Learning Resources

Overcoming a $90M Budget Overage in Vanderbilt University’s Residential Colleges

A Multifaceted Team Worked Collaboratively to Stem Overruns

By: David Bailey, BA, AIA, LEED AP, and Walt Massey, BA

The University, architects, engineers, strategic planning consultants, and contractor teams worked hand in hand to peel back the onion to stem the overruns.

From Volume 52 Number 1 | October–December 2023

Abstract: When Vanderbilt University began seeing signs that cost escalation, scope additions, campus requirements, and authentic Collegiate Gothic architecture for their proposed new residence halls were all pressuring the budget, a multifaceted team worked collaboratively and arduously to stem the overruns.

Institutions Mentioned: Vanderbilt University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Implementation, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Mixed-Use, Modifying the Plan, Project Management, Project Management / Delivery, Student Housing

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Responsive Design

Purposeful Planning Can Be Inclusive for Neurodiverse Students and Support the Well-Being of All

By: Shannon Dowling, MArch, AIA, LEEDAP, and James A. Baumann, MA

By incorporating student choice and voice into the planning and allowing autonomy in scale and adaptability, campuses can provide the environment where all students are most comfortable participating in any given activity.

From Volume 52 Number 1 | October–December 2023

Abstract: Research has shown that neurodivergent students report a lower sense of belonging and are less likely to feel welcomed, accepted, and like they belong on campus than their neurotypical peers. Considering this, a host of barriers to participation and belonging can be in effect across a college or university. While there are a few campus offices and departments that might address different aspects of these concerns independently, the most successful results occur when these groups—along with outside contractors such as design partners—work in strategic symphony.

This article is co-presented by the Association of College & University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) and the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) and is being published in publications for both organizations.

Institutions Mentioned: Colorado School of Mines, Denison University, Lewis & Clark College, Montana State University, Ohio State University-Main Campus, The State University of New York at Albany, University of Georgia, University of Oregon
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Health and Wellness, Informal Learning Environments, Learning Environments, Placemaking, Student Housing

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Align Strategic, Physical, and Capital Planning for the Next Generation of Students

By: Jacob Guter, MPA, RA, and Doug Kozma, BSLA, PLA

Michigan Technological University used active stakeholder engagement, frequent reviews, and vigorous discussion to develop its aspirational master plan.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Abstract: Profound technological changes are occurring today, and universities need to prepare our students to work and live in this new world. Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) is addressing the future of technology in society, academia, and the campus through our Tech Forward Strategic Plan, a bold enrollment and retention initiative, an aggressive capital campaign, and a dynamic hiring initiative. Our aspirational campus master plan, developed in partnership with SmithGroup, an integrated design firm, integrates and supports these initiatives and goals. Active stakeholder engagement, frequent reviews, and vigorous discussion allowed us to craft a campus master plan aligning strategic, physical, and capital planning that supports and drives the university’s 2035 Vision.

Institutions Mentioned: Michigan Technological University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, Community Engagement, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Assessment, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Innovation Center, Laboratory Facility, Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, Public-Private Partnerships (P3), Science / Engineering Facility, Space Assessment, Student Housing

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Getting in the eGame

Esports Streaming Gives the University of Kentucky a New Way to Grow Revenue and Recruit Students

By: Michael Stewart, BS, and Heath Price, MS

The University of Kentucky understood the importance of technology in preparing students for the digital world. With public-private partnerships, it sought opportunities to be an industry leader in leveraging that capacity for its students, faculty, staff, and the community.

From Volume 50 Number 2 | January–March 2022

Abstract: The University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Kentucky Esports Club worked together to establish the University of Kentucky Esports Lounge. Students were surveyed on their gaming needs, and the resulting wish list (i.e., equipment selection, space configuration, furniture, etc.) fed into the decision-making process by all constituents. The project budget was derived by a larger construction project at the University that focused on student recruitment, community, and connection to the non-student demographic. The UK team ultimately planned and launched the custom facility to meet users’ particular needs—while finding a way for the University to produce an additional revenue stream.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Kentucky
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Funding, Facilities Planning, Mixed-Use, New Program or Department, Planning Processes, Public-Private Partnerships (P3), Recreational Facility, Shared Facilities, Student Life / Student Affairs, Technology

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Book Review: Entrepreneuring the Future of Higher Education

Radical Transformation in Times of Profound Change

By: Lynn Priddy, PhD

From Volume 49 Number 3 | April–June 2021

Abstract: Entrepreneuring the Future of Higher Education: Radical Transformation in Times of Profound Change
by Mary Landon Darden
Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham, MD: 2021
202 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4758-5494-7

Planning Types: Strategic Planning, Resource Planning
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Funding, Innovation, Organizational Change, Recovery Planning, Resiliency

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De-Densifying Classrooms in the COVID-19 Era

A Scalable and Accurate Non-Linear Model Projects New Distanced Space Capacities

By: Kimberly S. Koverman and Ann P. Kalayil

Columbia College Chicago’s “logistic growth model,” a mathematical model that is adaptable to highly variable campus spaces, gives priority to human-centered solutions while also promoting physical and emotional well-being. It can flexibly accommodate instructors, teaching assistants, and students for different pedagogical uses and within different types of facilities.

From Volume 48 Number 4 | July–September 2020

Abstract: Campus space planning generally involves the use of linear models that apply a simple square-foot-per-person calculation to determine capacities for different room sizes. Most return-to-campus strategies following the easing of COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions involve modification of these models, increasing square-footage-per-person to accommodate six feet of distancing. This provides reasonable upper and lower capacity estimates, but it does not yield accurate estimates across different room sizes and room types. Columbia College Chicago has developed a non-linear model that is both scalable and accurate, resulting in estimates that match test fits across all observed spaces.

Institutions Mentioned: Columbia College-Chicago
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: COVID-19, Facilities Planning, Flexible Learning Spaces, Learning Environments

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Building Community

Defining, Designing, Developing UniverCity

By: Glenn Miller

From Volume 46 Number 4 | July–September 2018

Institutions Mentioned: Simon Fraser University, Simon Fraser University-Burnaby, University of British Columbia
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Mixed-Use, Student Housing

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Enhancing the Student Experience Through Placemaking

Georgia Tech’s West Village Dining Commons

By: Lesley Braxton

Students thrive in authentic, multifunctional spaces that foster both individual reflection and social interaction and further the connection between place and the human experience.

From Volume 46 Number 4 | July–September 2018

Institutions Mentioned: Georgia Institute of Technology
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Dining Facility, Facilities Design, Mixed-Use, Placemaking

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The Challenge of Making Buildings Flexible

How to Create Campuses That Adapt to Changing Needs

By: Cliff Cort,Glenn Cort,Rusty Williams

How can buildings be both flexible and concrete? The answer is critical as institutions try to keep up with rapid changes in technology, curriculum, teaching techniques, and demographics.

From Volume 45 Number 4 | July–September 2017

Abstract: How can buildings be both flexible and concrete? It’s a contradiction in terms and a huge challenge facing university planners and facility managers as they try to keep up with rapid changes in technology, curriculum, teaching techniques, and student demographics. This article explores some of these trends in education and how construction techniques are evolving to meet the need for reconfigurable spaces.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Flexible Learning Spaces, Learning Environments, Technology Infrastructure

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Teaching, Learning, Doing in Collaborative Spaces

By: David Moos,Kimberly Miller,Adam Fontecchio

The intermingling of undergraduate students with grad students, post-docs, faculty, and commercial interests in one innovative facility results in better academic experiences.

From Volume 45 Number 4 | July–September 2017

Abstract: Makerspaces designed for collaborative learning are appearing on campuses throughout the United States, including at Drexel University. These spaces succeed because they permit students to collaborate, observe, and learn from professors and peers. Unique to the Drexel project is the intermingling of engineering undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, faculty, and commercial interests in one facility with laboratories, machine-shop equipment, and informal study areas. Facilities that give students great visibility into nearby research, contain areas where they can take breaks without leaving the building, and lend themselves to informal encounters with peers, faculty, and others result in better academic experiences for undergraduates.

Institutions Mentioned: Drexel University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Adaptive Reuse, Facilities Design, Flexible Learning Spaces, Innovation Center, Learning Environments, Maker Space, Science / Engineering Facility

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