strategy and organizational effectiveness, Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Blog Post

Published
August 9, 2023

6 Integrated Planning Strategies and Tips We Learned at SCUP 2023

By: SCUP

Every year at SCUP’s annual conference, over 1,000 of higher education’s leaders and innovators gather to share how they are advancing integrated planning at their college or university. Out of the wealth of tools, strategies, and tips shared at SCUP 2023, which took place earlier this month in Cleveland, here are six that stood out.

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