ICM is a systematic approach to cleaning that entails using best practices to clean facilities and to measure the effectiveness of the cleaning program using a 21st-century version of the "white glove" approach.
Well-designed campus signage is part of a school's marketing toolkit, but it must also guide people of all abilities. Here's how to create ADA-compliant signage that is also streamlined, cohesive, and attractive.
Its first fire lit in December 2008, Middlebury College's biomass gasification plant is the result of several years of study, research, and collaboration between the College's students, faculty, staff, and trustees.
If LEED states that commissioning is the key to acquiring a building that performs as intended, what about building systems that were never commissioned? Short of a substantial system failure, can we assume optimal performance? The answer is absolutely no
While colleges and universities implement improved building design concepts, top-flight security camera systems, and truly amazing access control technologies, it is equally important to improve the awareness of students as a means to create the human sup
Despite numerous federal, state, and local codes requiring routine testing and documentation NFPA 101, International Fire Code, and International Building Code to name a few mandated testing of emergency lighting units remains a "hit or
In today's market, the cost of adding a sloped metal roof system over an existing roof is, in most cases, less than the cost of removing a flat roof, placing the removed materials in a landfill, and replacing it with a built-up roofing (BUR) or modif
Some say that interactive Websites aimed at the college crowd have crossed a line but just who isn't lying awake at night fretting this may startle you.
The Pell Grant program, originated in 1965, is seeing some changes lately. It received a boost in funding from the ARRA, and could see more changes with the proposed 2010 budget. Increasing the maximum grant awarded will help open up access to post-second
With the launch of YouTube EDU (www.youtube.com/edu) in March, Google has made available, for free, more than 200 full courses from 100 universities and colleges. Schools participating in YouTube EDU include MIT, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.
The environmental and financial cost of non-compliance can be high, and surprise inspections from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or state regulators routinely turn up multiple violations, even at campuses that consider their compl
Without changes in the way buildings are designed and constructed, costs will continue to rise. Total world consumption of marketed energy is projected to increase by 50 percent from 2005 to 2030, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration. As univers
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in St. Peter, MN. In an integrated and conscious effort to promote sustainable efforts, choices such as reusable to-go containers, high-efficiency wa
While the oil story is an important one, there is another pressing problem that has received little attention and is getting worse in more and more areas of the U.S. every year: chronic water shortages. Shortages are occurring in water-rich areas as well
Administrators committed to ensuring their campuses and surrounding communities are safe are also looking to align with contract security partners who want to provide security solutions with sustainability in mind. I lead the Higher Education division of
Youngstown State University (YSU), located in northeastern Ohio, encompasses approximately 4M sq. ft. Approximately 2M sq. ft. of the gross square footage is occupied as usable space. In 2006, YSU entered into a Performance Contract (PC) with a building e
What makes developing a sustainability plan so difficult is the disparate number of tangible and intangible elements that need to be considered, including energy use, campus mass transit, water use, recycling, indoor air quality, on-site alternative energ
When it comes to green initiatives, Western Kentucky University (WKU) in Bowling Green sticks to a very old-fashioned concept: Officials here emphasize less driving. And they do it by offering a bevy of cutting-edge technology solutions that give professo
Because data centers are such energy hogs, many building owners assume they can't pursue a LEED-certified green building because their center cancels out the sustainable effects of the rest of the building. But by applying some of the fundamental ten
They say a cluttered desk reflects a cluttered mind. We can also say that a cluttered janitorial closet may reflect a custodial crew that is disorganized, lacks efficient training, and is generally unprofessional. Further, a messy closet can cause a lot o
As storage technology evolves rapidly and is paralleled by what is proving to be an insatiable demand for stored information, institutions must tread very carefully. Short-term decisions will inevitably have a compounding effect. Planning and policies are
While change can be challenging, it also brings with it an opportunity for advancement and an air of excitement. With many alternatives for expansion whether it's a new building, addition, renovation, or combination it's best to ex
From time to time, campus officials have been attacked in their offices, on campus grounds, or in campus parking areas. Some of these attacks relate to angry students, employees who have been terminated or suspended, attacks by animal rights extremists, o
Video analytics enables video surveillance systems to look for and report suspicious activity occurs. Complex mathematical formulas underpin the video analytic software applications that can identify and track objects, offering powerful capabilities to co
It's a story as old as new furniture itself
what to do with the old stuff. Throwing away perfectly good furnishings doesn't make sense, so the shabbies get handed down and down and down until they end up in the maintenance department. Ther
It would appear that specifying flooring for an athletic facility would be a snap: hardwood floor for the gymnasium, resilient for the entryway and hallways, rubber for the exercise rooms. Well, appearances can be deceiving. The truth is, there are a lot
After adding everything from selecting suppliers to automating the process and recovering costs on the invoice side, integrated e-procurement efforts find savings of anywhere between five to 20 cents of every dollar. It adds up to significant dollars on t
Our current economic climate has affected numerous areas in higher education, including libraries. Private donors may be giving less to institutions, and often states have less money to offer to institutions. College and university libraries may find some
Today, campus quads are definitely spatial beings a "room" that the institutions have deemed important because they face the buildings into that space to form a unity, a statement that shouts, "We are a society of scholars." But
Just as colleges and universities are adopting Internet-based technologies for learning so, too, are campus mailrooms responding to changing marketplace conditions by adopting Web-based mailroom processing tools. Here are the stories of two universities&#
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