Learning Resources

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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Book Review: The Agile College

How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Changes

By: Bryan C. Harvey, EdD

From Volume 51 Number 2 | January–March 2023

Abstract: The Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Changes
by Nathan D. Grawe
Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore: 2021
298 pages
ISBN: 978-1421440231

Does hope motivate action or complacency? Does crisis induce change or despair? Nathan D. Grawe readily acknowledges this tension in The Agile College, his follow-up book to his 2018 Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education. The latter propelled the inescapable discussion throughout higher education of the looming “demographic cliff.” The Agile College suggests how agile institutions might prevent demography from becoming destiny.

Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Tags: Change Management, COVID-19, Demographics, Disruptive Change, Recovery Planning, Resiliency, Shrinking Pool of Potential Students, Student Demographics, Student Recruitment, Student Retention, Trends External to Higher Ed

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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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Blog Post

Published
July 6, 2022

What Is a Bridge Plan?

(And Does Your Institution Need One?)

By: Sadie Wutka, Director of Content Strategy, SCUP

A bridge plan allows a college or university to continue to pursue defined strategic pathways during times of uncertainty or rapid, unpredictable change. It’s also a good solution for when faculty and staff are overwhelmed due to a highly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment.

Planning Types: Strategic Planning
Tags: Adaptable Plans, Bridge Planning, Change Management, COVID-19, Disruptive Change, Modifying the Plan, Organizational Change

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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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Fully Engaged

Integrated Planning Was Leveraged to Optimize Community Participation in the University of California, Berkeley’s Campus Master Plan

By: Caitlyn Clauson, MUP, and Marissa Cheng, MArch, AICP

The most effective master plans are those that reflect the myriad voices of the institution. Engagement should be informative, inclusive, meaningful, and fun—and should be the product of an integrated process.

From Volume 50 Number 2 | January–March 2022

Abstract: The most effective master plans are those that reflect the myriad voices of the institution. We’re finding the engagement process is fast becoming as important a product of the plan as the plan itself. Engagement should be informative, inclusive, meaningful, and fun—and should be the product of an integrated process. Leveraging the University of California, Berkeley’s Campus Master Plan as a case study, this article provides a framework for developing custom engagement strategies, and highlights examples, lessons learned, and tips for optimizing meaningful participation.

Institutions Mentioned: University of California-Berkeley
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, Communication, Community Engagement, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Planning, Master Plan, Planning Processes, Student Engagement, Town and Gown

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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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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 16, 2021

2021 Annual Conference | July 2021

Achieving a Sustainable Campus Master Plan through Integrative Design

By: Daniel O'Shaughnessy, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP | Natalie Shivers, Princeton University | Shana Weber, Princeton University | Sheena Zhang, Atelier Ten

This session will explore Princeton University’s campus master plan, which engages an ethos of sustainability through the lens of carbon emissions, landscape design, energy, and water efficiency, from design through construction.

Abstract: The building sector contributes forty percent of carbon emissions globally. Given the climate crisis, it is imperative that campus facilities and planning departments address sustainability in a rigorous and fiscally responsible way. This session will explore Princeton University’s campus master plan, which engages an ethos of sustainability through the lens of carbon emissions, landscape design, energy, and water efficiency, from design through construction. Find out how you can apply Princeton's ambitious sustainability goals and lessons learned to your master plan and sustainably develop your projects for the benefit of your campus environment and community.

Institutions Mentioned: Princeton University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Energy Infrastructure, Facilities Planning, SCUP 2021 Annual Conference, Sustainability (Environmental)

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Conference Recordings

Published
July 16, 2021

2021 Annual Conference | July 2021

Universities on Fire

Higher Education in the Age of Climate Crisis

By: Bryan Alexander, Bryan Alexander Consulting, LLC

This session explores the impact of climate change on higher education and how academia may respond.

Abstract: This session explores the impact of climate change on higher education and how academia may respond. We begin by examining potential changes to physical campuses, from transportation and food service to grounds and the built environment. Next we consider implications for university research, curriculum, and teaching, then envision how relationships between campuses, their local communities, and the world. We conclude by outlining ways academic institutions can strategize and plan for medium- and long-term transformation, starting now.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, Energy Infrastructure, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Facilities Planning, SCUP 2021 Annual Conference, Sustainability (Environmental), Teaching and Learning

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Planning Types

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