Ann K. Newman: Measure, Analyze, Assess, Adjust. Repeat.

Ann K. Newman, April’s Buildings & Grounds guest blogger, is head of the planning group at Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott. She is a psychologist by training.

Ann K. Newman

I recently came across John Dale Russell and James I. Doi’s seminal Manual for Studies of Space Utilization in Colleges and Universities (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 1957). Fifty-two years later, their comments on space utilization still ring true:

There are two compelling reasons why institutions of higher education should make space utilization studies. One is that knowledge of the degree and kind of use made of the physical plant of the college is a condition of good management. The physical plant of a typical college or university represents a large investment of physical resources. It is costly to build, costly to maintain in good repair, and costly to heat, light, clean, and care for. Any addition to the physical plant should be made only after careful study indicates no space available within existing facilities to house adequately the services for which the addition is proposed.

Their second “compelling reason” was the tsunami of students they saw coming at institutions in the 60s — the boomers. Today, the recession we are in will likely turn out to be a similar life-changing event for higher education. While it may provide a necessary correction to the “space wars” that have consumed higher education in recent years, some aspirations for new facilities are not only about wanting the next great thing — they are in response to a lack (or perception of a lack) of either space or the right type of space to support needed programs.

Institutions will face several big questions over the new few years: How will they maintain forward progress? How will they hire new faculty members to replace the retiree bulge, or at least supplement the partially retired boomers who may never go away? As the pool of potential applications shrinks, how will colleges remain competitive if they can’t build the new facilities they had planned on?

Colleges will need to carefully assess how they are using existing space, and also to question the procedures and policies they have for space use. (Colleges that don’t have such policies and procedures will need to create them.) In these times of economic uncertainly, it is critical for institutions to make sure they are utilizing their space efficiently while still supporting their education, research, and service missions and goals.

It is important to recall Russell and Doi’s warning — “The data on actual utilization may suggest that more efficient use can be made of existing facilities, but how much the rates of utilization might be increased without endangering the quality of the educational program is a matter of judgment.” Space-utilization studies are not an end unto themselves — they are the starting point. Compare your space allocations within and among departments, colleges, across your campus. Look for the outliers — and ask why. Decide whether the answers make sense for your institution in these times. Policies may need to be adjusted. Spaces may need to be modified.

Measure, analyze, assess, adjust. Repeat. —Ann K. Newman