Learning Resources

Abstract: Instructors have a responsibility to maximize student learning. Thus, to the extent that the characteristics of a classroom’s space facilitate or promote learning, instructors should be actively involved in the design and use of the space. This is especially the case as active learning activities are becoming more common. Principles are discussed in relation to functional seating arrangements; focal points and sight lines; acoustics; movement around, into, and out of the classroom; lighting; and windows. A list of principles for good classroom design from the instructor’s point of view is given at the end, and readers are invited to modify this list in a wiki.

Abstract: Public higher education in the United States has become more privatized over the last half-century. One way it has adapted to this privatized environment is through the use of a new funding model, the public-private venture (PPV). PPVs are increasing rapidly in Georgia’s higher education system, and yet little is known about the implications of their use. This issue is significant because billions of dollars are invested in Georgia alone. Leaders must be able to utilize privatized financial tools and understand the best conditions for their use.
With the goal of contributing to the literature about how PPVs are used, there were four research questions that guided this study: (1) how has the PPV model been used in an urban public university? (2) what are the internal and external forces that cause a public university to use the PPV model? (3) what is gained and lost by using this model? and (4) what strengths and challenges have resulted from the implementation of PPVs? A qualitative case study was conducted on the Georgia Institute of Technology and specifically three of its housing facilities, two that are PPVs and one that is not.
Six themes regarding the breadth and extent of PPV use at this institution were identified: (1) determination of control, responsibility, oversight, and autonomy; (2) the need to balance risk and debt; (3) how closely to follow the market model; (4) the effects of decreased state support; (5) the connection between strategic planning and the use of PPVs; and (6) the creation of new, even more privatized, financial models.
The seventh and most significant finding was the identification of three distinct pressures present in the PPV model—control, responsibility, and oversight—or a “triangle of pressure.” This newly introduced concept emphasizes the three pressures that must be carefully balanced when engaging in partnerships that involve both public and private entities in public higher education.
The trend of privatization in the academy is here for the foreseeable future, and leaders should carefully consider the implications for their institutions, their state systems, and their students and plan accordingly.

Abstract: Postsecondary institutions are increasingly becoming more diverse. To ensure that the campus culture is appreciative of such diversity, many institutions are including language in their policies and implementing programs that demonstrate their commitment to diversity. One such means for communicating institutional commitment to diversity is through the strategic plan. As the basis for establishing institutional priorities and determining which initiatives get funded, the strategic plan can reflect the institution’s true commitment to diversity by purposefully incorporating plans for diversity throughout the document. This research sought to understand what was already being done in regard to diversity and strategic planning at both the system and individual institution level so that information can be relayed about what works and has the greatest impact and therefore should be considered when developing a strategic plan that pays attention to and appreciates diversity. Findings suggest that although institutions are including diversity initiatives in their strategic plans, there needs to be greater attention paid to diversity within the strategic plan.

Abstract: Higher education is undergoing many sector-level changes while under growing pressure as a whole to demonstrate or improve institutional performance. Increasingly, private-sector industry organizations are applying portfolio management to their organizational resources as a strategy to improve performance. Although not formally recognized in practice or in the literature as portfolio management, the activity of prioritizing academic and administrative programs in higher education applies the principles of economic portfolio theory and private-industry portfolio management to the higher education sector. A small number of higher education institutions have undertaken academic program prioritization. Little empirical research exists to understand the use of portfolio management in higher education or its effectiveness in improving institutional performance. This study examines the characteristics of 62 institutions that have identified a need to intentionally manage and prioritize their portfolio of academic and administrative programs to improve institutional performance. The purpose of this study is to identify any relationship between the identified need to manage the organizational portfolio and certain institutional characteristics that have been found through empirical research to be predictors of institutional performance challenges. A wealth of research opportunities exists in the organizational portfolio management domain; recognizing the characteristics of institutions that identify a need to manage their portfolio of academic and administrative programs is a step toward filling the gap in the research and informing resource decision making.

Abstract: The University of Southern Indiana (USI) embarked on a unique, customized environmental scanning process different from those found in the literature and in practice. We thoroughly detail our process with an emphasis on a trend analysis of five overarching themes (demographics, business, science and technology, governance, and higher education). The results of the trend analysis were integrated with the organization’s prioritized strengths through a series of qualitative interviews with internal and external stakeholders. Finally, we summarize the outcomes associated with disseminating this work throughout our campus and describe how it will inform the next iteration of our strategic plan.

Abstract: Military veterans have received federal support to better prepare for success in higher education for nearly five decades. One such federal program, Veterans Upward Bound, has existed since the Johnson administration with a goal to increase veterans’ postsecondary education completion rates. Although there is clearly a demonstrated need for such efforts, the question remains whether these support programs are successful. This article explores federal reporting of programs designed to prepare veterans for the postsecondary learning environment in terms of goal achievement. Findings suggest inconsistent internal data collection methods, nonexistent outcome reporting, and conflicting data on veterans’ postsecondary success rates from non-government agencies.

Abstract: This article outlines the conception and creation of the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships at Philadelphia’s Drexel University. It details the university’s goal of becoming an academic leader in civic engagement through the transformation of an off-campus site of existing historic structures into a center for outreach services.
The discussion of the center’s implementation is divided into four sections to present a comprehensive description of its planning process, funding, and design:
- Planning for community engagement
- The idea: developing an extension center at a private urban university
- Creating a physical hub for neighborhood engagement
- Planning the facility
The article closes with a report on early outcomes that have been identified: the introduction of community dinners, the creation of a stakeholder advisory council, and the establishment of volunteer committees that are planning to host a visioning event that will feature a creative building process along with an opportunity for participants to review and revise the vision and goals outlined during the original planning process.

Abstract: This article uses the planning process for the International Living-Learning Center (ILLC) at Oregon State University (OSU) to describe how the needs of international students are being served through residential living-learning communities. The number of international students enrolled in the United States has increased 43 percent over the past decade to a record high of over 800,000 students. Colleges and universities across the country are recruiting international students, but for these efforts to be successful, postsecondary institutions must support the students as they navigate a new cultural landscape. OSU and INTO University Partnerships (IUP), a private company from the United Kingdom that partners with higher education institutions, decided to plan for the students’ success by creating specialized housing facilities, both physically and with specialized residential programming. By examining the integrated planning process for the unique services this facility offers, this article will help postsecondary institutions plan for facilities and programs catering to international students on their own campuses.

Abstract: The University of Pittsburgh is committed to improving its Division I varsity sports venues and intramural sports and recreational facilities to meet the needs of student athletes, the general student body, staff, and faculty. In 2004, the university completed an Athletic and Recreation Facilities Master Plan. Since its completion, the document has guided the university’s development and renovation efforts on the Upper Campus. However, facilities for these programs remain a pressing need. Given its accomplishments since the completion of the 2004 master plan, the university determined that it needed to revisit and revise the plan to address unresolved issues, take on new challenges, and explore new opportunities that achieve the following objectives: strengthen the geographic definition of the university’s athletic campus within the greater context of the campus as a whole; optimize the university’s limited land and facilities assets such as Trees Field, the OC Lot, Petersen Sports Complex, Trees Hall, Fitzgerald Field House, and other potential sites to identify the highest and best use to meet current and future academic, athletic, and recreational program deficiencies; improve efficiencies in existing facilities where space has been vacated due to the construction of new facilities; and determine where consolidation and cross-departmental sharing is warranted and where space is suited for renovation and reuse.