Scott Carlson writes, in the Chronicle's Buildings & Grounds Blog, about the Guardian's reporting of controversies about adding modern amenities to "grand old college buildings."

At the University of Cambridge's Old Schools, people noticed a hole in the floor of the Regent House Combination Room and wondered if maintenance people were fixing the pipes or somesuch. When they found out the university was putting in an elevator, they were appalled. "It is historically the most important room in the universities of the English-speaking world. It is the cradle of Cambridge's democracy, our Westminster Hall

The article in the Guardian can be read here.

Students in My Backyard: Housing at the Campus Edge and Other Emerging Trends in Residential Development

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This article was published in January 2009 in the second of two themed issues of Planning for Higher Education. SCUP members most likely have print copies, and can also access the articles from SCUP's website. In order to bring it out and make it available to everyone, we have assembled all of the articles into this digital (PDF) SCUP Portfolio.

When it comes to building student housing, the stakes for universities and colleges have never been higher. From competing for prospective students and environmental bragging rights to contesting for space on the typical campus, institutions face a fundamentally different landscape than they did when housing previous generations of students. A national sampling of student residential projects and housing data provide some indication of emerging trends. Universities and colleges will increasingly look to the campus edge (even in difficult environments), will challenge themselves to build sustainably (even where budgets are tight), and will partner or compete with private developers in a variety of contexts. These emerging trends are set against the already-established trend that finds students enjoying—and expecting—more luxurious accommodations than were once typical.

Citation
John Martin and Mark Allen. 2009. Students in My Backyard: Housing at the Campus Edge and Other Emerging Trends in Residential Development. Planning for Higher Education. 37(2): 34–43.

CLICK HERE for the full text of Students in My Backyard: Housing at the Campus Edge and Other Emerging Trends in Residential Development

Make Way for Millennials! How Today's Students are Shaping Higher Education Space

In an article written for Planning for Higher Education prior to the recognition of the financial crisis, SCUPer Persis Rickes explores their expectations and some issues relating to "amenities":

One of the key traits of Millennials is “specialness.” But when does the acknowledgement of a student’s specialness go too far? A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article described the “Club Ed” atmosphere at High Point University in North Carolina (Bartlett 2008). The amenities at High Point are numerous and unusual: a concierge desk, a gift card and balloons sent to each of the 2,000 undergraduates on their respective birthdays, kiosks offering free snacks around campus, and an ice cream truck with more free treats. The university’s slogan is “At High Point, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people” (High Point University 2008, unpaginated Web source), and a Director of WOW! ensures that the fun never stops.

Just like their occupants, buildings have a generational locus. They are designed with the expectation that they may stand 100 years or more—the equivalent of five generations. But how can the needs of future occupants be realistically anticipated? Barely a decade ago, ubiquitous data jacks and desktop computers were the goal. Students toiled in electronic isolation; achieving the designation of “most wired campus” was an institutional badge of honor. Today, transparent technology is the norm for the current generation of “digital natives,” the Millennials who use technology to build a community that transcends time and space. However, this community also has a place in real time and space, a place where students learn, work, and socialize in groups, suggesting that walls may need to come down as frequently as they go up.

Do Campus-Based 'Frills' Have a Future?

Subtitled "In an age of austerity, basic may make a comeback," this nice article by Jeffrey J. Selingo, managing editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, examines the growing clamor of those suggesting (or calling for) austere, "no-frills" 4-year degree opportunities:

Even as the nation's economy began to sputter early last year, two areas proved resilient to the cutback in Americans' spending: luxury goods and college degrees.

By the end of 2008, however, luxury stores had recorded the greatest decline in sales of any retail-chain category. Will high-priced colleges suffer a similar fate?

The most optimistic college presidents believe they will be spared a drastic enrollment decline next fall. But a growing number have fear in their eyes.

"I'm not convinced this is a two- to three-year disruption," says John A. Fry, president of Franklin & Marshall College, where tuition and fees are $38,630 this year. "There is a real shift here. People are going back to the basics."

Club Ed: This University Is at Your Service

This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education may require a subscription or a day pass for access. High Point University takes "customer service" to the utmost, it almost sounds like higher education provided by Disney. At first look it can see overdone, and one certainly wonders if High Point is going to concern itself with carbon emissions from the ice cream cart, but  . . .

The list of frills goes on. Snack kiosks are located strategically around the campus offering free bananas, pretzels, and drinks. Gifts await students in their dorms when they return from breaks. That's on top of the gifts they receive for no reason. The university keeps track of each student's preferences (movies, candy bars, sodas, etc.) so all of them get exactly what they want.

If it sounds like too much, well, maybe it is. But it's in keeping with the president's philosophy, as summed up in the university's slogan: "At High Point, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people."