Learning Resources

Abstract: Underrepresented students increasingly form the majority of most student bodies, but most built environments are not designed with these students' needs in mind. Why? Because most facilities planning processes do not engage underrepresented students in a way that elicits their experience of the built environment. This session offers new practices that yield social equity in campus planning and building design. You will learn new engagement and assessment tools that you can implement now to reveal and remedy the disparities that underrepresented students encounter in the built environments of the campus.

Abstract: Designing equitable spaces is an important part of closing the achievement gap between white students and students of color. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) in facilities planning is a way to step back, reflect, and look for ways our current environments—and the processes used to create them—hinder or discourage students of color. Students leaders and the project coordinator will share how Portland Community College (PCC) has applied CRT and participatory action research to foreground the leadership and insights of students in campus planning and design.

Abstract: From launching new degree programs to assessing learning outcomes, academic planning happens every day—even if it’s not in a documented academic plan. Use this assessment to determine how robust academic planning is at your institution . . . and identify areas for improvement.

Abstract: The range of potential STEM careers is growing rapidly, yet people of color are underrepresented in STEM professions. New academic facilities can promote these careers through recruiting, retaining, and connecting with undergraduate talent. This session will explore an integrated approach to planning, design, and branding an HBCU's new STEM facility, including carefully developed digital messaging, to encourage student awareness of STEM academic pathways and professional opportunities. Come hear about strategies and lessons learned in working with architects, graphic designers, and digital content providers to develop this environment.

Abstract: Higher education institutions, across nearly all socio-cultural cross-sections, are more diverse today than ever before. This evolution in campus demographics also coincides with the changing values, priorities, and needs of students. The bottom line for many of today’s students is clear: now more than ever, values matter when selecting a school. This article explores the programmatic and administrative responses as well as the physical planning and design opportunities associated with creating and sustaining more diverse and inclusive campus environments.

Abstract: The study described in this article investigated diversity in a unit within a postsecondary institution using the model described by Cox in Creating the Multicultural Organization by verifying the unit’s view of diversity, examining existing strategies used for diversity, evaluating consistencies, and identifying areas of improvement. The study included an analysis of unit employees to verify broad diversity by race and gender and an interview with senior leadership about the strategic plan for the unit on matters related to diversity. Overall analysis showed that the unit is doing better than most peer institutions in hiring female and minority candidates for positions. However, there are gaps in the unit’s approach to diversity that impact its ability to be an effective multicultural organization.

Abstract: This article presents the research, design options, and space planning guidelines prepared for Montgomery College specifically for spaces designed to address the needs of an increasingly diverse student body. The guidelines cover gender-inclusive restrooms and locker facilities for transgender people, lactation rooms for nursing mothers, and serenity space for an increasing Muslim population and others. Extensive research conducted by Stantec and Inquiry2Solutions informed the guidelines. The research included a review of the college’s institutional policies and governance structure; interviews with students, faculty, and staff as well as colleagues across the United States and personnel from relevant professional associations; and discussions with associations that support the needs of LGBTQ students and institutions that have begun to address these kinds of space planning. Foremost, the planning team learned that there are few space planning guidelines to meet these needs.
Montgomery College is charting new territory with the adoption of these space planning guidelines and has helped establish an important benchmark in this emerging area of campus planning.

Abstract: Tri-County Technical College in northwestern South Carolina developed a proactive academic program strategy to determine which programs will be offered in the future, including where, how, and when. The process also evaluates which existing programs will be maintained or grown. Business and industry have long used product strategies to determine what will be delivered to market to best meet consumer needs; similarly, Tri-County created a program strategy to be more responsive in meeting employer and community needs. The approach is necessarily nimble, responding to labor market changes, political interests, governance assessment requirements, and the need for continuous program improvement. Using this proactive approach, academic programming decisions can strategically impact curriculum design, enrollment management, learner support and engagement, student transitions programming, and facilities design. Processes and tools were co-created by faculty and staff and incorporated into their roles, negating the need for initial buy-in. Overall, an effective program strategy improves both student access and success while helping the college be more nimble in meeting emerging labor market needs.