Learning Resources

Use Evidence to Plan Facilities That Drive Student Success

By: Elliot Felix

In this article, the author draws upon research from his book How to Get the Most Out of College to highlight the evidence that campus planners and designers can use to help drive student success.

Abstract: Colleges and universities are in the midst of a transition from an access mindset to a success mindset, and campus facilities can play a role in this shift. Institutions don’t have to guess at how—a large body of research can and should inform how we plan, design, and operate our campuses. In this article, the author draws upon research from his book How to Get the Most Out of College to highlight the evidence that campus planners and designers can use to help drive student success.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Rochester, Arizona State University-Tempe
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Learning Environments, Student Experience, Student Housing, Student Retention, Student Support Services

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The Little Campus That Could

Survey Results Inform Postsecondary Education in an Island Community

By: Valerie A. Barko, PhD

The Institutional Effectiveness Office at Kaua‘i Community College developed and administered community and workforce surveys to better understand current and future educational needs of residents and employers on Kaua‘i.

From Volume 50 Number 4 | July–September 2022

Abstract: In 2018, the Institutional Effectiveness Office at Kaua‘i Community College developed and administered community and workforce surveys to better understand current and future educational needs of residents and employers on Kaua‘i. These single island surveys highlighted the need for a comprehensive neighbor island survey to collectively advocate for additional online post-associate degree programs that best align with and support these geographically isolated communities. This project demonstrates how surveys can be used to inform decisions and integrated planning across multiple scales within a university system, especially in regards to distance education.

Institutions Mentioned: Kauaʻi Community College, University of Hawai‘i System Office
Planning Types: Institutional Effectiveness Planning, Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Tags: Community College, Community Engagement, Online Learning, System of Colleges or Universities, Workforce Development

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Example Plans

Published
September 2, 2022

Strategic Enrollment Management Plan

Public Associate’s College (California, United States)

The college’s enrollment management plan, which prioritizes student access and success.

Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Resource Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Plan
Tags: Community College, Enrollment Management, Goals, Strategies and Tactics

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Teetering on the Demographic Cliff, Part 3

Different Conditions Require a Different Kind of Planning

By: Bryan C. Harvey, EdD

Higher education has faced major changes for some time—COVID-19 accelerated that volatility—and now we’re anticipating the demographic downslope in student enrollment. How and when should institutions mobilize for the difficult work of planning in the face of wrenching change?

From Volume 50 Number 2 | January–March 2022

Abstract: Part 1 of this series described a major contraction in the pool of college-going 18-year-olds that will reverse decades of growth and stability for higher education. Part 2 explored how we can shape a planning context that supports success in the coming 10 or 20 years. Part 3 suggests how our approach to planning must shift to prepare for abrupt change.

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Conference Presentations

Published
March 10, 2022

2022 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2022

The Power of Wayfinding: Differentiating Your Brand Within a University System

Differentiating Your Brand Within a University System

By: Lindsay Story, Ayers Saint Gross

Place matters in a higher education landscape that is becoming increasingly more competitive.

Abstract: Place matters in a higher education landscape that is becoming increasingly more competitive. In this session, we’ll show how three institutions within the University System of Maryland prioritized, designed, and implemented a flexible and maintainable approach to signage and wayfinding, allowing each campus to make an impactful, branded first impression. Come learn how to translate years of ad hoc wayfinding into a consistent brand that provides a welcoming, inclusive, and connected campus for all.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, SCUP 2022 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, System of Colleges or Universities

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Example Plans

Published
February 2, 2022

Example Plan

Private Baccalaureate College (Wisconsin, United States)

This short-duration strategic framework describes goals and very specific action steps to guide the institution through the current, globally tumultuous era.

Planning Types: Strategic Planning
Tags: Attracting and Retaining Underrepresented Students, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Enrollment Management, Goals, Racial Equity, Strategies and Tactics, Student Recruitment

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Teetering on the Demographic Cliff, Part 2

Turning Away from the Challenge Is the Riskiest Strategy of All

By: Bryan C. Harvey, EdD

Higher education has faced major changes for some time—COVID-19 accelerated that volatility—and now we’re anticipating the demographic downslope in student enrollment. How and when should institutions mobilize for the difficult work of planning in the face of wrenching change?

From Volume 50 Number 1 | October–December 2021

Abstract: Part 1 of this series described a major contraction in the pool of college-going 18-year-olds that will reverse decades of growth and stability for higher education. Drawing on the path-breaking analysis of Carleton College economist Nathan Grawe, it outlined how widespread but variable the change will be, and discussed some of the effects—on enrollment, revenue, facilities, staffing, and more—for which colleges and universities should be preparing. This Part 2 explores these implications: How can we shape a planning context that supports success in the coming 10 or 20 years? What attitudes and skillsets will remain useful, and what may need to change?

Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Tags: Cost of Higher Ed, COVID-19, Demographics, Enrollment Management, Funding, Resiliency, Shrinking Pool of Potential Students, Student Demographics, Trends External to Higher Ed, US

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Book Review: Broke

The Racial Consequences of Underfunding Public Universities

By: Karen Merritt, PhD

From Volume 50 Number 1 | October–December 2021

Abstract: by Laura T. Hamilton and Kelly Nielsen
The University of Chicago Press
294 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-60540-1 (cloth)
ISBN-13:978-0-226-74745-3 (paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-74759 (e-book)

Institutions Mentioned: University of California-Merced, University of California-Riverside
Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning
Tags: Attracting and Retaining Underrepresented Students, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Enrollment Management, Funding, Governmental Policies and Regulations, Public Institution, Racial Equity, Underserved Students

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Teetering on the Demographic Cliff, Part 1

Prepare Now for the Challenging Times Ahead

By: Bryan C. Harvey, EdD

A long-term decline in birth rates raises fundamental planning questions for higher education as the pool of 18-year-olds contracts after 2025. How can planners and leaders use the time we have to prepare for some of the most wrenching changes in a generation?

From Volume 49 Number 4 | July–September 2021

Abstract: A long-term decline in birth rates raises fundamental planning questions for higher education as the pool of 18-year-olds contracts after 2025. This Planning for Higher Education series explores how planners and leaders can use the time we have to prepare for some of the most wrenching changes in a generation. This article, Part 1, surveys the planning horizon as we emerge from COVID-19 and describes the challenges ahead. Part 2 considers specific planning strategies institutions can adopt to meet the challenge. Part 3 tackles perhaps the most daunting challenge: how to mobilize institutions to actually do what needs to be done, however inconvenient (or worse) that may be.

Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Tags: Cost of Higher Ed, COVID-19, Demographics, Enrollment Management, Funding, Resiliency, Shrinking Pool of Potential Students, Student Demographics, Trends External to Higher Ed, US

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Conference Recordings

Published
July 12, 2021

2021 Annual Conference | July 2021

The Higher Education Federal Policy Landscape

Insights from Washington

By: Terry Hartle, American Council on Education (ACE)

As we approach the first six months of a new administration and Congress, Terry Hartle, Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at the American Council on Education, will provide perspective on the impact so far of the changes to the political landscape from the 2020 elections and the potential public policy road ahead for higher education and accreditation.

Planning Types: Institutional Effectiveness Planning
Tags: Accreditation, Funding, Governmental Policies and Regulations, Higher Ed in Society, Higher Ed Trends, SCUP 2021 Annual Conference, Trends External to Higher Ed, US

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Planning Types

Challenges