Learning Resources

Abstract: Over the past year, there have been institutional shifts in practices, policies, and innovative approaches to change. This phase of a revolution of postsecondary education demonstrates that our 'lived experience' is not intended to last or remain unchanged permanently. This realization has been growing in awareness but is accelerated by a national pandemic. College planning has taken on a new meaning as variables of change. It encompasses and requires a recognition that there is a systemic confluence of forces that encompass infrastructure, technology, people, and social justice. Without continuous adaptation and thinking smarter, quicker, and more innovatively, an effective college will fail to integrate the dynamics of accelerated change, as they affect each institution's policies, people, finances and student success outcomes. Join us to discuss the paradigm shift and its potential impact on our educational infrastructure, ecosystem, and role.

Abstract: Students’ support networks are strained due to disruptive current events and students are looking to their universities for help. Providing support for students is a growing concern for campuses nationwide as staff are already stretched thin. With mental health stressors at an all-time high, we'll bring you institutional perspectives from across the country regarding programs they've implemented to improve mental health and wellness on campus. We'll share approaches and resources—including virtual reality—that you can use to meaningfully design healthier spaces and implement mental health and wellness programs on your campus.

Abstract: With the cost of education skyrocketing, institutions must address the demographic cliff for future generations of learners. Community colleges offer important lessons regarding educational offerings across a diverse background and recognize how workforce development can inform campus planning and design. In this session, we'll share how community colleges can use metrics to understand long-term projections around regional enrollment needs and use human purpose integrated design to build for the future.

Abstract: In the early 1980s, one man’s vision led to unprecedented educational access for Virgin Islanders. This tour chronicles the development of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC) into a locally-grounded tertiary institution with international aspirations. Despite facing a series of challenges—most notably two catastrophic Category 5 hurricanes in 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic—HLSCC remains steadfast in its mission to serve as an educational center of choice. It has progressed even further by keeping alive the legacy of its founder and all those who served as the institution’s champions. Join us on HLSCC’s journey from recovery to discovery.

Abstract: Temple University’s new Charles Library is the social and academic heart for a large and diverse student body. Within a vibrant urban context the project reinterprets the traditional research library typology as a dynamic learning hub. Our tour guides will walk you through this international award-winning facility to share the thought process behind the design, project challenges and solutions, and provide an update on how the library has performed since its opening in Fall 2019.

Abstract: We’ve organized Trends using STEEP: Social, Technology, Economic, Environmental, and Political. Each trend includes a brief trend summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.

Abstract: There are a multitude of internal and external forces that impact higher education, but how can you be intentional about examining and understanding these trends? From demographic shifts to political charges to social movements, the evolving economy and technology, regular environmental scanning will inform decisions around your strategic plan development or plan implementation.

Abstract: The education sector is excluded from the 16 official “Critical Infrastructure Sectors” managed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. As the world grapples with a pandemic, this omission lays bare a disconnection between critical infrastructures serving daily life and the ground plane of learning and knowledge creation on which they are built; such a severing between ground plane and structure does not bode well for the entire assembly. For us to flourish as a society, higher education institutions—already grounded in a landscape of learning and knowledge creation—need to be a foundational support to essential infrastructures sustaining daily life in communities small and large.

Abstract: We’ve organized Trends using STEEP: Social, Technology, Economic, Environmental, and Political. Each trend includes a brief trend summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.

Abstract: We’ve organized Trends using STEEP: Social, Technology, Economic, Environmental, and Political. Each trend includes a brief trend summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.