Learning Resources

Abstract: Timely stakeholder input is vital to a master plan's integrity—in particular, input about the needs of academic programs. In this session, we will share how the Mid-Plains Community College engaged in a collaborative process across the campus and community to integrate the facility and academic master plans. Come learn how an integrated approach to stakeholder input can lead to success on your campus.

Abstract: In today’s economy, 7 out of 10 open jobs require technical training. Industries are turning to community colleges to solve their workforce training needs. In this session, we will discuss the Construction Education Center, a state-of-the-art facility at Metropolitan Community College’s Fort Omaha campus, that facilitates project-based learning to bring industry partners, non-profits, and students together under a common vision. We will share our success story as well as strategic steps you can take to obtain necessary support from local and regional industry partners for your building project.

Abstract: Technical and community college education must adapt to the changing workforce to ensure success for the students, communities, and states they serve, and their physical campuses need to support this adaptation. We will explore the planning, design, and stakeholder collaboration behind Lanier Technical College's new, six-building, 95-acre campus designed to house 50 unique workforce development programs. We will also share consensus building and expectation management techniques we employed to build buy-in with diverse stakeholders.

Abstract: This session will illustrate how industry-academic partnerships have led to the creation of cutting-edge, career-focused education that reimagines vocational training through a new, didactic construction sciences facility. With a skilled labor shortage in the construction industry, this program hopes to close that gap while creating an attractive, career-focused educational alternative to the traditional four-year college education. Beginning in middle and high schools and continuing through the workplace, developing new partnerships along the education continuum helps to reimagine workforce education and facilities to inspire the next generation of construction industry leaders.

Abstract: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Everyone wants to do a good job on a facilities project, but it can be hard when you don't understand the other side’s unique perspectives, needs, goals, and competing demands. This session features insights from people who have been on both sides of a project—as architects, engineer, and sustainability professionals who also serve as college trustees and administrators. We'll share how to nurture empathy, prevent misunderstanding, and make your next facilities project run more smoothly.

Abstract: Designing equitable spaces is an important part of closing the achievement gap between white students and students of color. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) in facilities planning is a way to step back, reflect, and look for ways our current environments—and the processes used to create them—hinder or discourage students of color. Students leaders and the project coordinator will share how Portland Community College (PCC) has applied CRT and participatory action research to foreground the leadership and insights of students in campus planning and design.

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: Originally intended in the late 19th century as a suburban campus for New York University, the Bronx Community College of The City University of New York campus is unique in that it has had three libraries designed and built in the 19th, 20th, and the 21st centuries by leading architects: Gould Memorial Library, a neo-classical gem designed by Stanford White; Meister Hall, a mid-century modern library designed by Marcel Breuer; and North Hall, a thoroughly 21st century library designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects.

Libraries as repositories of knowledge have evolved over the centuries. Bronx Community College represents a case study of how libraries can (or cannot) adapt to changing times, needs, and function. Join us as we discuss the merits of each library and how their design exemplifies their evolving mission of making information more accessible over time.

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.