Learning Resources

Abstract: It has often been said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. While that can often be true, it does not have to be that way. Culture and strategy can be close companions and highly complementary when positioned as mutually reinforcing parts of the planning process. When strategy is developed with an appreciation for cultural strengths, it has a better chance to move beyond words on a screen or on paper. At the same time, organizational strategy can strengthen and reinforce an improved organizational culture.

Georgia Tech is using a technique called appreciative inquiry to build a positive, productive culture through the strategy development and implementation process. This approach reinforces the positive elements of the current culture while clearly defining the cultural attributes needed for success in the future.
This discussion will explore ways to draw out the best in organizational culture to create an effective strategy while also using strategy to steer culture in a positive direction.

Abstract: After a campus tragedy, the first steps for the community toward settling into the new normal often entail working through the gravity of recent events. This work includes a need for internal reflection, external processing, and collective healing. Campus communities engaged in this process often find a way to memorialize the events that have shaken them and to honor the lives of any community members lost to tragedy. This research project focuses on physical memorials that are the result of a tragic moment in institutional history.

Abstract: FLEXSpace—The Flexible Learning Environments eXchange—and the Learning Space Rating System (LSRS) are tools that can help you plan, design, assess, and improve learning spaces on your campus. In this session, you will learn about the newly released FLEXspace 2.0 along with the LSRS. We'll cover the features and benefits of both tools and how they can be incorporated into the planning process. Come learn how to use these tools to inform designs and support end users from planning through post occupancy.

Abstract: Many professionals have specialized degrees that allow them to solve problems within their disciplines, but their lack of collaboration training can be a roadblock to success. In this session, we will equip you with the tools you need to facilitate and encourage collaboration in your projects. You will learn how to recognize and prevent obstacles to collaboration—both internal and external—to help your coworkers and institution move from simply cooperating to collaborating.

Abstract: Campus planners have invested time and resources in designing and implementing innovative learning spaces that optimize evidence-based pedagogical approaches embracing collaborative, real-world teaching and learning. But to what degree do these physical spaces enhance learning and honing of soft skills that are ranked highly by today’s employers? To address this question, 2018/19 SCUP Fellow Jeffrey Ashley engaged alumni through surveys to quantify the development of collaborative skills in innovative classroom environments. The design, implementation and results of this SCUP Fellowship research project will be highlighted and compared to other assessment methods with the goal of understanding your own institution’s assessment needs and plans around active learning spaces.

Abstract: After a campus tragedy, the first steps for the community toward settling into the new normal often entail working through the gravity of recent events. This work includes a need for internal reflection, external processing, and collective healing. Campus communities engaged in this process often find a way to memorialize the events that have shaken them and to honor the lives of any community members lost to tragedy. This research project focuses on physical memorials that are the result of a tragic moment in institutional history.

Abstract: The study described in this article investigated diversity in a unit within a postsecondary institution using the model described by Cox in Creating the Multicultural Organization by verifying the unit’s view of diversity, examining existing strategies used for diversity, evaluating consistencies, and identifying areas of improvement. The study included an analysis of unit employees to verify broad diversity by race and gender and an interview with senior leadership about the strategic plan for the unit on matters related to diversity. Overall analysis showed that the unit is doing better than most peer institutions in hiring female and minority candidates for positions. However, there are gaps in the unit’s approach to diversity that impact its ability to be an effective multicultural organization.

Abstract: Public-Private Partnership (“P3”) procurement models for built infrastructure serving higher learning institutions started to gain attention in North America in the late 1990s—mostly as an alternative approach to adding student housing at select universities and colleges. More recently, P3 models have been applied to a diverse range of higher learning projects, with some serving core academic and research functions.

Although many institutions are considering P3 approaches among their options to address emerging pressures to expand or update their facilities, their implementation is not yet common. The researcher’s intention was to better understand P3 models and learn how they have performed, possibly generating some useful lessons for how P3 models can be applied with desired outcomes.

Abstract: A reprint of the 1976 article with a new 2015 introduction by the author.

Original abstract: Drawing on his experience as Provost for Planning at West Virginia University, Raymond M. Haas deals in the following article with the importance of a proper charge to the Planning Office as a means of achieving integrated planning. He further proposes that the role of the Planning Office should be clearly coordinative in the nature--to the point where its only responsibility for actual planning should be in planning the planning process. Finally, he argues that "... integrated planning can be achieved only when planning is a regularly scheduled activity which occurs frequently, and which produces results that manifest themselves in the allocation, reallocation, and effective use of resources within the institution." The author's remarks have been adapted from his presentation at the Society's 11th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

Abstract: Many institutions of higher education develop assessment systems to demonstrate evidence of value added and to meet accreditation requirements. The sustainability of such assessment systems is usually defendant on creating a culture of assessment, which entails establishing shared values and principles and implementing practices designed to meet organizational goals. A survey of 119 assessment professionals revealed both the challenges and facilitating factors in creating and sustaining a culture of assessment. This article presents the survey results organized by an institution’s stage of development in establishing a culture of assessment: beginning, progress, or maturation. The article also provides specific examples to help institutions move along the continuum or improve their current practices and concludes with a discussion of policy implications