Learning Resources

Abstract: This article focuses on the future physical layout of the university in view of the profound social and cultural changes of our time that are affecting the structure of higher education in general and universities in particular. We suggest that the basic architectural prototypes of university design should be re-examined in view of these changes. The main issues related to the characteristics of contemporary (current) society are identified, and their implications on the institutional and spatial structure of the university are analyzed. The article concludes with a methodological generation of alternative scenarios for the physical structure of the university of the future.

Abstract: This article proposes a framework that can help institutions break down and analyze the costs of online learning so they can make decisions about how to improve the cost-efficiencies of online education. The framework involves looking at costs across elements (which include the two stages of development and delivery plus administration of the enterprise) and seven factors: students, faculty, other staff, course design, content, infrastructure, and policy. The elements and factors may combine and interact, thereby improving (or not improving) cost-efficiencies. Where possible, current research results are included and areas where research is needed are identified.

Abstract: Today, the amount of space devoted to research at research universities exceeds that of classrooms and class laboratories. This research space portfolio presents important policy and management challenges. As stewards of this portfolio, universities must address issues of funding the construction of research facilities, equipping and maintaining them, allocating and accounting for space used for research, and managing, in broadest terms, the physical and administrative infrastructure in which research is conducted. As this article illustrates, managing the balance between the growing demand for and the supply of research space is complicated. To address the issues of research space, universities have developed a variety of space management methods to fit their unique research missions, priorities, and operational culture. This article provides important insights into this little studied aspect of higher education space planning. The article is an overview of research space management across the U. S. on general campuses and in health science centers. It is based on interviews with senior administrators in selected research universities conducted specifically for this study, information about research space management available on university documents on the Internet, and on the work of Ira Fink and Associates, Inc. in programming research facilities on a multitude of campuses nationwide.

Abstract: This article provides a survey of innovative approaches to campus transportation in the United States. The high costs of parking expansion have propelled many institutions toward a transportation demand management strategy, using parking pricing, transit passes for students and employees, and investment in bicycle infrastructure to shift many trips from single-occupant automobiles to other modes of travel. These institutions have experienced multiple benefits, including lower transportation costs, lower environmental impacts, and improved community relations.

Abstract: In response to student and faculty complaints about the amount of time available to travel between classes, an analysis of the time between classes problem was conducted at a large, public research university. Using facilities, course scheduling, and student survey data, we discovered that many students had distances to travel between classes that would normally take longer than the allotted 10 minutes. This forced them to leave class early, arrive to class late, or skip class altogether and often left them with an inadequate amount of time to complete exams. These analyses supported a decision to implement a policy regarding student scheduling.

Abstract: Higher education institutions are urged to adopt mangement innovations but little is empirically know about the degree to which they do so. This study intergrates and triangulates several data sources in a an attempt to identify to identify the extent to which one mangement innovation, Total Quality Management/ Continuous Quality Improvement (TQM/CQI) actuallya has been adopted in the administrative practices of colleges and universities. We also assess adoption rate among institutions of different types, and propse several reasons for the differences discovered by this study. The data indicate that TQM/CQI has not been adopted to the extent claimed by some of its supporters, and suggested that claims of adoption of future innovations should be viewed skeptically rather than accepted uncritically.