What I've learned is that there are some changes that I happily embrace and there are others that I simply need to force myself to accept as part of doing business or living life. Either way, I now know that, no matter what, change is going to happen
Organizations have shifted into hyper-reactive, lesser-of-evils mode to survive using the same methods of "yesterday" in order to fulfill higher demands of today. Such is the impetus for the now familiar term: Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). No b
Those of us in the fire and life safety field need to spend the summer preparing new fire and life safety plans for new buildings. Staff and faculty may move from one part of campus to another, but they will need to be trained on new fire and life safety
In tough economic times, colleges and universities are finding creative revenue solutions. Colorado State University recently signed two corporate partnerships that go beyond traditional corporate sponsorships normally inked with universities (think spons
Fritz Edelstein compiles education news of note from the Department of Education, the Hill, and other sources.
The energy cost savings and performance contracting achieved by the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences allowed the University of Rhode Island to direct funds that would be spent normally on energy bills and maintenance costs into investments withi
People take little things for granted; a light will turn on when you hit the switch, a sink will drain after you pull the plug, and fields will be groomed and ready for action. Of course it takes a team of technicians to keep your campus up and running. T
Because they rely so much on technology, all college and university facilities directors, fire and life-safety managers, and police and security officers have the same nightmare: something bad happens and the technology fails to perform, allowing disaster
With its many attributes, including sustainability, long-term cost savings, durability, aesthetics, design flexibility, price, and more, metal makes an obvious option for higher education new construction or retrofit projects.
What are the trends for 2011 in regard to digital signage, and how is this technology used for emergencies, wayfinding, entertainment, and more? This article will answer those questions and provide some insight into what may be coming in the next few year
Traditionally associated with healthcare architecture, evidence-based design (EBD) is making inroads into being part of the process for designing schools, office spaces, hotels, restaurants, museums, prisons, and even residences. In short, EBD is when dec
There is no question that having a good education has a profound and positive impact on the individual student, the community, the labor market, the economy, and the country. Not having an adequate education increases unemployment rates and decreases earn
According to the Higher Education Employment Report for the first quarter of 2011 from HigherEdJobs, "The number of jobs in higher education grew 3.3 percent during the first quarter of 2011." This is the fastest growth in higher-ed jobs since 2
Over the past decade we have learned a great deal from the relatively small number of campus employees who properly detect our presence while conducting these types of assessments. Consistently, we find that the people who report us to security and police
Replacing unsustainable energy sources with clean wind collection will reduce UNT's carbon emissions, as well as energy costs. Ultimately, the turbines will help UNT meet its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral institution by producing clean, renewable elec
Now is a great time to perform a facilities checkup. This is not so much a full facility audit per se, but more of a systems or functions check. The intended outcome here is exactly the same as when a person goes to the doctor for a physical to make sure
As buildings age, budgets tighten, and tuitions rise, colleges and universities need to stretch their dollars through dual-purpose solutions that create environments to attract and retain students and faculty. The design of educational facilities is shift
Many in the higher education community already have cloud computing services in their portfolios, such as Blackboard, but which they don't think of as being in the cloud. Once that realization sets in, it'll be a natural next step to begin evalu
The need to get the most for the money means that administrators are often choosing building options other than "traditional" construction, including the use of precast, modular, and insulated concrete forms for a project's structure. The g
Today's campus dining design blends individual spaces to create a contemporary and fresh experience. The back kitchen area has been integrated with the front-of-house spaces, providing a graceful, flowing environment inviting to everyone. Dining and
Institutions of higher education are putting more emphasis than ever before on the physical plant that serves their students, faculty, and administrators. Instead of some small classrooms with moveable seats and some large auditoriums with fixed seats, wh
Take a look at three different systems deployed on different campuses: GateWay Community College in Phoenix uses a fire alarm system with a voice public address system as well as a network-based mass notification system; Gettysburg College in Gettysburg,
Let's face it, over the last few years everyone's budget has been optimized and right-sized till the eagle screams. But if a school doesn't stay on the cutting edge of technology it will lose its competitive edge. How does an IT department
Iowa State University received record amounts of rainfall last year with catastrophic results. While the damage was significant, reconstruction is complete and mitigation has begun. College Planning and Management checks in to see what happened and how th
While talking with several colleagues over the last few months about roles and responsibilities during emergencies, it was evident that some campuses struggle to clearly define senior management roles during large-scale events.
Duke University is no stranger to commissioning sustainable structures. With 290 buildings on more than 8,000 acres, the Durham, NC-based University boasts 25 U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifi
For the last several weeks, the focus of work and concern in Washington, D. C., has been the passage of the fiscal year 2011 federal budget and the threat of a Federal government shutdown. With their backs against the wall, congressional leadership and Pr
Suffolk University is a recognized leader in the campus sustainability movement, being named a City of Boston Green Business Award recipient in 2008, Massachusetts Wastewise Partner of the Year for 2009 from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental P
Messiah College's environmental sustainability efforts affect nearly all aspects of daily life at the College. Day to day, most students and employees probably don't think twice about all the recycling bins or that the vegetables in their salad
Greening the IT department makes good business sense. The IT department may be just the place to find savings simply because it has probably been overlooked as other departments have been scrutinized.
Wofford College earns LEED Platinum for an historic mill building's adapted reuse for environmental studies field station. Achieving accurate historic preservation can be challenging enough, but achieving LEED certification makes this building an equ
Iowa State University recently became one of the nearly 200 U.S. colleges and universities offering students reusable take-out containers, which hold down take-out costs for campus food service operations and for take-out customers, while providing a sust
Conventional laboratory buildings consume up to ten times the energy of typical buildings due to their specialized HVAC requirements, and older lab buildings were particularly energy inefficient. How does a university upgrade these laboratories to current
Georgetown University's Solid Waste and Recycling manager has several important goals: to bring sustainability leadership to the management of waste and recycling, to do so in a highly efficient and cost-effective way, and keep to the historic campus look
Each year the U.S. produces more than 4.5M tons of solid waste, much of which consists of recyclable or reusable materials. By reducing waste and creating more sustainable practices, colleges and universities could save thousands each year.
From meetings and discussions with community college leaders nationwide these themes of opportunity and challenge are consistent: changing perception, providing accessibility, raising the bar, making education affordable, designing spaces so that communit
Clearly, education is changing on many levels — the addition of technology, the advent of online education, the accessibility and ubiquity of information, the comfort level of students and professors in using technology, the delivery of education, th
While multitasking/multipurpose spaces have always been a part of K–12 facilities, they are becoming more and more prevalent in higher education settings. Flexible audio/visual systems allow large rooms to successfully host a variety of events from s
Security technology and IT have converged, but there are three steps to the process: personal relationships between the security director and the IT director, an IT director to guide the installation of security technology on a campus network, and the IT
The right building system choice can save a college or university a significant amount of time and money. The wrong system can suck up funds, energy, and man-hours. Here, we take a look at some of the current trends in building systems.