Learning Resources

Regionalism, Ecology, and Field-Based Learning

Partnerships Broaden Study Opportunities

By: Josh Harrold, BArch, BFA, AIA

In the rural and remote heart of the Ozark Mountains, Missouri State University and its Ozarks Education Center leverage the unique characteristics of the region to create a setting that supports hands-on active learning.

From Volume 51 Number 4 | July–September 2023

Abstract: Missouri State University’s Ozarks Education Center, in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, provides a case study for outdoor, field-based, and architectural regionalism education. It offers unparalleled student opportunities for tailored regional learning experiences and research options, while fostering partnerships with external organizations outside of the main campus environment. In this article, we share how being true to the region’s historical architecture and ecology, especially in undervalued and isolated locations, and incorporating site-specific approaches in a remote setting support off-the-grid learning in the post-COVID academic landscape.

Institutions Mentioned: Missouri State University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Learning Environments, Placemaking, Rural Campus, Science / Engineering Facility

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Example Plans

Published
June 30, 2023

Strategic Plan, Strategic Planning Website

Multiple Locations

Strategic plan for the university system developed by the state’s board of higher education.

Planning Types: Strategic Planning, Academic Planning
Resource Types: Strategic Plan, Strategic Planning Website
Tags: Attracting and Retaining Underrepresented Students, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Faculty Productivity, Goals, Governance, Measuring the Plan, Metrics, Racial Equity, Strategies and Tactics, Student Success, Workforce Development

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Example Plans

Published
April 20, 2023

Master Plan

Public Doctoral/Research University (Michigan, United States)

Campus master plan document for a STEM-focused institution, deeply aligned with its strategic plan.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Resource Types: Master Plan
Tags: Academic Facility, Alignment, Goals, Laboratory Facility, Master Plan, Placemaking, Science / Engineering Facility, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM), Strategies and Tactics, Student Housing

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The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Align Strategic, Physical, and Capital Planning for the Next Generation of Students

By: Jacob Guter, MPA, RA, and Doug Kozma, BSLA, PLA

Michigan Technological University used active stakeholder engagement, frequent reviews, and vigorous discussion to develop its aspirational master plan.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Abstract: Profound technological changes are occurring today, and universities need to prepare our students to work and live in this new world. Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech) is addressing the future of technology in society, academia, and the campus through our Tech Forward Strategic Plan, a bold enrollment and retention initiative, an aggressive capital campaign, and a dynamic hiring initiative. Our aspirational campus master plan, developed in partnership with SmithGroup, an integrated design firm, integrates and supports these initiatives and goals. Active stakeholder engagement, frequent reviews, and vigorous discussion allowed us to craft a campus master plan aligning strategic, physical, and capital planning that supports and drives the university’s 2035 Vision.

Institutions Mentioned: Michigan Technological University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, Community Engagement, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Assessment, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Innovation Center, Laboratory Facility, Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, Public-Private Partnerships (P3), Science / Engineering Facility, Space Assessment, Student Housing

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A Community College Perspective on Their Role in Future-Proofing Education

By: James Pfeiffer, BNIM | Richard Fort, Johnson County Community College

Richard Fort from Johnson County Community College and James Pfeiffer from BNIM will share lessons learned from post-covid educational offerings and incorporating a diversity of spatial and programmatic options to facilitate workforce development.

Abstract: Workforce development is a driver for planning and design in community colleges using metrics to understand long term projections around enrollment needs in the region, planning for those metrics, and building for the future. With the cost of education skyrocketing, the demographic cliff needs to be addressed for all generations. Community colleges offer important lessons that inform educational offerings across a more diverse background.

Institutions Mentioned: Johnson County Community College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Community College, COVID-19, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Workforce Development

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It Takes a (Virtual) Village

Harper College Accomplished Integrated Campus Planning During a Time of Profound Change

By: Avis Proctor, EdD; Maria Coons, EdD; Krisan Osterby, MLA, ITGA; Stephen Siegle, MArch, AIA, LEED AP BD+C

This large community college successfully embraced virtual communication platforms and moved forward with a viable 10-year plan during a global health crisis, economic turbulence, and technological change.

From Volume 51 Number 2 | January–March 2023

Abstract: Integrated planning during profound change requires extra flexibility and attention to user engagement while utilizing new modes of interaction. This article summarizes a successful virtual and comprehensive planning process, including consensus-building, and approval at Harper College. It reviews results and lessons learned by this large community college as it embraced virtual communication platforms and moved forward with a viable 10-year plan during a global health crisis, economic turbulence, and technological change. The authors share the remote process used to set goals, assess resources, define needs, explore options, and guide decision-making with numerous stakeholders.

Institutions Mentioned: Harper College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Alignment, Campus Master Planning, Community College, COVID-19, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Assessment, Facilities Planning, Planning Processes, Student Center / Union, SWOT Analysis

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Social Mobility and the Graduation Rate Paradox

Can You Advance One and Avoid the Other?

By: Roy Mathew, PhD, Elsa Bonilla-Martin, PhD, Luis A Aguirre, MS, and Naoko Tsuboi, MA

By using a metric-based planning framework, researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso identified areas for institutional intervention to enhance social mobility outcomes.

From Volume 51 Number 1 | October–December 2022

Abstract: Social mobility is an emerging area of focus for higher education institutions. In recent years, we have seen a proliferation of measures related to social mobility produced by publishers, scholars, think tanks, and foundations. However, it is still unclear which social mobility measures to advance, or when to intervene to improve social mobility outcomes. We rely on a century of literature from economics, sociology, and policy analysis to identify an appropriate framework to understand higher education’s contribution to social mobility. Using the metric-based planning framework, we identify areas for institutional intervention to enhance social mobility outcomes.

Institutions Mentioned: The University of Texas at El Paso
Planning Types: Institutional Effectiveness Planning, Strategic Enrollment Management Planning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning
Tags: Attracting and Retaining Underrepresented Students, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Enrollment Management, Student Demographics, Student Success, Underserved Students

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Scaling Active Learning Classrooms

Adopt 11 Best Practices to Transform Existing Spaces to Support Student Success

By: Sharon Beaudry, JD, SPHR

A large-scale study uncovered factors that led to successful scaling of active learning spaces and pedagogical approaches in colleges and universities.

From Volume 50 Number 3 | April–June 2022

Abstract: Active learning has been a growing trend in higher education for decades based on its positive impact on student learning and success. Colleges and universities have invested resources into expanding this teaching approach by using active learning classrooms (ALCs). But why have some institutions been successful at rapidly growing their ALCs and learning spaces, while others have struggled? This article, focusing on the higher education arena, summarizes the best practices from a large-scale study that uncovered factors that led to successful scaling of learning spaces and pedagogical approaches in colleges and universities.

Institutions Mentioned: Oregon Institute of Technology
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, Alignment, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Laboratory Facility, Learning Environments, Original Research, Science / Engineering Facility, Teaching and Learning

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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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Partnerships Promote Inclusion

A university and a secondary school collaborate to decrease dropout rates and increase college enrollment

By: Vibhavari Jani, MA, and Tim Murrell, EdD

Intentional planning and a competency-based, personalized learning model empowers graduate students from the architecture discipline to assist secondary students in becoming knowledge seekers and design professionals.

From Volume 50 Number 2 | January–March 2022

Abstract: American industries, professional organizations, individual companies, and higher education institutions continue to struggle to attract employees from underrepresented populations. Future-forward thinking is required to ensure a multicultural workforce. The authors, a design educator at a predominantly white, Midwestern university, and a high school principal at a multicultural urban school district, developed an intentional collaboration—partnerships between secondary and postsecondary institutions—to bridge the gap. In this article, they share strategies they developed for recruiting and retaining underrepresented students through intentional planning and design of competency-based, personalized learning models.

Institutions Mentioned: Kansas State University
Planning Types: Academic Planning, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning
Tags: Active Learning, Attracting and Retaining Underrepresented Students, Collaborative Design, Design Thinking, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Experiential Learning, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Fine and Performing Arts Education, K–12, Student Success, Teaching and Learning, Workforce Development

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Planning Types

Challenges