2017 Forecast: Trends Shaping Higher Education

Higher Education TrendsThought leaders share outlooks on what the future holds for the higher education campus, discussing everything from networks to waste collection.

TOPIC: Health Science Facility Design
TREND: Toward Interdisciplinary Design
By Kate Yurko, AIA, LEED-AP

TOPIC: Campus Planning and Design
TREND: Toward Integrating and Extending the Impact of Spaces
By Lynn D. Akey, Ph.D.

TOPIC: Safety & Security
TREND: Toward Product Implementation
By Rodney Chatman

TOPIC: Waste Collection
TREND: Toward Cost Savings and Efficiency
By Emma Skalka and Victor Stanley

TOPIC: Prospective Students’ College Visits
TREND: Toward Combining Visits With Vacation
By Kurt A. Stahura, Ph.D.

TOPIC: Wired and Wireless Networks
TREND: Toward Machine Learning and Time-Sensitive Networking
By Tim Zimmerman

Not Your Parents' Dining Hall: Dining options support special diets.

Technology to Move Outside in 2017

Reverse Transfer: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.

  • From Approval to Opening: Inside Travis Unified School District’s Fast Tracked Campus Expansion

    The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) in northern California includes several elementary and high schools serving over 5,400 students. In 2024, the TUSD Board approved the addition of sixth grade to the Golden West Middle School campus for the 2025–26 school year, setting in motion an accelerated effort to bring new facilities online in less than a year.

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.