Learning Resources

Abstract: Colleges and universities need "a wise process in place to assist in their planning of what to do with their venerable and least attractive buildings." This requires a feasibility study such as the following seven-step model. Step one: determine the project requirments." What should the renovation's purpose be in terms of space, program, aesthetics, budget, etc. Step two: evaluate the exisiting conditions. Architects and engineers should coduct a thorough inspection. Step three: perform a code analysis. New codes are typically required whenever renovation takes place. Step four: analyze the program/building fit. This helps determine whether the building is suited for the new use based on circulation, adjacencies, area, etc. Step five: develop alternative design concepts. The architect should begin developing several design solutions that are complete enough for beginning cost analysis. Step six: conduct regulatory reviews. The alternative concepts should be presented to outside audiences with a public and/or regulatory interest in the project. Step seven: select the preferred design alternative. The alternatives are presented to university leaders with an explantion of major rationale. The authors believe money spent on this will pay for itself in savings during actual realization and life of the project.

Abstract: Book Review: Responsiblity Center Budgeting: An Approach to Decentralized Management for Institutions for Higher Education, by Edward Whalen. Indiana University Press, 1991. 204 pages.

Abstract: Viewpoint Subtitles: The end of a love affair; The new mood about higher education. Pull quotes: "America's leading universities can no longer be trusted." "An urgent task is the rebuilding of academic morale." "Administrators have often allowed their budgets to race in wild directions."

Abstract: Book Review: Accounting and Budgeting in Public and Non-Profit Organizations: A Manager's Guide, by C. William Garner. Jossey-Bass, 1991. 252 pages.

Abstract: This study identifies causes of failure in the design of campus performance facilities and summarizes planning and project management strategies that have resulted in successful projects. Failure consists mainly of cost overruns, functional nonperformance, and user disappointment. These instances of failure are most often attributed to programming rather than design. Common programming problems are placed in the following categories: (1) "Expectations too vague," (2) "Lack of architectural program detail," (3) "Unwillingness to understand compromises," (4) "Misunderstanding the economics of audience size," (5) "Understanding the impact of site on budget," (6) "Making the smaller facility less versatile," (7) "The expense of 'statement' lobbies," and (8) "Value engineering begins too late." Common design problems are also discussed and are placed in the following categories: (1) Internal zoning, (2) HVAC problems, (3) Poor analysis of site lines, (4) Inspection problems, and (5) Client noninvolvment in trade-offs. Within each of these categories, more specific examples are given and suggestions made. The article is based on the author's presentation at SCUP-24 in Denver, Colorado, on July 24, 1989.

Abstract: In the late 1980s, the University of California, Santa Cruz began a $1.5 million program to upgrade classroom quality. This was disturbing considering the campus was only 25 years old. The problem was neither architectural neglect nor budgetary deficits. Quality problems resulted from the attitude that classroom design was not an important element. Many design flaws occur from misunderstanding the factors that affect user need, such as the ability to see or hear (the reduction of ambient noise). Additionally, required surfaces and finishes are important. These include the sending end--front wall, side walls, and ceiling; side walls and rear wall; ceiling; and floor/seating. Finally, design for durability and functionality under actual use conditions consists of the following: the use of carpet for acoustically absorbent wall finish, installation of motorized blackboards and the projection screen, a seat width of 21 inches, and quiet table arms for seats. Colleges and universities must realize that "effective classroom design" elicits attention to detail and an understanding of functional objectives. Adherence to both can lead to effective classrooms.

Abstract: The following article, which was presented to SCUP 11 conferences in July 1976, illustrates a "target ratio" model for effectively coupling decentralized planning and centralized budgeting within a college of arts and sciences. According to the model, budgetary expectations for the college as a whole are expressed to the dean as a target ratio of income to expense. The dean in turn sets suitable target ratios for each department, recognizing differences in thier budgetary potential by assigning different ratios. The contribution of each department toward fulfilling the overall college budget is acknowledged by a simple formula relating the college ratio to the departmental ratios. In the view of the author, who is Special Assistant for Academic Affairs to the Provost and the President at The American University, the target ratio approach to budgeting supports the planning process by providing departments with realistic expectations of the budgetary resources available to them over a multiple-year time span while also allowing them maximum flexibility in planning for the use of these resources. It also gives departments a reasonable guideline for predicting the budgetary consequences of their planning decisions.

Abstract: Allocation of a lump sum appropriation among seven colleges and universities in a single system, according to the authors, can often be a source of wide dissension. In the following article, which was presented at the SCUP 11 Conference in July, Messrs. Holmer and Bloomfield point out that the institutionsof the State of Oregon have achieved consensus on a budget allocation model that rests on recent advances in cost analysis. The model would allocate funds for instruction on an IEP-type base: equal for each major discipline and by level of instruction. Staffing standards for each level of instruction in each discipline have been derived from an exchange of such data among members of the Association of American universities. The claimed virtues of the model lie in its adherence to three premises: 1) equal pay for equal work (by discipline and level of instruction); 2) the use of external standards as a basis for funding the instruction function; and 3) insistence that institutions be free to reallocate allocated funds in accordance with institutional priorities rather than an externally-derived average. Freeman Holmer is Vice Chancellor for Administration of the Oregon Department of Higher Education. Stefan D. Bloomfield is Assistant Director of Planning and Institutional Research at Oregon State University.

Abstract: This is the 15th in a series of profiles documenting experiences with the use of instructional technology at two dozen colleges and universities. A look at what they have learned may benefit others considering new ways to teach. This report describes why and how the use of multimedia has become intrinsic to the educational process at Brigham Young University. Because this institution is large and well to do, the magnitude of its budget for learning resources is extraordinary, and its instructional technology operations are so sophisticated, some readers may suppose that it is hardly a model for them to consider. But just as the corner grocery store can learn techniques from the supermarket, smaller and poorer institutions can learn from the BYU story.

Abstract: In Israel, the higher education community has grown from 1,635 students and two major institutions in 1948 to 53,000 students (a large percentage of the potential student population) and seven major institutions in 1975. During this period, a pattern of private funding from abroad has shifted to a system of support by the state as the need to balance national manpower planning considerations with the need for local institutional autonomy has resulted in the formation of a University Planning and Grants Committee. Serving as liason between the government, which now funds 80 percent of higher education budgets, and the university communities, the University Planning and Grants Committee promises to facilitate further growth of higher education in Israel.