Learning Resources

Use Evidence to Plan Facilities That Drive Student Success

By: Elliot Felix

In this article, the author draws upon research from his book How to Get the Most Out of College to highlight the evidence that campus planners and designers can use to help drive student success.

Abstract: Colleges and universities are in the midst of a transition from an access mindset to a success mindset, and campus facilities can play a role in this shift. Institutions don’t have to guess at how—a large body of research can and should inform how we plan, design, and operate our campuses. In this article, the author draws upon research from his book How to Get the Most Out of College to highlight the evidence that campus planners and designers can use to help drive student success.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Rochester, Arizona State University-Tempe
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Learning Environments, Student Experience, Student Housing, Student Retention, Student Support Services

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Libraries in Shaping the Future of Higher Education

Part Three: Libraries as Place in Institutional Transformation

By: Nicholas Santilli (Host), Society for College and University Planning | Lynn Priddy (Moderator), Claremont Lincoln University | Adriene I. Lim, University of Maryland College Park | Brian Smith, Boston College | Elliot Felix, brightspot strategy

In what ways will libraries continue to be the intellectual hubs where users interact with ideas in both physical and virtual environments to expand learning and facilitate the creation of new knowledge?

Abstract: In what ways will libraries continue to be the intellectual hubs where users interact with ideas in both physical and virtual environments to expand learning and facilitate the creation of new knowledge? The pandemic has illustrated the power of place and the need for the post-pandemic campus to integrate academic activities for lifelong learning and research.

This conversation will explore the place of the library to convene people for impactful connections, and the new emerging and transformational role of libraries as learning commons that shape the overall campus as a network for collaboration.

This is part three of a three-part webinar series.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Informal Learning Environments, Learning Commons, Learning Environments, Library, Library Planning

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Conference Recordings

Published
July 16, 2021

2021 Annual Conference | July 2021

Supporting the Whole Student

New Models for Integrated Learning Centers

By: Jonathan Eldridge, College of Marin | Kelly Sanford, brightspot strategy | David Schnee, Group 4 Architecture Research | Stacey Thompson, Chabot College

In this session, we’ll share how the College of Marin and Chabot College's integrated learning centers are serving changing student populations using an inclusive library design approach.

Abstract: Even as 'non-traditional' students become the norm at community colleges, too many campus spaces and services fail to meet their needs. Inclusive engagement strategies can help ensure that we design for today's students. We'll share how the College of Marin and Chabot College's integrated learning centers are serving changing student populations using an inclusive library design approach. You'll learn how incorporating inclusive engagement and outreach in your planning process can result in facilities that allow students to better navigate the 'hidden curriculum' of college life and strengthen campus cohesion.

Institutions Mentioned: Chabot College, College of Marin
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Accessibility, Community College, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Library, SCUP 2021 Annual Conference, Student Support Services

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Conference Recordings

Published
March 16, 2020

2020 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2020

Mid-century Make-over

Creating a 21st Century Learning Center and Student Hub

By: Richard Gluckman, FAIA, Founding Partner, Gluckman Tang | Nancy Trainer, FAIA, University Architect and Associate Vice President for Facilities, Drexel University | Thomas Amoroso, PLA, ASLA, Principal, Andropogon

As part of repositioning for the 21st century, Drexel University renovated the Korman Center, a 1950s library, and the academic quad to serve as a 24/7 student hub and interdisciplinary academic study center that encourages student collaboration.

Abstract: Addressing current student expectations on campuses with mid-century buildings and a tight budget requires collaboration between the client and design team as well as creative placemaking solutions. As part of repositioning for the 21st century, Drexel University renovated the Korman Center, a 1950s library, and the academic quad to serve as a 24/7 student hub and interdisciplinary academic study center that encourages student collaboration. You will learn how to develop practical, sustainable, and design-forward solutions for updating mid-century buildings and spaces that will attract and retain a diverse student population.

Institutions Mentioned: Drexel University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Library, Renovation, SCUP 2020 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, Student Center / Union

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Conference Presentations

Published
June 17, 2019

2019 Mid-Atlantic Symposium | June 2019

The Informal Learning Environment

What’s It Look Like? (by Elizabeth Mahon)

By: Elizabeth Mahon

One of three presentations in a collection of informal learning environment imagery presented in twelve minutes or less by campus design leaders. Topic: Community College of Philadelphia’s Library Learning Commons.

Institutions Mentioned: Community College of Philadelphia
Planning Types: Campus Planning, Library Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Informal Learning Environments, Innovation Center, Learning Commons, Learning Environments, Library, Renovation

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Conference Presentations

Published
June 17, 2019

2019 Mid-Atlantic Symposium | June 2019

The Informal Learning Environment

What’s It Look Like? (by Michael Schade)

By: Michael Schade

One of three presentations in a collection of informal learning environment imagery presented in twelve minutes or less by campus design leaders.

Institutions Mentioned: Bryn Mawr College, Cornell University, Lehigh University, University of Pennsylvania
Planning Types: Campus Planning, Library Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Informal Learning Environments, Laboratory Facility, Learning Commons, Learning Environments, Library, Mixed-Use, Student Housing

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Conference Presentations

Published
June 17, 2019

2019 Mid-Atlantic Symposium | June 2019

Designing Libraries for Learning

By: Peggy Seiden

One of three presentations in a collection of informal learning environment imagery presented in twelve minutes or less by campus design leaders.

Planning Types: Campus Planning, Library Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Informal Learning Environments, Learning Commons, Learning Environments, Library

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Change and Renewal for Existing Campus Libraries

Successful Strategies and Lessons Learned

By: Ned A. Collier

Renovating an existing academic library to meet 21st-century needs requires rethinking both its program and design to create a vibrant, welcoming campus hub for all.

From Volume 47 Number 1 | October–December 2018

Institutions Mentioned: Springfield College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Library, Library Planning, Renovation

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The Library as Learning Commons

By: Derek Jones, Andrew Grote

Even in the digital age, the library plays a fundamental role in campus life and learning, particularly when it’s updated to meet the needs of 21st-century students and pedagogies.

From Volume 46 Number 3 | April–June 2018

Abstract: Following decades of decline in perceived status and value, the university library has found new life as a center of the knowledge economy, of collaborative learning, and of creative production. The challenge of updating the library mission for the digital age is further complicated when that library resides within a 1960s Brutalist concrete structure. The revitalization of the Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons at the Wentworth Institute of Technology illustrates the process of transforming a foreboding, bunker-like space into a modern, vibrant campus destination.

Institutions Mentioned: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Planning Types: Campus Planning, Library Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Library, Library Planning

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Integrated Project Planning in a Construction Management Environment

The College of DuPage’s Naperville, Illinois, Satellite Campus

By: Ellen Bailey Dickson,Robin Whitehurst

When the whole team knows the “why” behind the planning and design process, the result is a better “what.”

From Volume 45 Number 1 | October–December 2016

Abstract: The College of DuPage (COD) is a two-year community college located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. COD leaders and administrators believe that the whole team’s understanding of the “why” behind the planning and design process is vital to ensuring the achievement of a higher-quality “what” after construction. Employing an integrated project team approach by adding a construction management group to the design and facilities team, COD completed $550 million in capital projects from 2001 to 2014. The final element of COD’s most recent master plan was the development of a prototype renovation for its four satellite campuses. The goal of the prototype was to elevate the classroom experience to state-of-the-art instructional and educational standards, improve the energy performance of the facilities, and offer the same services provided at the main campus. The overarching challenge was for the planners, facilities staff, and construction managers to work together to fit a large campus educational program into a single-building prototype.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Project Management / Delivery, Renovation

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