Learning Resources

Abstract: Design standards define what makes a campus unique without limiting creativity. This session highlights the trials and tribulations of defining what should and should not be in the campus standards. We'll discuss how to rethink the processes for creating and implementing campus standards, focusing on the “why” of campus standards while balancing life-cycle costs and ease of operation. We'll also look at how to better implement and communicate the standards, increasing the likelihood that they are incorporated into projects.

Abstract: While nontraditional students now make up the majority of most student bodies, we continue to use physical planning outreach and engagement tools designed for traditional students. This session shares how we developed new practices and tools to deliver better campus experiences for students from nontraditional backgrounds, yielding social equity in campus planning and building design. You will learn about new physical planning engagement and assessment tools that reveal and remedy the disparities nontraditional students encounter in their lives on campus.

Abstract: Institutional data trends over time is important to show progress or areas of concern. It can be equally important to compare oneself to like institutions. Have you ever thought about how a peer group gets determined? If you have a peer group, have you ever wanted to evaluate the group using data? You will learn an approach for developing a data-informed peer group and how benchmarking with a peer group can inform your institution's governing board and be linked to mission.

Abstract: Locating K12 academic programs on a university campus with access to advanced facilities helps students at all stages of learning thrive from synergies supported by integrated learning and teaching environments. We will discuss the development of facilities to support K12 programs on a university campus, provide principles for creating multi-generational learning institutions, and translate the process of inquiry to fulfilling a university’s mission.

Abstract: Measuring environmental comfort and user preferences gives insights into qualities of space that enhance health and educational performance. Taking post-occupancy evaluation (POE) to the next level, tools have been developed to reveal the measurable factors defined by users’ actions: frequency, duration, and usage of a desk, room, building, and campus. Unveiling the data and recognizing the trends provides actionable outcomes for operations and maintenance as well as the design of future projects.

Abstract: Planners are being asked to define programs earlier to facilitate the public-private partnership (P3) selection process for increasingly complex build types. This session will focus on how University of California Merced defined an academic and research science program for an unknown group of scientists to allow for a selection process, the resultant design dilemma faced by the architects, and how the team took on the challenge of modifying the generic laboratories.

Abstract: Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a part of the Portland Community College's (PCC) strategic plan and has been an aspect of its academic planning for some time. Including CRT in the use and design of physical space is new and, in some ways, unknown. Learn from PCC's ongoing exploration of what it means to apply CRT to the built environment. We'll discuss how we're rethinking planning and programming activities to encourage more diverse contributions that result in spaces that support all students.

Abstract: Designing libraries based on student experience rather than book storage provides the potential to cater to a wider variety of students and learning styles, transforming libraries from an afterthought for prospective students to an asset for recruitment. This session will use recent library projects to study the effect of major program shifts on student behavior and discourse. We will look at both larger capital improvement projects and “small wins” that can be readily executed.

Abstract: We will discuss how the implementation of our master plan galvanized collaboration and amplified partnerships among two co-located institutions, public agencies, and the Bothell community to creatively address capital funding and implement needed growth. The plan maps internal/external partnership opportunities, including shared academic buildings, public-private student housing, and a regional transit center. The transition from planning to project implementation succeeded because we emphasized communication and collaboration, strengthening relationships between institutions, agencies, and the broader community.

Abstract: We are all invited to take the stage in some form in our lives, whether that be in an interview for work, a speech at a wedding, or simply asking a question in a business meeting or classroom setting. We all have ideas, questions or explorations which we hold back from sharing because our brains are hardwired to prioritize acceptance by our peers and avoid rejection and ridicule. Sometimes, this keeps us safe—but more often than not—it keeps us from truly stepping into a life of opportunity.

The first major theme of the presentation is the psychology of fear. What makes so many of our hands shake, our body’s fidget and our minds forget our words once so perfectly rehearsed? It is an evolutionary response, developed eons ago, designed to protect us. Public speaking asks us to do the one thing we are hard-wired not to do – step outside of the tribe and ask to be invited back in. As relatively weak and slow planetary beings, we survived only in community. Public speaking is the most vulnerable and scary thing that we can do. We will explore the role of this response and how it “shows up” for us in our modern-day world and body and four scientifically-proven ways to shift out of fear and into action using both science and story to address the “hack”.

The second major presentation theme is the role of nonverbal communication. Research shows that over 93% of communication is nonverbal, demonstrating that our brains are wired to prioritize nonverbal over verbal communication. But as presenters, we focus on what we say – rather than how we say it. We engage in fun-partner work to learn how our brains are specifically attuned to body language – and the signals that we are unintentionally demonstrating while speaking from a place of fear or anxiety.

The presentation is concluded with a challenge: to invite each audience member to make one commitment to themselves to lean in towards one area of fear in their life, whether that’s practicing a strategy at home or stepping onto the stage to share their message with the world.