Bringing Theory to Practice
U.S. Department of Education Awards $2.45 Million for Improved Measures of Achievement for Post-Secondary Students
New Training Materials for Preventative Law in Higher Education
First-of-Its-Kind College Consumer Information Web Site Debuts
New Booklet: From Classrooms to Learning Spaces: Teaching by Design
Students Seek Campus Sustainability Solutions
The University of Western Ontario in partnership with the Sierra Youth Coalition and EnviroWestern is putting on a national conference addressing campus sustainability next week. "Drawing 150 students from across Canada, the National Conference will train and educate students on how to conduct a reliable sustainability assessment and implement change. *** In addition to training delegates, the conference will host several keynote speaker sessions which are open to the entire university. On Sept. 28, Western’s Charles Trick, Beryl Ivey Chair of Ecosystem Health, will discuss the relationship between human health and ecosystem health. Hans Schreff of London Hydro’s conservation program will discuss the importance of utilities, the private sector and the individual in effectively improving energy efficiency. On September 29 t, Penn Kemp will open the evening keynote with a reading of her work “Poem for Peace in Many Voices.” Evon Peter, the national director of Native Movement, an organization that seeks to motivate young people “toward balanced relations with each other and Mother Earth” will give the Saturday evening keynote entitled “Steps Towards a Balanced World.” The Sustainable Campuses, National Conference, 2007 seeks not only to train students across Canada on improving sustainability on their own campuses, but to inaugurate initiatives within our own community. This event will showcase our successes while providing a means for community members to effectively reduce their own ecological footprint. " Labels: campus sustainability, national conference, student initiatives
Schools Scrutinize and Promote Study Abroad
This article by Stacy Teicher Khadaroo is in The Christian Science Monitor: In August, The New York Times reported that study abroad companies and nonprofit organizations offer colleges "perks" for signing up students, ranging from free trips for officials to back-office services to membership on advisory councils. A few days later, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office opened an inquiry to see if such practices limit students' study abroad options and drive up prices. In response, study abroad professionals and college staff offered explanations of their management practices, and picked up the pace on self-examination that had already been under way in recent years. Acknowledging that more transparency would help, and that some changes might be necessary in individual arrangements between schools and study abroad providers, they also vigorously argued against the characterization of their practices as "perks." "I think this is going to blow over," says Gregg Kvistad, Provost of the University of Denver, where more than 50 percent of students do some study abroad. After senior staff examined the school's policies in recent weeks, he says he's confident they are on solid ground. It's important for colleges to verify the quality of third-party providers, Mr. Kvistad says, but without them, "there is no way that an institution could do the job we'd like to do for all our students studying in these dozens of countries."
The Day After, Warning System Draws Wide Praise at St. John’s
St. Johns University installed a text-messaging emergency system this summer, and found out in late September that it works! This article is in The New York Times by Ellen Barry and Winter Miller and may require registration for access: [T]his summer, when St. John’s carried out its annual review of security procedures, Dr. Pellow lobbied for a change he had long been considering: a text-messaging system that could send information about an unfolding crisis to individual cellphones.That system underwent the ultimate dry run on Wednesday when a gunman in a mask strode onto the St. John’s campus in Jamaica, Queens. Though no one was hurt, the incident showed that large, dispersed crowds — at least 10,000 students were on the campus at the time — could respond calmly in the face of alarming information.
Yesterday the technique was praised by everyone from Gov. Eliot Spitzer to Assemblyman Rory I. Lancman of Queens, who presented legislation requiring text-messaging systems at college and university campuses across the state. After the crisis at Virginia Tech, “everything from bullhorns to texting was considered,” said Dr. Pellow, who is also the university’s executive vice president. “How do you communicate instantly? Because the expectation now is instant communication.” The campus yesterday was suffused with relief, a rare celebration of something that did not happen. A lawyer for the gunman, Omesh Hiraman, said his client had suffered a psychotic episode because he was unable to digest medication prescribed for schizophrenia. He will be arraigned today at his bedside at Bellevue Hospital Center on charges including fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, said Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney.
Walk the Line: The Town-Gown Advantage
This article by Michael Lehman is from University Business and relates some very specific opportunities for colleges and universities to be more active within their communities: We all live near an invisible line. One that parties on either side are reluctant to cross unless invited. A line that promotes stereotypes and perpetuates skepticism. It's the imaginary boundary between a college or university and the community in which it is located. It's a barrier that far too many have reinforced and far too few have worked to erase.
The Myth about the Need for Public Computer Labs: "Students Have Their Own Computers, So Public Labs Are No Longer Needed."
This article by Brian L. Hawkins and Diana G. Oblinger is from EDUCAUSE Review and counters what some think is the prevailing opinion that students have so many computers there is no longer any need for computer labs: Eliminating all public computer labs is not in the best interests of any campus. The key to conserving resources while providing service lies in knowing the appropriate number of computers, the software needed, the location of the computers, and the hours of use. There is no single answer for all institutions. Understanding the student profile, the students' needs, and the service culture of the campus will lead to the best solution.
Innovation in Learning Space Design-Developing Collaborative Opportunities.
We found this at the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. When you click on this link, a 37-minute, streaming video presentation begins. This online video presentation traces the history of learning spaces from the early 1900's to present. The Mediasite program discusses the current environment of collaborative learning spaces and specific opportunities to engage students in the classroom. The presentation takes the viewer on a journey through successful learning space designs through universities in United States and England. Video footage is used to highlight the creation of a collaborative learning space in a library. The program concludes by showcasing best practices in developing new learning spaces which enhances teaching and learning.
Educational Facilities Disaster and Crisis Management Guidebook
2007 DesignShare Awards Program for Innovative Learning Environments
This awards program encompasses a much broader range than just higher education. Some of the higher education related projects receiving awards are listed and linked below. Note that the presentation of information about the award-winning projects is unusual, in that there is no comprehensive "page" of information. When you click on one of the following links you will sometimes see what looks like a page bereft of information but for a single paragraph. However, clicking on the "Team, School, Narrative, Costs, Images, Keywords, Design Patterns, Products" links takes you to much more information.
Columbia Announces Deal on Its 17-Acre Expansion Plan
Who would have thought there was room anywhere in Manhattan? This article by Colin Moynihan is from The New York Times and may require registration for access: The university said that in moving forward with its plans it would contribute $20 million to start a fund to build affordable housing in the neighborhood, and contribute additional money for local parks and playgrounds. It also promised to use environmentally friendly construction and design. The university also said it would create a community resource center to tell local residents about its construction plans, hiring for jobs and how to apply for the housing financed by the school.
Buildings & Grounds Blog Posts from the Chronicle
Students Seek Campus Sustainability Solutions
The University of Western Ontario in partnership with Sierra Youth Coalition and EnviroWestern is putting on a Campus Sustainability Conference in an effort to push sustainability on campuses across Canada. "Drawing 150 students from across Canada, the National Conference will train and educate students on how to conduct a reliable sustainability assessment and implement change. *** In addition to training delegates, the conference will host several keynote speaker sessions which are open to the entire university. On Sept. 28, Western’s Charles Trick, Beryl Ivey Chair of Ecosystem Health, will discuss the relationship between human health and ecosystem health. Hans Schreff of London Hydro’s conservation program will discuss the importance of utilities, the private sector and the individual in effectively improving energy efficiency. On September 29 t, Penn Kemp will open the evening keynote with a reading of her work “Poem for Peace in Many Voices.” Evon Peter, the national director of Native Movement, an organization that seeks to motivate young people “toward balanced relations with each other and Mother Earth” will give the Saturday evening keynote entitled “Steps Towards a Balanced World.” " To learn more about the event, visit www.syc-cjs.org/sustainableLabels: campus sustainability, conference, student initiatives, University of Western Ontario
Freedom of Speech in Administration
In this post to his "Confessions of a Community College Dean" blog on Inside Higher Ed, "Dean Dad," expresses confusion by some of the issues raised by UC Irvine Law School dean "hiring, then non-hiring, then hiring." (See, also, Chemerinsky and Irvine: What Happened? by Jon Weiner.) Faculty are supposed – rightly – to have considerable leeway in expressing views on controversial issues. In the classroom, that’s supposed to be restricted to topics that are relevant to the course, though in practice most of us give “relevant” a pretty loose reading. Outside of the classroom, the standard freedom of speech protections are supposed to apply. The idea is that educators have to be free to follow their inquiries to what appears to them to be truth, even if that truth is unpopular or even silly. Given the speed with which popular opinion can change – those of us who opposed the Iraq war even before it started have gone from ‘hippies’ and ‘paleo-liberals’ to ‘prescient’ in just a few short years – and given the stubborn tenacity of truth, the policy of shielding good-faith inquiry from political interference strikes me as wise. (I don’t buy the usual argument that tenure is a prerequisite for academic freedom, but that’s another post altogether. There’s also another set of issues around academic freedom at denominational colleges, but I’ll just confess being out of my element there.) If academic freedom, broadly conceived, is a prerequisite for the pursuit of truth, then it seems to me that one of two conclusions must follow: either administrators have academic freedom too, or administrators aren’t supposed to be bound to the truth. I prefer the first option.
Smart Hiring: Strategic Staffing Plans
This article, by Carol Patton in University Business, looks at ways a number of institutions are looking strategically at hiring and retention practices. [A]s schools look toward the future, staffing becomes a big question mark. More and more baby boomers are exiting the workforce, which is fueling the skilled labor shortage. Some institutional leaders are concerned that they won't be ready, that they will be unable to recruit the talent they desperately need. So they're focusing their energies on designing strategic staffing plans that enable them to explore their school's risks and vulnerabilities as well as marketplace opportunities in order to build a competent labor force.
***
HR leaders need to ask themselves two questions: Does HR hire people to fill jobs? Or does it recruit candidates who can grow into positions that reflect the changing marketplace? If your practices are more in line with the first option, watch out. Your staff could be stuck in neutral, unable to develop new skills demanded by their new environment. High turnover is usually one of the symptoms.
Labels: Carol Patton, case studies, hiring, HR, human resources, strategic staffing, University Business, workforce
Academic Analytics: A New Tool for a New Era - A Web seminar from EDUCAUSE
If your institution is an EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) member, this is a web seminar that you can register for at no charge. You can view a list of ELI member institutions here. October 8: Academic Analytics: A New Tool for a New Era  |  John Campbell Associate Vice President of Teaching and Learning Technologies Purdue University | Internal and external pressures for accountability, especially in learning outcomes and student success, may make IT leaders critical partners with academic and student affairs. IT can contribute to this accountability through academic analytics. Join John Campbell for an exploration of the emerging field of academic analytics and its potential impact on the institution and IT units. He will talk about the potential of analytics, the role of IT in analytics projects, early examples, and some considerations for analytics projects, including potential policy concerns. The session is based on an article published in the July/August 2007 EDUCAUSE Review by John Campbell, Peter DeBlois, and Diana Oblinger. This free seminar is an exclusive benefit for ELI member organizations—you and any others at your institution are invited to attend. Virtual seating is limited, however, and registration is required. REGISTER NOW.
Green Building A to Z: Understanding the Language of Green Building
Watch Princeton's Whitman College Be Constructed in About 3 Minutes
Purpose-Driven Organizational Planning: The P-GOATS Model in Practice
This League for Innovation Leadership Abstract by Stan Brings, describes a a distinctive institutional community college planning model with a step-by-step guide:Using the P-GOATS model for organizational planning may seem like an oversimplification of a task that can seem overwhelming. Whether considered from a reductionist perspective or a constructivist perspective, the structured, systematic approach makes P-GOATS a practicable approach. The logical construction of the model and its organized implementation make it understandable to the diverse populations that make up community college stakeholder groups. The P-GOATS model for organizational planning improves effectiveness by structuring the work of the college. It improves efficiencies by identifying gaps and redundancies and providing opportunities for leveraging and optimizing college capacities. But perhaps its greatest and most important outcome is its effect on the individuals who make up the college. Providing security and a sense of certainty by establishing a direct connection between their work and the purpose of the college will yield dividends beyond those quantified for effectiveness and efficiency. Labels: academic planning, community college, institutional planning, Leadership Abstracts, League for Innovation, p-goats, planning model, Stan Brings, strategic planning
Platinum certification for Building B of the new Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU)
He Tallies Hidden Costs of Free Parking - One Space at a Time
This article by Mark Clayton in the Christian Science Monitor is about a researcher who "is counting parking spaces to determine if America has a surplus."For Dr. Shoup, the issue is cost. Free parking, he says, doesn't turn out to be so free. "We all pay for it, not in our role as drivers, but as residents, taxpayers, and customers," says Shoup, who documents the phenomenon in his book "The High Cost of Free Parking." Big parking lots hike building costs and get passed through to the consumer, sometimes through higher rents in their apartment buildings or bigger costs at their grocery stores. "Every place we drive and park free, we really pay for that parking as something other than as a driver," he says. ***
Nevertheless, some cities, including Pasadena, Calif.; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Boston, are making progress by revamping parking regulations, charging more for on-street parking, and adjusting the amount of parking required in new developments. In Portland, for instance, maximum parking limits vary with the distance from light-rail stations. There's less parking required to be built near the stations, more several blocks away, the EPA reports. In Palo Alto and Iowa city, the idea of "land banking" – or setting aside land for parking to be built only if it is really needed has meant minimum parking requirements are waived or relaxed.
Mixed Grades for Fordham University's Growth Plan
This article by Alex Mindlin in The New York Times, describes neighborhood opposition to campus expansion plans at Fordham University in New York City, including the sale of some formerly public university land for private development: For five decades, Fordham University’s campus near Lincoln Center has had the feel of a cathedral close. The campus, which extends from Columbus to Amsterdam Avenue between 60th and 62nd Streets, is relatively underbuilt. At its heart is a grassy plaza from which the sky is visible in three directions. The land was sold to Fordham in the 1950s by the city, which had acquired it using eminent domain. In 2005, citing enrollment that was double what could comfortably fit, Fordham proposed to vastly expand this campus over the next 25 years, tripling the built space on its land with eight new buildings in a horseshoe arrangement. The tallest buildings, at 50 and 55 stories, would be a pair of private apartment towers on Amsterdam Avenue. Proceeds from the sale of those lots would help finance Fordham’s other new buildings, including 25- and 31-story dormitories along Columbus Avenue. Labels: campus planning, community relations, Fordham University, land use, master planning, New York City, NY
Closer Eye on Campus Drinking
This article by Nate Schweber in The New York Times, focuses on suburban campuses in the suburban areas around New York City. It starts by examining this fall at Rider University, where both students and administrators have been criminally charged in the drinking death of a fraternity member last spring: Two years ago the College of New Jersey, in nearby Ewing, tightened its alcohol policies after a student disappeared into a garbage chute at an off-campus fraternity party and his body was found in a Pennsylvania landfill. Last spring, shortly after Mr. DeVercelly’s death, the college announced that alcohol would be prohibited during its annual Senior Week, which was later canceled for lack of interest. Matthew Golden, a spokesman for the college, said that administrators are “very aware this is a new world of accountability should something tragic happen.” Not every college is making changes after recent alcohol-related incidents. Administrators at Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y., and Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn., said their universities were well served by alcohol education that was already in place and the vigilance of their administrators. Some schools have tweaked their approach. Manhattanville College, in Purchase, N.Y., has moved its alcohol awareness week to October from April to reach new students. It also decided to focus on prevention, said Brandon Dawson, dean of students. First-time offenders will take a 90-minute class on the effects of alcohol. Labels: drinking, fraternity, greek life, hazing, in loco parentis, legal, Nate Scheber, Rider University, student services, The New York Times
A Worldwide Test for Higher Education?
Doug Lederman writes, in Inside Higher Ed, about a quiet move to explore implementing a worldwide student learning outcomes assessment for higher education. Not everyone is happy with the idea; the comments section is quite lively. [T]he Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has convened a small group of testing experts and higher education policy makers who have met quietly in recent months to discuss the possibility of creating a common international system to measure the learning outcomes of individual colleges and university systems, along the lines of the well-regarded test that OECD countries now administer to 15-year-olds, the Program for International Student Assessment.
***
[SCUPer] Trudy W. Banta, a professor of higher education and senior adviser to the chancellor for academic planning and evaluation at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said she believed that it would be extremely difficult to design one measure that could apply “across the many cultures, languages, institutions” that are part of the OECD universe. Beyond those practical concerns, though, Banta, who has written in Inside Higher Ed and other publications about the limitations of standardized measures of learning, expressed a more philosophical concern. “I’m afraid that everybody is looking for a silver bullet, a magic potion, that will tell them about quality” in higher education. “The latest tool in that arsenal is a standardized test,” which inevitably results, she said, in oversimplified measurements of institutions’, or in this case potentially countries’, success or failure.
Labels: academic planning, assessment, DOug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed, International, measures, OECD, PISA, program for international student assessment, slo, student learning outcomes, Trudy Banta
For New Center, Harvard Agrees to Emissions Cut
Harvard has agreed to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the university’s proposed four-building science center in the Allston section of Boston, the state’s environmental officials announced yesterday. The agreement, which Harvard entered voluntarily at the state’s suggestion, will cut emissions 50 percent below the levels required by the national standard, said the state’s energy and environment secretary, Ian A. Bowles. Mr. Bowles said the Harvard agreement represented the first legally enforceable limits on emissions from a large real-estate project. The complex is 537,000 square feet." Article here.
Three New Buildings About Communication Are Also Designed to Communicate
AASHE Blog for the Greening of the Campus VII Conference
SCUP Connected to The New York Times Learning Network
The New York Times has "soft launched" its learning network, with the announcement of a number of learning opportunities in the fall of 2007. Three of those opportunities are SCUP-based webcasts: - Education in Exponential Times, October 15, 2007
- Assessment and Accountability:Reasonable Approaches for Higher Education, November 29, 2007
- Climate Change and Higher Education:Leadership to Achieve Climate Neutrality, December 12, 2007
Communities of Opportunity: Smart Growth Strategies for Colleges and Universities
The National Association of College and University Business Officers, in conjunction with Ayers Saint Gross, Cunningham Quill Architects, and the Environmental Protection Agency, has published this 48-page document, which can be downloaded as a PDF: The publication, co-authored with the Environmental Protection Agency and Cunningham Quill Architects, begins with an overview of smart growth strategies and then makes a four-part argument for adopting such strategies: 1. Creating thriving, vibrant places helps to attract and keep the best students, faculty, and staff.
2. Smart growth development patterns are a more efficient use of scarce resources and are better investments.
3. Colleges and universities and the surrounding communities can work together across the traditional boundary of the campus to solve challenges in mutually beneficial ways.
4. Better development patterns allow colleges and universities to improve their environmental performance. Examples are included from more than 20 institutions across the country and they are just a sample of the good work that is being done. NACUBO hopes this publication raises awareness about the leadership being taken by institutions and creates even more opportunities for smart growth on campuses and in communities. Labels: EPA, NACUBO, smart growth, sustainability
Cinderella Stories: Adaptive Reuse of Older Buildings
In Facilities Manager, Joseph Brinkman and David Miller write about their experiences re-using older campus buildings (PDF): On campuses today, older buildings are being renovated, not only beyond their current condition, but even better than their original condition. When done properly, campus architectural treasures can become high-performance facilities by today’s standards. When considering renovation there are at least five tests
that determine if the effort should be pursued: 1. Land acquisition is unrealistic. 2. Existing infrastructure has capacity. 3. Funding is limited. 4. There is historical value or alumni support. 5. Sustainability is a priority.
PKAL Facilities Directory
Collect this bookmark as a place to visit frequently: "This directory contains a listing of relevant STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) building projects from around the country. Please use the directory as a resource to discover facilities related to your own plans and projects."
My Computer Romance: What We Owe to Our Students
In EDUCAUSE Review, Gardner Campbell, of the University of Mary Washington, writes about his life in the faculty with computers, going back to the mainframes in 1980: Yet faculty must move forward before the professional infrastructure is completely hospitable. Faculty can no longer afford to wait. We faculty live in 2007, and we all must be ready. These technologies are not going away. Their promise is enormous and only beginning to be realized. They are essential components of every aspect of our lives, and we owe it to ourselves and our students not only to understand them but to delight in them, to learn within them, and to share those delighted experiences of learning with our students. Only when our students see our own learning blossoming within a computer romance will they listen to us when we tell them to use these tools more wisely themselves.
As Support Lags, Colleges Tack on Student Fees
From The New York Times, Jonathan D. Glater writes about the growth of "fees" (as opposed to tuition) with the University of Oregon as the primary example: As Support Lags, Colleges Tack on Student Fees: At the University of Oregon, here is what students see regarding "fees": "This year, for instance, the university is charging a $51 “energy surcharge” for rising electricity costs. A $270 “technology fee” for computer service. There is the $371.25 fee for the campus health center, a $135 fee to maintain buildings and grounds and a $624 “incidental fee,” for student activities. And more. All told, fees add up to $1,542, or nearly an additional 40 percent on top of tuition of $3,984. That does not even count additional fees charged for taking certain courses."
Academic Program Review and Prioritization: In the Race or Out to Pasture?
Hank Dunn and Kathy Lee, of Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana, share their methodology for academic program review and prioritization, emphasizing quality and viability, in this League forInnovation in the Community College's Leadership Abstract. In community colleges, many of us face a challenge when attempting to redeploy our precious resources. Campus and faculty identity may be tightly entwined with the degree programs in place. In many cases, a program losing enrollment or a waning need for a specific industry is not a campus secret. Professor Jones and his colleagues have worked at the college as loyal employees for years—many are nearing retirement—and so the issue is not only one of ending an obsolete program, but also one of saying good-bye to long-time employees. When money was in plentiful supply, a new program could be added to the stable of existing programs without a second thought. Now, however, the expense of a new program may require the deletion or modification of an existing program, and community colleges are finding they must make difficult decisions about program implementation.
Building a New Economy With Biotechnology
Karin Fischer, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, reports on the North Carolina Research Campus, a regional attempt to deliberately foster research as a regional economic driver, with a strong connection to higher education institutions. The article requires subscription for access, but you can access the project's website here, it leads off with: "The campus will be the missing link between getting an education here and building a career here." The project, called the North Carolina Research Campus, is the brainchild of David H. Murdock, owner of Dole Foods and a onetime operator of the former textile mill that closed in 2003, leaving 4,800 people out of work. Six of the state's public universities and Duke University have signed on as major partners and will locate laboratories and researchers in Kannapolis, a city of 39,000 about 30 miles northeast of Charlotte. A separate development company owned by Mr. Murdock is recruiting private businesses. *** But a year after demolition crews detonated the plant that occupied the heart of town, attitudes may be changing. If construction goes according to plan, the 350-acre research campus will eventually form something like a town center, with retail shops, municipal buildings, and even a movie theater mixed in with the laboratory facilities. If this topic interests you, you will also be interested in our Campus Sustainability Day V webcast, October 24, titled " Building a Durable Future: Community, the Campus, and Deep Economy."
The Academy as a Community Greenhouse
Forget the Ivory Tower, in Inside Higher Ed, Carolinda Douglass argues for a new metaphor, the community greenhouse: The view from a community greenhouse may not be as lofty as the one from an ivory tower, but it is more realistic. The transparency of the walls permits academics to look out on their world and understand their place within it, rather than from above it. Perhaps more importantly, the clear walls allow others to see in. The doors on the greenhouse are not bolted; there are no moats or drawbridges around the structure. The greenhouse is for the community and community members are encouraged to come in to hear lectures, see performances, and engage with faculty in examining the world we co-inhabit. Students are welcomed year after year to immerse themselves in the beauty and richness of the community greenhouse. Families of students and alumni must be openly received and invited to partake in the fruits of labor of the members of the academy.
|
, is both a reference work and an explanation of the importance of green buildings and green developments for a sustainable future. The author was an important early volunteer leader in the development of the hugely successful GreenBuild conference put on annually by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).