Learning Resources

Abstract: This article presents a case study of the virtual strategic planning process at Northcentral University’s School of Business. Anchoring in practices proven successful in a face-to-face environment, we describe the unique challenges of effective strategic planning for an individual school—when complicated by a solely virtual, distributed environment. We share the tools and techniques we leveraged for each phase of our work, which facilitated overcoming the distance among members of our school community.

Abstract: In order to meet students’ evolving needs and ensure an institution’s ongoing vitality, competitive proposals for campus programming require astute evaluation and vigorous assessment of ongoing institutional benefit. This session will detail strategies from three separate regional university initiatives to solicit, evaluate, adopt, and fund forward-thinking campus enhancements under significant budgetary constraints. Come and explore the successes and failures involved in these planning initiatives that focus on long-term student success, financial viability, programmatic quality, and institutional stability over two decades.

Abstract: Until recently, the campus and the institution were the same organisms, as shell and snail. The campus was an analog reflection of the institution's mission and scale. Mission was linked to place and size of place linked to scale. The institution required physical places for all its students, faculty, and staff. This link began to fray in the last decade of the 20th century, as the placeless, non-physical potential of a digital world became more obvious and increasingly functional. What are the physical consequences of these fraying relationships? How must campuses adapt? What remains after the environmental forces of a digital world?

Abstract: A collaborative approach allows building projects to open faster, reduces redesign, increases staff satisfaction, and produces a higher utilization rate than the traditional design process. This session details the collaborative Lean process involving over 100 people that allowed the Lauritzen Outpatient Center on the Nebraska Medical Campus to be completed 1.5 years early with few design changes. Come learn from our unique approach in which actual users participate in designing the facility, allowing implementation of new processes and efficiencies known only to medical center staff.

Abstract: Higher education disruption takes many forms and its origins can range from local to international. Integrated planning is something all institutions need to confront disruption, but few institutions understand or practice. This session will discuss sources of disruption and how integrated planning can help institutions prepare for all different types as well as acculturate change conversation on campus. We will work through several exercises that will show you how to develop two to three competencies to address common challenges, allowing you to apply, tailor, and communicate a robust integrated planning value proposition at your institution.

Abstract: FLEXSpace—The Flexible Learning Environments eXchange—and the Learning Space Rating System (LSRS) are tools that can help you plan, design, assess, and improve learning spaces on your campus. In this session, you will learn about the newly released FLEXspace 2.0 along with the LSRS. We'll cover the features and benefits of both tools and how they can be incorporated into the planning process. Come learn how to use these tools to inform designs and support end users from planning through post occupancy.