by Trina Mace Learned
Trina Learned
2015 will be a year of continued growth and excitement on college and university campuses, tempered by familiar pressures not likely to go away or diminish quickly.
Whether due to peer competition, the need to attract a diverse student body, changes in pedagogy, advances in technology, or simply ongoing pressures to phase out deferred maintenance and conserve scarce resources, institutions will continue to expect their campus physical plant to perform well in support of their mission.
Competitive advantage and the race to attract the best students: With a shrinking high school population and ever-increasing pressure for demonstrable outcomes from tuition dollars, institutions continue to work hard on admissions. Landscapes and entries, bright and shiny student and athletic centers, and residence halls with amenities greater than those at home are all front-and-center on the admissions tours. If students and families are attracted to the campus, if they can see themselves at the coffee bar with their laptop, they will apply.
Environmental stewardship will remain an important goal: Both students and faculty continue to subscribe to human values and our roles in the just and sustainable universe. Regardless of the rating system used (LEED, STARS, Energy Star, etc.) students expect academic institutions to set the example, offering high-performance buildings with a campus culture of acute energy and environmental stewardship. Alternative energy sources will continue to take focus, not just for central energy plants but also for vehicles, while best practices in recycling will govern how we manage diminishing quantities of food, paper, and plastic waste.
Scarce resources will continue to influence choices: As tuition rates remain under public scrutiny and pressures to meet diversity in the student body are realized by increasing financial aid awards, institutions are looking for new ways to meet both operating and capital costs. Auxiliary revenue sources need to be maximized, operating budgets continue to be trimmed, staffing is being cut, and capital budgets receive increased scrutiny. Construction projects, identified through master plans with costs estimated when market pressures kept annual rises to 3%, are now facing 6% to 8% escalation on materials and labor from the construction sector. Further burdens are being felt by ever-increasing code and compliance requirements. Therefore, construction projects may face pressure to limit scope as they accelerate schedules. And even today’s high investment earnings performance only now brings endowments back to pre-2008 levels.
In general, despite the ever-present technology carried by our students and even with interest in MOOCs, distance learning, Internet-based partnerships with universities on other continents, our brick-and-mortar residential academic institutions go on. In 2015, we will continue to see campuses renew and grow, ever dependent on the successful collaboration between administrators, teachers, learners, designers, engineers, and builders. Just as we have for decades, the education sector will work with its partners to assure that all resources (money, people, space, and time) are spent effectively and efficiently in support of our fundamental mission – imparting knowledge.
Trina Mace Learned is director of operations, facilities management and planning at Wellesley College.
