Learning Resources

Abstract: A post-occupancy evaluation instrument was developed and piloted to measure (1) the reliability and validity of the instrument and (2) the effect of evidence-based solutions on student engagement in the classroom. Content analysis synthesized elements of engagement from multiple sciences to form the body of questions. A post/pre methodology compared the “old” row-by-column seating with the “new” classroom designs. A high degree of internal item consistency was reached between all identified factors (α = 0.91, α = 0.93, α = 0.96, α = 0.96), and highly statistically significant differences were found between the “old” and the “new” classroom designs (all p-values < 0.0001). Improvements were found when comparing each of the identified factors, all of which related to active learning and engagement practices in the “old” and “new” classrooms.

Abstract: The design of higher education facilities is increasingly seen by university leadership as a strategic tool to attract and retain top faculty, staff, and students. The design of space has also been linked to increased levels of innovation, creative thinking, and collaboration. But with greater pressure from state and national governments to cut costs, how can institutions of higher learning ensure that the buildings they design are cost efficient and still effective? In her article, architect and SCUP member Debi McDonald outlines five trends in higher education design and how they can assist institutions in meeting their objectives.

Abstract: This article explores the challenges and opportunities in transforming the former Camarillo State Mental Hospital into a 21st-century campus of interdisciplinary education for California State University Channel Islands, the newest campus in the California State University system. The university, guided by the campus master plan by Ayers Saint Gross, is transforming the hospital’s historic structures, originally designed to isolate patients, into open, collaborative environments to promote integrative learning. This article focuses on the integration of planning efforts with the university’s academic priorities, highlighting the balancing act between preserving historic integrity and advancing institutional goals.

Abstract: Energy efficiency projects can save colleges substantial capital, which helps them hedge against rising operating budgets. By creating a green revolving fund (GRF), a university can support sustainability projects into perpetuity. GRFs are internal financing mechanisms for energy efficiency and resource reduction projects that return achieved cost savings to the fund for future projects. This article illustrates the GRF establishment and management processes through case studies of Catawba College’s Green Revolving Fund and Denison University’s Green Hill Fund. The article further elaborates on additional GRF benefits and culminates with 10 easy-to-follow steps to creating a fund on your campus.

Abstract: Diverse populations, changing technology, and a desire to create community are driving change in higher education. We propose the concepts of Limitless Learning, in which learning can happen anytime, by anyone, anywhere, in any way. In this article, we propose a planning strategy highlighting adaptability, which is the key to planning campus facilities that provide boundary-free environments for the short and long term. In the short term, adaptable spaces seamlessly support limitless learning. They allow students to affect their environment and make it work how they work. In the longer term, adaptability means planning for inevitable change.

Abstract: Design Lab 1 (DL1) grew out of an awareness of core principles strongly similar to those of what has now come to be called connected learning, bringing them to life at the University of Michigan in 1999 in an extensively open, and continuously evolving, hybrid teaching, learning, making, presenting, and community space. DL1 shares elements of other learning environments but also differs in a variety of fundamental ways, including that it is an inhabited space with a culture of open user-centered design defined around a process of continuous change, ownership, opportunity, and risk taking in the service of authentic learning. Drawing from a 2012 yearlong descriptive research project, this article presents a snapshot in time-lapse video, respondent quotations, and researcher narration of course-focused activity in DL1 in order to show the complex, interrelated structures observed there that enable users to truly engage and DL1 to come to life.

Abstract: Many on-site generators on college and university campuses may be avoided with no loss in backup power availability when a district energy system is used as the normal source of power. This has obvious benefit in terms of site impact and the reduction in greenhouse gases. In many cases, this backup power will be less expensive and more reliable than a system of building-specific on-site generators. Getting this possibility driven into the engineering culture and financial balance sheets is the hard part.

Abstract: The recently completed Stokes Hall at Boston College creates a new base for the humanities. Designed in the campus’s historic Collegiate Gothic style, this new facility and the future companion buildings anticipated in the Middle Campus master plan will add value to the university by extending the existing architectural tradition to the edges of the Middle Campus. This extension of the Middle Campus architecture and landscape will emphasize and support BC’s planning goals and mission through greater public visibility of its iconic built forms and create memorable experiences and a sense of community for all users.

Abstract: This article presents a rigorous methodology for objectively analyzing whether a college or university should drill for natural gas on property it owns, either at its own expense or by contracting with a for-profit exploration and production company. It describes the acquisition of gas well production data and the utilization of that data in a mathematical model to forecast likely production from a new well. In addition, the article describes the financial analysis used to assess the likely fiscal impact of drilling a well and summarizes the non-quantitative factors that should also be considered in making a decision whether to drill for gas.

Abstract: During a discussion exploring a proposed campus center renovation at Rollins College, a dialogue emerged about the institution’s plan, facility functions, and ultimate student life experience. To capture this dynamic exchange, the design team created a strategic visioning exercise—“Bubble Goo”—to better understand the relationship of the proposed renovation to other “neighborhood” buildings. In this article, the authors unveil this successful new collaborative approach to long-term planning and space allocation and explore the significance and benefit of understanding every campus building, their individual functions, and how to create meaningful and strategic connections.