Architects, campus facilities practitioners, and campus safety professionals have a new tool to assist them in designing superior campus facilities. 21st Century Security and CPTED Designing for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Crime Preventi
Life is full of choices. The number of those choices, however, can be overwhelming, which is certainly true when it comes to selecting janitorial and maintenance products and supplies. Evaluating everything from cleaning solutions and mops to vacuum clean
Following this month's release of College Planning & Management's 2009 Annual College Construction Report, we talked with Avi Lothan, FAIA, principal at DeStefano Partners, a Chicago-based architecture and design firm, about current and futu
The acoustics of performing arts venues, as perceived by audiences and critics, is a confluence of the "natural" (i.e., non-amplified) acoustics of the spaces and the sound systems serving the spaces (to the extent that such systems are employed
In an effort to continue certain traditions, I present the "things I've learned 2008" column. For me, 2008 was quite a robust year in terms of expanding my horizons.
While most campus crimes take the form of forcible sex offenses, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts, access control can make a campus safer day-to-day, while helping to protect students, faculty, and staff from tragedy.
The case for LEED certification is a compelling one. It provides third-party verification that your project has met the requirements of an established green building rating system. This is valuable for many reasons but, certification costs money. For coll
People often ask "What if?" in training sessions and preparedness planning meetings at colleges, technical colleges, and universities across our great land. If you have experienced this in meetings and safety training sessions on your campus, yo
2008 was quite a roller coaster. From an historic election to a worldwide financial crisis to yet even more technological advances, everyone, including today's students and their parents, has been on a wild ride. How can colleges and universities cop
For many years, planetariums used the concepts intrinsic in 3D visualization and immersive technology to transport participants throughout our solar system. Today, the latest generation of these captivating systems is being used to a greater degree in col
The definition of transportation demand management (TDM) is rather vanilla: in a nutshell, it's a series or group of techniques intended to decrease parking demand. What about that prompted experts at the Center for Transportation Research at the Uni
This month we talked to Norma G. Kent, vice president for Communications at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Kent discussed the correlation between the recession and community college enrollment and how community colleges can be a pa
When it comes to restrooms and locker rooms, how you divide people makes a big impact on multiple levels. The maintenance crew's efficiency hangs on how you position the partitions between stalls. And users' comfort hinges on everything from the
How do you get everything you want and need in the design of new facilities when the project budget doesn't match the shopping list? The answer comes from the experts who are in the trenches daily. They've seen technology and space
There was a time when barns and sheds were prevalent on Utah State University's (USU) main campus, and cattle were sheltered and fed in places where classrooms, laboratories, and libraries now stand. Through the years, campus expansion and the changing ne
More than ever, security remains a top priority for campuses, despite budget restrictions. When planning the resources for security, you must think about the four core elements to any security program: personnel, technology, facility design, and crime pre
Many of today's colleges and universities are thinking about building a new kind of housing one that's very different from the dorms, residence halls, suites, apartments, or anything else they've ever done before. It's retiremen
Virtual campus tours are one of the first sources for many prospective college students to find information about not only the school itself, but also the experience of being on the campus and the image of the school. Students often go online first to fin
Although a green roof can eventually pay for itself by reducing heating and cooling needs and by providing other benefits, these only occur if the roof is properly maintained. This usually involves several steps: pre-installation consideration and proper
Twelve years. That's the time that it took administrators and staff at California's Santa Clara University (SCU) to turn their vision for a new library into reality. And it's not just a library. The new, privately funded Harrington Learning
President-elect Barack Obama used his message of change in his successful campaign for the Oval Office. Change is a way of life, especially in our rapidly changing modern world. Change not only occurs every four to eight years in the White House, it happe
In 2006, presidents of nearly 50 colleges and universities signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), an agreement to reach climate, or carbon, neutrality on each campus. By August 2008, more than 500 presidents had
While taking care of their number-one resource, facility administrators must stay on top of advances in processes and procedures in order to best serve their clients. Implementing state-of-the-industry standards is sure to help you advance custodial and m
For most colleges and universities, signage is an ever-changing element of the campus landscape. As departments move and facilities are added, directional and informational signs must adapt. Changes to signage often occur piecemeal. New signs are typicall
It's a dichotomy that will never disappear: universities operate in a culture of openness and decentralization while their IT departments want to keep everything as closed as possible and run a very strong network layer. Today's IT departments b
Campus officials should give careful consideration to the roles assigned to students. While hundreds of thousands of student workers perform invaluable functions at their colleges and universities every day, it is important to work towards appropriate bal
Ohio University in Athens is a special place, with beautiful facilities and friendly people. But it also has barriers that prevent easy access to a number of areas and buildings. The University is dedicated to change not only to address the letter
Procuring things the old way takes time and patience. Fill out forms, wait for approval, send out the purchase order, and then wait again for the item. But what if there were a more efficient way? It turns out there is, and it's very similar to the o
Striking a reasonable and effective balance between privacy and security is a serious challenge for institutions today. Security is identified by EDUCAUSE as the top IT concern for 2008. In fact, security has been among the top five issues on the list for
Undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail has become a problem with the Postal Service. The Postal Service states, "In Fiscal Year 2004 [they] handled 9.7 billion pieces of UAA mail at a cost of $1.8B." UAA mail reduces productivity for both they po
As the crisis in the financial markets has deepened, upward pressure on construction prices, in general, and commercial kitchen construction, in particular, has weakened. That will come as welcome news to colleges, universities, and culinary schools plann
In the past, sustainable building design may have been more expensive than following a more traditional construction route. Improvements in both materials and building systems, and a greater commitment to building green facilities, are thankfully changing
Colleges and universities are working harder to bring environmental consciousness and solid green practices to their students through a variety of methods, including building and purchasing choices and campus-wide initiatives. Bringing the green movement
You may be surprised to learn that administrators at Abilene Christian University are testing iPhones and iPod touches with their freshmen as a means of integrating mobile technology into course curriculum and campus life. You may be even more surprised t
Anything you can do I can do better. That's the idea around many campus Ecolympic events. These dorm-to-dorm competitions inspire students to save energy, recycle, and learn about reducing their carbon footprint. What does it take to run one of these
Many colleges and universities have provided on-campus student housing for decades, while other institutions are getting into the housing market for the first time. Developing, constructing, and managing student housing is an effort that requires experien
After years of not being the priority it should be at many institutions, campus safety is being reevaluated because of a single horrific event. Many colleges and universities have finally begun to embrace multidisciplinary threat assessment, even though t
In 2000, slightly more than 33 percent of U.S. college students had cell phones on campus. In the fall of 2004, nearly 90 percent did. The pros and cons of this phenomenon can be debated, but the impact of the cell phone on our campuses cannot be denied.
In the aftermath of recent emergency situations including tragic university shootings, weather-related disasters, and other crises college administrators and emergency managers began turning toward network-centric emergency notification syst
As economic conditions change, we see higher education reshaping how we budget and what we budget for. State schools have seen budgets for operations and maintenance fall due to recent tax cuts, and while many private institutions seem to operate under a