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Building the Brand

Young Harris' updated vision and strategic plan calls for virtually doubling the student population from the current 700 to between 1,200 and 1,500 over the next few years; significant faculty growth; expanded academic programs; and, of course, a con

To Boldly Go

Recognizing the challenges of first-generation students, many schools offer them tailored support, including orientation and mentoring programs, tutoring and other forms of academic assistance, summer programs before freshman year to introduce them to col

Improving Postsecondary Access and Opportunity: Obama's Proposed FY 2011 Budget for Postsecondary Education

President Obama proposed on February 1st an education budget for fiscal year 2011 which includes a historic commitment to increasing college access and success by dramatically expanding financial aid — making it simpler, more reliable, and more effic

Taking the 'Institutional' Out of Institutional Design

As competition for good students — and supportive alumni — has grown, and as "gourmet" burritos and mocha lattes have become standards in the "real world," colleges and universities have had to rethink what makes a truly invi

Convergence: The New Security Priority

Evermore sophisticated student hackers, criminal hackers and regular thieves require a new security priority for K-12 schools: the convergence or coming together of physical and IT (sometimes called logical) security. Simply put, if you don't lock th

The Ups and Downs of Campus Construction

There are ups — and there are downs. In 1995, when College Planning & Management came on the scene, $6.1B worth of college construction was put in place. By 2000, college construction was shifting into high gear. During three years — 2005, 2

Modular, Precast Gain Popularity

Nontraditional construction methods are helping to provide that space, in part because they can offer financial savings over traditional construction methods. Nontraditional construction methods include — but are not limited to — SIP, tilt-up, I

Controlling IT Costs: Ideas and Innovations at Work

The recession is over, but college and university IT divisions are progressing cautiously, still forging ahead with the newest trends, but at a slower pace.

BACnet: Salvation or Promise?

BACnet: "The global standard for building automation." This not-so-new technology, still evolving, continues to generate expanding interest among the major suppliers of systems generally categorized as building control systems.

Strengthening Our Economic Security Through Education: Obama's Proposed FY 2011 Budget for PreK-12 Education

President Obama proposed on Feb. 1, an education budget for fiscal year 2011 that takes a bold approach to elementary and secondary education. The two main themes of this FY 2011 budget request are education reform and college access. When Secretary Dunca

Acoustics, Daylighting and IAQ

As architects, we've worked with school administrators who face the daunting challenge of designing and building a much-needed facility when budgets are tight. The good news is that in our experience, a school can build a high-quality facility on eve

The Value of Testing Alarm and Evacuation Systems

For many campuses, we have cut all there is to cut out of our budgets. Across the country, we are doing less; if a program costs money, we are probably not moving forward with it this year. New initiatives — unless they save money from the start &#15

Cloud Computing?

Once up in the cloud, a user selects the software applications he or she wants to use and goes to work. Data stays on disk drives within the cloud. It is a simple and economical approach to computing. It is catching on in the commercial world and in the a

Ups and Downs

There are ups – and there are downs. Ten years ago, I was happy to report that school construction increased 16 percent over the year prior. This year, the figures are not nearly as positive.

Written in Stone

Precast concrete can solve many of your campus's hardscape problems. Is this durable, sustainable material right for your next project?

What's on Your Security Wish List?

Security, as a responsibility, involves keen observation skills, curiosity, common sense mixed with a dash of good timing, and plenty of routine procedures. For college campuses this decade, it also requires a good amount of technology. And like many thin

Incorporating Educational Adequacy in School Building Facility Assessments

Through the state's comprehensive K-12 school construction program, Ohio has built more than 760 new or renovated schools during the past 12 years. Each of these buildings is part of an extensive school district-wide master planning process that incl

Do they Know What to Do at the Top?

One of the best ways for all personnel to know what to do in a crisis is an emergency operations plan that is appropriately designed by role-specific yet integrated plan components.

Meeting the Future on Campus

Time to look forward to the campus trends that promise to shape our next year and decade.

Shaping Up Community Fitness Centers

There's a lot of value in opening campus fitness centers to a wider audience, but the move requires some changes in everything from design to policy.

Lessons Learned from the H1N1 Pandemic

Thanks to a large number of temporary health-related school closures and the H1N1 pandemic, 2009 will be remembered as the year of pandemic planning. Here's what school administrators learned along the way.

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