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A Growing Project

Stetson University has developed a new learning and teaching environment in the form of an organic garden that has taken root on the grounds of the University's Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Environmental Learning Center (RELC), located adjacent to th

Going for Gold

So What About Green?

For those of you who are doubters — green is here to stay! Not only is the movement gaining steam on campuses across the country, it's also gaining steam in American homes as well.

Hardwoods 101: Finish Materials for Green Building Design

As interest in green building grows, hardwoods have also become desirable for their ability to contribute to sustainable design. Wood products are a natural and renewable material that can store more atmospheric carbon throughout their useful lives than i

Distance Learning

Distance learning, while still in its infancy, has been receiving a lot of press at both the university and adult education level. In some instances, distance education programs can reduce the overall cost of traditional education over a five-year period

Do They Know What to Do at the Top?

Effective resolution of major crisis events is greatly facilitated if all of a school or school district's personnel know what to do in an emergency. One of the best ways for all personnel to know what to do in a crisis is to have an emergency operat

Time-Efficient Campus Safety

As with safety efforts in many other settings, higher-education safety officials must compete with the busy schedules of students and staff in order to find time to provide training, practice, and to disseminate information. Few higher-education organizat

Pushing the Envelope

Not many years ago, an epidemic of mold rampaged through K-12 school buildings across the country, rocketing mold prevention to the top of the priority list for the design of school building envelopes. Today, however, mold concerns have receded, and the p

Making the Most of What You Have

Security is like an exercise program, where each and every exercise addresses a different weakness while improving overall strength daily. Implementing a good access control solution does not necessarily mean spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a

New Designs for Life Skills, Voc Ed

The life skills and vocational education components of high schools are no longer relegated to "found" space in a back corridor. Instead, they're taking a front-and-center spot as program, curriculum, design and technology advances are made. The

When Times Get Tough, the Tough Get Creative!

On the local level, we still hear that states are balancing their budgets by cutting support for education translating into more teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, fewer electives and the elimination of extracurricular activities. Some districts are dep

Adaptive Reuse on Campus

Generally, the choice to "reuse" will include the decision to renovate a significant portion of the existing facility to accommodate the new program. When evaluating "reuse" versus "build new," it is important to consider the

Available Funding for School Construction: An Update

A quick look at three different efforts being made to improve the availability of funds for school construction and renovation, pending bills in the House and Senate, and the pending Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3962).

Furniture Evolution

The design of residence halls has changed significantly through the years, and perhaps no element has undergone a more involved evolution than its furniture. Pieces found in residence halls today are more home-like than what was used years ago. Requiremen

New Deal for Community Colleges

In July of last year, while we were in the grips of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression, President Obama announced plans for the American Graduation Initiative (AGI). This landmark proposal promises to provide unprecedented federa

Just Get Out of the Way!

Most of us will promote and fight for the technologies where we have personally experienced success or have been convinced by other adults that it works. Yes, we must verify that a specific technology works for the teachers but, more importantly, we need

Days of Protest: Then and Now

We all know attention can be a good thing, or a bad one. Everyone needs to be aware of the challenges faced by colleges and universities trying to provide a quality education. They also need to be aware of the plight of many families forced into working m

Learning From Afar

Offering distance learning isn't strictly about having the right IT tools in place. Administrators, faculty, and staff must adjust to successfully deliver the right content, too.

High-Performance Furnishings

Is there any school administration or architect today that does not strive for high performance? Definitions may vary and the word is sometimes overused, but the objectives are valid. For more than a decade, the universe of education has been on course to

'What's in Your Wallet?'

The tragic deaths of Yale graduate student Annie Le in an off-campus research lab and the Virginia Tech rampage by student Seung-Hui Cho focus attention on access card security. The issue's importance extends from student victims to roommates, famili

Available Funding for School Construction: An Update

A quick look at three different efforts being made to improve the availability of funds for school construction and renovation, pending bills in the House and Senate, and the pending Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3962).

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