Learning Resources

Abstract: As new spaces, services, and experiences are being designed and redesigned on campuses, many teams are engaging users (and non-users) in the planning process. Where engagement goes wrong is when it doesn’t connect to your audience or your objectives. So how do you ensure that input from your engagement is contributing to an effective and intelligent design? Using our work at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and SUNY Fredonia as case studies, we’ll show you how to align your method of engagement with participant type, diversify input and unpack findings, and optimize the experience for participants.

Abstract: Benchmarking surveys assist programs with measuring performance and are widely used in a variety of organizations and disciplines, including institutions of higher education. One challenge facing institutions concerns a lack of shared metrics among those with similar programs. This article details the history and creation process of developing a benchmarking survey for an international academy. The purpose is to highlight the need for shared metrics between institutions, and to provide an account of the approach used for developing a benchmarking survey for academic programs. A detailed narrative of survey creation, refinement, and data collection associated with four survey iterations is included. Recommendations are provided for benchmarking development processes that may be beneficial for various institutions and disciplines regarding survey development, survey deployment, and survey project team composition.

Abstract: Over their 150-year history, land-grant universities have played a tremendous and vital role in the development of the United States and the education of its people. Most of these institutions were established as the result of the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862. How has this mission, drafted in a much different time, held up over the years? As we move toward the third decade of the twenty-first century, many universities are evolving to better embrace changing student demographics; build industry partnerships; and reframe campus legacies to ensure that the land-grant mission still supports the needs of our times.