A View of the Changing Campus:
How Learning Environments Can Support Changes in Higher Education (77KB PDF)
The leaders of universities and colleges in the U.S. are discovering that image is critical in attracting and retaining students. They are beginning to see the campus environment as a strategic tool they can use to compete and differentiate. This realization comes against the backdrop of changing patterns of behavior, learning, and instruction; increasing competition for students and faculty; and aging facilities. In order to support a new learning paradigm, one in which an institution produces learning with every student by whatever means work best, learning environments must be adaptable and flexible. The challenge in designing, planning, and furnishing these spaces becomes to support multiple uses and different types of learning activities.
Creating a Culture of Sustainability:
How Campuses Are Taking the Lead (195KB PDF)
The influences of sustainability efforts, large or small, can change a student's educational experience, a staff or faculty member's commitment to the college, and a community's awareness of its ecological responsibility. Sustainability initiatives seen on college and university campuses throughout the country are influencing curriculum decisions, operations budgets, facility plans, and campus culture. Students, faculty, and staff are leading the efforts. They often find it to be difficult work, requiring the kind of campus-wide coordination and cooperation that's often absent from the organizational structure of higher education institutions. Yet while the approaches and participants vary, all share a common motivation--to do the right thing.
Paradigm Shift:
How Higher Education is Improving Learning (244KB PDF)
As part of the growing movement to revitalize the learning environment, many colleges and universities are shifting from the Instruction Paradigm to the Learning Paradigm, from being an institution that provides instruction to students to one that produces learning in students. A key part of this shift involves new design and renovation strategies that emphasize easily reconfigured, multiple-use spaces to enhance learning opportunities. Even with the growing role of virtual learning, place-bound campuses and their physical spaces will remain relevant. However, in order for these facilities to contribute to the health of the institutions they represent, they must provide the flexibility, comfort, and atmosphere where deep and meaningful learning can take place.
Primed for Injury:
What Happens When the Digital Generation Becomes the Next Generation of Office Workers? (475KB PDF)
Today's youth are the digital generation. Teens and young adults now in high school and college have never known a time without computers or video games. Chances are that college-aged people leave for class in the morning with a laptop, cell phone, and handheld electronic organizer in tow. The U.S. Department of Education required public school classrooms to have Internet-accessible computers by 2000. Computers in the home are ubiquitous. Adults and children alike surf the Net. Instant messaging is the norm for communication among teens. What will be the effects of increased use of computer, game, and other information communications technology equipment? Information sharing and a greater wealth of resources at our fingertips is certainly one result. But also possibly increased harm to the body, particularly in the form of repetitive stress injuries and musculoskeletal disorders.
Room and Board Redefined:
Trends in Residence Halls (318KB PDF)
Today's dormitories are losing any resemblance to the large-scale, multi-floor, barracks-style dormitories of the past. A shift is occurring that mirrors the paradigm shift in teaching and learning styles. It encompasses not only architecture and amenities but also how the residential experience can meet the needs and expectations of a new generation of students. In the face of a declining student population, U.S. colleges and universities are building new residence halls, in part, to attract new students and retain those already enrolled. A push to sustainability is also a key driver. The result is a residence hall experience that melds living, learning, and socializing.
The Changing Campus:
Advice and Action to Accommodate Learning (143KB PDF)
Most higher education leaders understand that traditional approaches to campus spaces don't support new ways of teaching and learning. But seeing the need for an innovative approach and making it happen are often two different things: It means embarking on the road to change. Campus leaders can learn from those who have been down the road already. While the journey involves obstacles, it also offers the chance to discover new ways of thinking, new forms of collaboration, and new approaches to design. In turn, these can lead to more flexible, innovative facilities, and deeper student learning.
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