SCUP
We're grateful for our community and wish you a happy holiday! Please note the SCUP Office will be closed November 26-27.
 

Learning Resources

Your Higher Education Planning Library

Combine search terms, filters, institution names, and tags to find the vital resources to help you and your team tackle today’s challenges and plan for the future. Get started below, or learn how the library works.

FOUND 101 RESOURCES

REFINED BY:

  • Tags: Student Life / Student AffairsxTrends External to Higher EdxSCUP Research Programx

Clear All
ABSTRACT:  | 
SORT BY:  | 
Trends for Higher Education

Published
November 14, 2025

Featured Image

Trends for Higher Education | The Student Voices Edition

This special issue of Trends describes student perspectives on four trends featured in recent issues of Trends for Higher Education: AI, personal finances, enrollment and attrition, and international students. Learn more about the opinions, reactions, and perspectives students have about these critical topics, preparing your institution to engage with your students in a more informed way.
Abstract: Integrated planning leverages stakeholder insights and knowledge to make better, more informed decisions. No stakeholder is more important than our students, which is why we’re releasing a special issue of Trends focusing on their perspectives.

This Trends for Higher Education: The Student Voices Edition describes student perspectives on four trends featured in recent issues of Trends for Higher Education. Campus Sonar, a social listening firm, collected data from social platforms like Reddit and X to analyze what students are saying about artificial intelligence, their personal finances, enrollment and attrition decisions, and international students.

Learn more about the opinions, reactions, and perspectives students have about these critical issues, preparing your institution to engage with your students in a more informed way.

Use this report to:
  • Inform your student stakeholder engagement strategies
  • Develop questions for student surveys and focus groups
  • Benchmark against findings from your student stakeholder engagement efforts
  • Add context to what you’ve learned about your students and their perspectives

Member Price:
Free  | Login

Non-Member Price:
$45

Webinar Recordings

Published
September 17, 2025

Featured Image

Trends that Impact Higher Education Planning Fall 2025

By: Jason Nicholas, Northern Michigan University | Tina Dee, Muskegon Community College

Join Jason Nicholas and Tina Dee for a dynamic conversation exploring the external forces shaping higher education in 2025. Drawing from SCUP’s upcoming Trends Outside Higher Education | Fall 2025 report, they’ll offer their perspective on what these trends really mean for your institution—and how to act on them.
Abstract: Join Jason Nicholas and Tina Dee for a dynamic conversation exploring the external forces shaping higher education in 2025. Drawing from SCUP’s upcoming Trends Outside Higher Education | Fall 2025 report (available September 15), they’ll offer their perspective on what these trends really mean for your institution—and how to act on them.

You’ll gain more than a list of trends. This session brings fresh insights, real-world context, and practical takeaways that go beyond the report. Leverage what you learn to enhance your team’s strategic, scenario, and contingency planning—and stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly volatile landscape.

Member Price:
Free  | Login

Non-Member Price:
$45

Trends for Higher Education

Published
September 12, 2025

Featured Image

Trends Outside Higher Education | Fall 2025

By: Apryl Motley, CAE

How is the world outside your institution changing? From the growth of microschools to the decline of digital platforms and services, colleges and universities continue to face an environment that is uncertain and rapidly changing. Learn the key trends and movements that might impact your institution.
Abstract: Integrated planning prepares your institution for change by ensuring its decisions are informed by realities in the external environment.

How is the world outside your institution changing? From the growth of microschools to the decline of digital platforms and services, colleges and universities continue to face an environment that is uncertain and rapidly changing. Learn the key trends and movements that might impact your institution.

This issue curates and summarizes 40–50 trends happening outside the world of higher education that could impact colleges and universities. Each trend includes a brief summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.

Member Price:
Free  | Login

Non-Member Price:
$45

Blog Post

Published
August 4, 2025

The Campus Planner in a Time of Turmoil

Your Role Is as Adviser, Not the Ultimate Decision-Maker

By: Frederick W. Mayer, Campus Planner Emeritus, University of Michigan

A founding member of SCUP shares some of his experiences and thoughts on how to deal with the challenges and turmoil facing higher education.

Member Price:
Free  | Login

Member-only Resource

Join now to have access

Trends for Higher Education

Published
March 19, 2025

Featured Image

Trends Inside Higher Education | Spring 2025

By: Apryl Motley, CAE

What are key movements and trends within higher education? From addressing pandemic learning loss to grappling with generative AI in the classroom, learn the forces and changes directly impacting higher education, now and in the future.
Abstract: Integrated planning prepares your institution for change by ensuring its decisions are informed by realities in the external environment.

What are key movements and trends within higher education? From addressing pandemic learning loss to grappling with generative AI in the classroom, learn the forces and changes directly impacting higher education, now and in the future.

This issue curates and summarizes 40-50 trends happening inside the world of higher education that could impact colleges and universities. Each trend includes a brief summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.

Member Price:
Free  | Login

Non-Member Price:
$45

Webinar Recordings

Published
November 4, 2024

Featured Image

Trends that Impact Higher Education Planning: Insights from SCUP’s Fall Trends in Higher Education Report

Join Dr. Lynn Akey and Salvador Aceves, Ed. D. for a conversation highlighting insights from SCUP’s Fall Trends in Higher Education Report.
Abstract: Join Dr. Lynn Akey and Salvador Aceves, Ed. D. for a conversation highlighting insights from SCUP’s Fall Trends in Higher Education Report. This document provides an overview of the important external forces that impact institutional operations—it’s an essential tool for strategic planning, scenario planning, and contingency planning.

Member Price:
Free  | Login

Non-Member Price:
$35

Trends for Higher Education

Published
September 20, 2024

Featured Image

Trends Outside Higher Education | Fall 2024

By: Apryl Motley, CAE

How is the world outside your institution changing? From the growth of microschools to the decline of digital platforms and services, colleges and universities continue to face an environment that is uncertain and rapidly changing. Learn the key trends and movements that might impact your institution.
Abstract: Integrated planning prepares your institution for change by ensuring its decisions are informed by realities in the external environment.

How is the world outside your institution changing? From the growth of microschools to the decline of digital platforms and services, colleges and universities continue to face an environment that is uncertain and rapidly changing. Learn the key trends and movements that might impact your institution.

This issue curates and summarizes 40-50 trends happening outside the world of higher education that could impact colleges and universities. Each trend includes a brief summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.

Learn more about SCUP’s Trends for Higher Education report.

Member Price:
Free

Non-Member Price:
Free

Conference Presentations

Published
July 23, 2024

Visioning for Campus Planning to Enhance the Student Experience

By: Christian Bushong, Associate | Juan Familia, Student | Ryan Glick, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, Third Year Design Studio Coordinator | Melissa Maisey, Student | Jill Sirota, Design Manager, Associate| Melanie Taylor, Student

This student panel will exchange ideas on the impacts of capital planning in three phases: on campus today, at graduation, and ten years in the future. An educator and design expert will join students from Philadelphia-based institutions to share their perspectives on how short and long-term visioning for campus planning can create more engaging, inclusive, and impactful student experiences.
Abstract: This student panel will exchange ideas on the impacts of capital planning in three phases: on campus today, at graduation, and ten years in the future. An educator and design expert will join students from Philadelphia-based institutions to share their perspectives on how short and long-term visioning for campus planning can create more engaging, inclusive, and impactful student experiences. Planners are considering the experiences students seek while on campus, and how perceived impressions differ from the reality of renovations. This interactive discussion will offer live feedback on trends and issues around recruitment, retention, campus culture, and sense of belonging.

Member Price:
$35  | Login

Non-Member Price:
$50

Report

Published
July 3, 2024

Featured Image

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.

Member Price:
Free

Non-Member Price:
Free

Webinar Recordings

Published
May 29, 2024

Featured Image

2023 SCUP Campus Facilities Inventory (CFI) Review

By: Allan Donnelly, Principal | Michael Darfler, Senior Strategist | Cimmeron O’Connor, Chief Strategy | Christy Jordan, Executive Director for Capital Planning and Space Management (CPSM) | Jennifer L. McCarthy, D.P.P, Executive Director of Space Management

The 2023 SCUP Campus Facilities Inventory (CFI) survey was the third iteration of the survey providing new insights about the current state of campus facilities and how institutions across the country are thinking about the future of campus and facility planning.
Abstract: The 2023 SCUP Campus Facilities Inventory (CFI) survey was the third iteration of the survey providing new insights about the current state of campus facilities and how institutions across the country are thinking about the future of campus and facility planning. This webinar will be hosted by Buro Happold Advisory (formerly brightspot strategy) SCUP’s CFI partner, and will review key findings from the survey. The hosts will then engage a panel of survey participants in a discussion about the CFI and campus planning at their institution.

Member Price:
Free  | Login

Non-Member Price:
Free

  • Page    of 11