Learning Resources

Abstract: As headlines lament mushrooming student debt and a “higher education bubble,” Google—a choice employer and renowned innovator—says college degrees aren’t a prerequisite for the talent it seeks. So why should young people invest in degrees? Universities must change to survive, and there is an interesting model that offers ideas for a new way of learning: the academic incubator.

Abstract: This study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in explaining the intent to graduate of students in introductory chemistry courses. Retention studies focus on interactional theories and high-impact practices such as student integration, student engagement through research experiences, student-faculty mentor relationships, and peer tutoring; however, these studies fail to provide a theoretical model to explain and predict student behavior. Findings echo the importance of relationships with peers, faculty, and staff and suggest that subjective norms (positive peer pressure) influence student intentions. Perceived behavioral control and attitudes play a less significant role, but may be part of a STEM retention strategy. This framework assists planners in examining current programs for improvement opportunities and identifying other initiatives to help retain STEM students. Future studies should examine the use of this model for predicting retention and staging interventions to retain STEM students.

Abstract: We are seeing an emergent campus type driven by a desire around the world for economically accessible, community-focused—and community-grown—learning and knowledge creation in a networked digital age. While questions about the future of the traditional campus have been a central focus of higher education discussions, off to the side there is a groundswell of learning activities that is all about the “there” there while also being everywhere. Grounded in physical communities, these activities strive to connect home, school, and work in a continuous lifelong learning path nourished by open digital resources. This is the Networked Community (College) for the growing legions of Citizen Learners. While seemingly peripheral to traditional higher education, this new model represents an approach that increasingly will be central to learning and knowledge creation in the 21st century not only beyond a traditional institution’s boundaries but also at its very core.

Abstract: Colleges and universities typically do not gather routine feedback from community stakeholders, despite the fact that various organizations dedicated to the advancement of higher education continually have clamored for campus representatives to be more responsive to members of host communities. Recent petitions for “deep culture” change within academia—in combination with recent methodological advances in efforts to understand town-gown relationships—provide a comprehensible set of motives and details for institutions to become more fully engaged in the process of collecting systematic information from community members. A review of recent efforts to conceptualize and measure town-gown relationships using a tool known as the Optimal College Town Assessment (OCTA) is provided. After reviewing results from a previous study that piloted the OCTA tool, qualitative data gathered from a subset of community stakeholders in that original sample are presented and analyzed. The resulting themes are described and discussed in the context of enhancing evidence-based campus planning efforts that meet the call for greater higher education responsiveness.

Abstract: Our School of Education received a grant to mentor new educational leaders through an induction program. Acknowledging that the school’s knowledge and use of digital tools was lagging, our dean of education proposed incorporating technology into the induction program. Recognizing that social media is widely used for both professional development and networking, we implemented the use of Google+ Communities, specifically Google Hangouts, for mentorship, collaboration, and professional training. We focus on how embracing social media led to shifting our approach—challenging mind-sets, technology skills, and past practice. Basically, we needed to change our practice to meet the needs of our learners.

Abstract: Aged buildings, streets, alleys, back lots, a dense neighborhood, and historic landmarks—can these puzzle pieces add up to campus opportunities? The University of Chicago conceived an unexpected and dynamic new campus destination, gaining 150,500 sq. ft. of academic space and creating a new landscape with 36,000 sq. ft. of new open space and 60 new trees. Neighbors, aldermen, administration, and faculty shaped a campus planning process applicable to large and small colleges and universities, developed from creative and sustainable planning principles.

Abstract: Urban centers are on the rise due, in part, to the steadfast commitment of their citizens, governments, local businesses, and educational institutions. Institutions of higher education, particularly those holding real estate assets and viewed as major stakeholders in their host cities, are forging ahead, leading the way in the next generation of sustainability—that of social responsibility—and believing with great conviction that the foundations of learning, and their architects, can and should aim to sustain not just the environment around schools, colleges, and universities, but the communities surrounding them as well.
These institutions’ renovations of older buildings, repurposed as venues for learning and community building, become three-dimensional opportunities for public outreach and shared resources, serving to reignite a city’s spirit, restore its pride, and lift up its own. What makes the community stronger makes the school stronger. From the possibility of improved transit and education, residence and recreation to the bright hope of a revitalized local economy, educational institutions and architectural firms, in partnership, have the power to empower people beyond the traditional campus border.

Abstract: In 2014, Temple University initiated a landscape master planning process to provide an integrative environment for its new buildings. The plan sought to establish overarching planning concepts and design standards that would increase the cohesiveness, identity, quality, and sustainability of the campus environment by tying together an eclectic mix of buildings and spaces, giving prominence to historic structures, and focusing on the pedestrian experience. Concurrently, a seminar on landscape performance metrics was taught in the Department of Landscape Architecture. Seminar students reviewed landscape performance tools and then vetted those tools through peer-reviewed literature and practical application. Tools that were positively vetted were used to assess campus baseline conditions.

Abstract: Given the increase in student commuters, part-time students, and online learning, institutions of higher education are evolving to embrace a blended campus experience. The emerging importance of student connectivity and interaction can be seen in the new role of the student union as a center of student life and learning. This article explores how University of California, Berkeley, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, and Portland Community College have leveraged new student union complexes—including associated open space—to address changing student needs and increase social interaction.