Tom Hier B IDDISON H IER, L TD. Consultants to Higher Education Classrooms: New Tools for Managing a Neglected Resource 20 July 2004 SCUP-39 Annual Conference Toronto, Ontario Margaret Dyer-Chamberlain S TANFORD U NIVERSITY Presenters

2 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Today’s Topics  Why is classroom planning important?  What is a Classroom Management Plan (CMP)?  Case Studies  Dartmouth College  Stanford University

Classroom instruction is a critical aspect of an institution’s mission. Yet classrooms, with no natural advocate, are among the most neglected spaces on campus.

4 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. “Neglected Resources”

5 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 4 Reasons Why Classroom Planning is Important  In a budget reduction environment, administrators are pressured to cut costs and improve productivity. Budget Cutting Environment Underperforming Assets Create Opportunities for Improvement Capital Cost Avoidance Imperfect Information  Classrooms are in some ways “low hanging fruit.” There are relatively easy and significant opportunities to get more productive use out of existing classrooms through better policies and management of classroom resources.  Often targeted investment in existing facilities can yield great benefits, while minimizing or avoiding the need to build expensive new facilities.  Planners are typically on the front-line in planning classroom space, often with little or no accurate measure of the true need. Classroom planning provides hard, quantifiable data on need

What is a Classroom Management Plan?

7 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. “Classroom Management Plan” Defined Definition: A roadmap that identifies realistic, implementable solutions to the physical, pedagogical, scheduling, technology, operational and funding issues that have historically challenged good management of classroom resources  Need to refurbish and modernize antiquated classrooms Physical  Perceived large supply of rooms but space unavailable when and where needed  Ad hoc approaches to determining need for and mix of instructional media  Lack of adequate funding for even basic classroom maintenance and upgrades (furnishings, technology, etc.)  Decentralized control and authority for classroom scheduling, planning and operations  Inadequate mix of classroom types to support existing and emerging pedagogies Pedagogical Scheduling Operations / Management Technology Funding What is a Classroom Management Plan?

8 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Developing a Classroom Management Plan  Classroom Analysis and Modeling  Quantitative Profile  Review of Qualitative Factors  Productivity Measures  Applying the Classroom “Fix-It” Tool Kit  Outcomes: The Roadmap What is a Classroom Management Plan?

9 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Classroom Analysis and Modeling  Illustrates adequacy of the existing inventory QUANTITATIVE PROFILE What is a Classroom Management Plan?

10 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Classroom Analysis and Modeling Physical Conditions REVIEW OF QUALITATIVE FACTORS Geographical Considerations Ownership & Management Pedagogical Requirements What is a Classroom Management Plan?

11 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Classroom Analysis and Modeling  Room utilization by  Time of day  Campus area  Room size  Scheduler  Seat utilization  By room  Migration patterns PRODUCTIVITY MEASURES Seat Migration Patterns What is a Classroom Management Plan?

12 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Classroom Analysis and Modeling  Renovation and reconfiguration  Refurnishing  Equipment upgrades CLASSROOM “FIX-IT” TOOL KIT Management Policies Utilization Targets Scheduling Changes Physical Changes  Adherence to standard scheduling blocks  Pre-enrollment planning  Policies re: peak vs. non- peak hour scheduling  Room utilization  Seat utilization  Classroom “ownership”  Organizational structure  Budgeting and funding What is a Classroom Management Plan?

13 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Outcomes 1.The “optimal”classroom inventory: how many and of what sizes 2.Upgrades in quality through:  Modernization of furnishings and fixtures  Classroom reconfigurations 3.Scheduling policies that facilitate better use of classrooms 4.Technology plan  Baseline requirements  Distribution campus-wide  Refresh rates 5.Changes in organizational structure and management policies required to maximize efficient use of classroom resources consistent with the institutional culture and preferred pedagogies 6.Capital investments and phasing / funding plan required to support the implementation of the plan THE ROADMAP What is a Classroom Management Plan?

Case Study: Dartmouth College  Existing Conditions

15 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Overall, Dartmouth’s room inventory is aligned with demand. At each room size, there are a greater number of hours available for scheduling than there are courses. Alignment of Supply and Demand Dartmouth College: Existing Conditions

16 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Room Utilization: By Time of Day Rooms are scheduled using about 42% of available hours from 9am to 5pm. Peak usage (55%) occurs between the hours of 10am and 1pm. Dartmouth College: Existing Conditions

17 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Room Utilization: by Room Size Room sizes in greatest demand are:  11 to 21 seats  22 to 49 seats Together, they comprise the bulk of the inventory (73%) and house most of the courses (76%) Dartmouth College: Existing Conditions

18 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Seat Utilization Seat utilization for the classroom inventory as a whole is 50% -- that is, about ½ the seats in a room are filled on average. The room size with the highest seat utilization is the 11 to 21 seat range Dartmouth College: Existing Conditions

Case Study: Dartmouth College  Existing Conditions  Key Issues

20 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Registrar vs. Departmental Scheduling Dartmouth College: Key Issues  The Registrar schedules only 59% of rooms, but must place 80% of all courses in these rooms.  The remaining 41% of rooms are scheduled by departments.  In the room sizes in greatest demand -- under 21 seats -- about 2/3 (65%) of rooms are scheduled by departments. 3 Key Findings 1 2

21 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Registrar vs. Departmental Scheduling Dartmouth College: Key Issues  Generally, Registrar-scheduled classrooms are used more intensively than departmentally-scheduled classrooms.  On average, the Registrar schedules 7.71 course events (‘X’ hours are counted separately from course hours) per classroom.  Departments schedule, on average, 4.29 courses per classroom.  The difference in room use is a factor of almost 2. 3

22 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Departmental Zones Geographic Accommodation Dartmouth historically has provided a high degree of accommodation to its departments in scheduling courses. The campus is partitioned into 49 zones for scheduling purposes. 30 of these zones are dedicated to accommodating departmental room preferences. 22 of these 30 partitions have only 1 or 2 rooms. Actual average seat utilization at 50% reflects the high degree of geographic accommodation. As a reference point, if scheduling were done without regard to geography, average seat utilization could be as high as 88%. Dartmouth College: Key Issues

23 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Dartmouth Culture  Dartmouth’s ability to make full use of its scheduling day is affected by certain cultural factors.  Difficulty of subscribing 8am courses  Students’ afternoon commitments for athletic / extra-curricular programs  Departments’ natural instinct to want to teach in rooms that they have “fitted” to their uses because they work  Dartmouth also has an “X” hour associated with each time block; scheduling the “X” hour is at the faculty’s discretion.  69% use the “X” hour less than 40% of the term. 22% use it 5% to 10% Dartmouth College: Key Issues

24 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Inadequate Room Features  For modern pedagogies, technology and other room features are as important as the room capacity itself. Rooms that lack appropriate fit-out may be underutilized even where seating capacity is adequate.  Current classrooms are “conservative and outdated.” Some arranged like “aircraft carriers.”  Preferred furnishing layouts (movable tables and chairs and seminar spaces) are also in relatively short supply; for pedagogies requiring flexible room furnishings, fixed seating makes a room unusable.  Only 20% to 60% of rooms have the equipment in greatest demand permanently installed. Dartmouth College: Key Issues

25 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Inadequate Room Features Room Features In Current Inventory Dartmouth College: Key Issues

26 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Match of Seat Capacities to Room Sizes  Although inventory in “high demand” room sizes (11 to 21 and 22 to 49 seats) is adequate, physical inspection of these rooms revealed overcrowding in some rooms – too many seats to fit comfortably based on the rooms’ square footage and layout Dartmouth College: Key Issues Room Size 11 to 21Size 22 to 49 Rooms ->

27 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Diffused Organization  KEY FINDING: Many interests represent various aspects of classrooms but no one entity represents Dartmouth’s institutional interests with respect to classrooms  Quantity of classrooms, in total or by area of campus, can expand or contract without explicit review process  Capital planning process for a building does not necessarily include an explicit representative for classrooms  Depending on funding sources for new construction, replacement classrooms may become controlled by department rather than Registrar  In renovation, classrooms may become converted to faculty offices or other uses  Absence of specific control has led to creation of various ad hoc committees to manage on an issue-by-issue basis:  Resource25 Group  Classroom Committee  Classroom Working Group  Scheduling committees Dartmouth College: Key Issues

28 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Existing Organizational Relationships Dartmouth College: Key Issues

29 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 1 Registrar vs. departmental scheduling Recap of Key Issues  While distribution by size is adequate, “over- furnishing” rooms to meet demand for popular sizes creates uncomfortable learning environments 2 Geographic accommodation 3 Culture / Length of scheduling day 4 Inadequate room features 5 Match of seat capacities to room sizes  Limits the ability to schedule existing rooms that are otherwise adequate (in size, location, etc.)  Policy decisions about scheduling day determine size of the inventory  Results in low and widely varying seat utilization  Results in disproportionately more intensive use of Registrar’s inventory 6 Diffused organization  Makes it nearly impossible to plan for all aspects of classroom scheduling and management in a coherent way Dartmouth College: Key Issues IssueSignificance

Case Study: Dartmouth College  Existing Conditions  Key Issues  Recommendations and Solutions

31 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Recommendations and Solutions 1.Appoint a Classroom Manager 2.Reduce departmental “ownership” of classrooms in favor of a system that gives departments scheduling priority in their preferred geographic locations / room(s) 3.Adopt software for modeling and potentially scheduling 4.Adopt baseline standards that shall apply to all Dartmouth classrooms 5.“Rightsize” classroom inventory 6.Allocate sufficient capital funding over the next 5 years to bring classrooms to recommended standards Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions

32 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 1 Appoint a Classroom Manager  The Concept  “Classroom Manager” is an emerging administrative concept  Developed as a way to manage the classroom resource  In place at Stanford, Princeton, University of Minnesota  Rationale  Management and operation of classrooms involves multiple entities (administrative / academic offices, ad hoc committees) on campus, with few formalized procedures to guide functional relationships; leads to problems of coordination, quality, competitiveness, etc.  Responsibilities  Classroom Manager has the authority and responsibility to set classroom management policies, procedures and standards and to represent Dartmouth College’s interests in classrooms  Classroom Manager’s primary responsibilities are strategic management and coordination of activities that affect classrooms, e.g.:  Determine funding requirements  Design and implement classroom policies  Coordinate scheduling and management of space  Coordinate classroom improvement and construction projects  Approve changes to classroom use Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions

33 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Proposed Functional Relationships Classroom Manager  Management  Funding and budgeting  Policy setting  Coordination Scheduling  Registrar  Departments  Conference & Events Technology  INSV  Classroom Committee  Administrative Computing  Academic Computing Operations  FO&M Capital Projects  Facilities Planning  FO&M  INSV  Registrar  Departments Coordination Function Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions

34 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 2 Reduce Departmental Ownership Reduce departmental “ownership” of classrooms in favor of a system that gives departments scheduling priority in their preferred geographic location / room(s) Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions  Institutional interests are best served if classrooms are constructed, scheduled, equipped and maintained in the context of the classroom inventory as a whole (e.g., size, mix, equipment, etc.)  Reduces the need to duplicate costly resources that can be shared  Minimizes the inequities between departmental “haves” and “have nots”  Dartmouth has a history of localized proximity to classrooms – a tradition that provides opportunities to build community around academic endeavors (classrooms proximate to faculty offices, sense of departmental identity for both students and faculty)  Implications:  Supporting this tradition requires some “overage” in the inventory  Leads to low overall seat utilization and widely varying seat utilization by campus zone

35 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd.  OPTION 1: Adopt a “zone and room feature” scheduling protocol and gradually reduce the number of “micro-zones” (i.e., with 1 to 2 rooms) over time  Allow departments to specify geographic and room feature preferences; software schedules according to an “optimizing algorithm”  OPTION 2: Adopt a “room preference /distributed day” scheduling protocol  Allow departments latitude to identify preferred rooms, but require that scheduling be distributed more evenly throughout day (i.e., beyond “prime time”)  In general, Dartmouth has adequate capacity for departments to have a high degree of choice in selecting rooms if non-peak hours are scheduled more intensively 2 Reduce Departmental Ownership TWO OPTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions

36 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 3 Adopt Scheduling / Modeling Software Adopt software to assist Dartmouth in modeling utilization on an ongoing basis. Consider use of software for scheduling purposes as well. Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions  Rationale:  Ongoing modeling permits Dartmouth to monitor room utilization and identify opportunities to improve use of classroom resources  Modeling also enables Dartmouth to assess the impact of changes resulting from this study (implementation of policies, temporary removal of rooms for renovation, etc.).

37 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 4 Adopt Baseline Standards for all Classrooms Adopt standards whereby all classrooms meet a base quality level that ensures that all Dartmouth College students have reasonably equal classroom experiences Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions  Rationale  Eliminates inequities among classrooms  Improves learning environment and competitive position of Dartmouth by upgrading lighting, room comfort, technology, seating, other furnishings and equipment  Achieves economies in procurement and maintenance of classrooms  Standards ensure reasonable match of seat capacity to room size, regardless of configuration, and remedies current condition of overcrowding in some rooms  Furnishings can be matched to room type and pedagogy based on seat count per space standards

38 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Proposed Space Standards  Technology replacement cycles should be adopted for all new construction and renovation projects, e.g.:  3 year cycle: computers  4 year cycle: computer displays, data / video projection systems  8 to 10 year cycle: AV equipment  Emphasize “user-friendliness” and ease of use, e.g.:  Standard controls  Dimmable lighting  Placement of screens vs. blackboards SPACE STANDARDSTECHNOLOGY STANDARDS Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions

39 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 5 “Rightsize” Classroom Inventory Rightsize the inventory to adhere more closely to the proposed space standards 21 rooms are rightsized  Seat capacity reduced in 17 and increased in 4 Overall impact  Adds 5 rooms to the 11 to 21 seat category, where the need is highest  Reduces the inventory of 50 to 124 seat rooms, which are in relatively low demand  Results in 140 fewer seats in inventory Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions  Rationale  Improves the quality of the classroom experience  Shifts inventory out of larger capacities into smaller capacities where there is greater demand

40 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. 6 Allocate Sufficient Capital Funding Allocate sufficient capital funding over the next 5 years to bring classrooms up to the standards recommended in this report, and create capital outlay plan that serves as a roadmap for reinvestment in classrooms Dartmouth College: Recommendations and Solutions  Rationale  No formal mechanism for developing capital budgets based on physical condition of classroom and priority of need  To the extent that there is coordination of budgets, it is through individual efforts  To accomplish the proposed recommendations will require a more substantial investment that the relatively minor annual funding provided to the Classroom Committee  Comprehensive phasing / funding plan for renovation of 50 priority classrooms is recommended as part of the Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan  The plan is “time specific”, on the order of 5 to no more than 7 years, and covers technology, lighting, furnishings, equipment and general classroom modernization

Case Study: Stanford Graduate School of Business  Existing Conditions

42 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Critical Questions  What should be done to improve existing classrooms if the Graduate School of Business (GSB) remains in its current facilities for 10 years / 15 years / 20 years?  Is there a need for a new building? If so…  Should it be a classroom building?  What would be the critical features from the perspective of instructional space?  Views on location? Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

43 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Physical Conditions Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

44 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Supply: Room Inventory  The inventory is comprised of 21 rooms – 17 in South and 4 in Littlefield – including two special purpose rooms.  76% of the inventory is in rooms seating more than 40.  Most of South is large rooms; most of the small rooms are in Littlefield. Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

45 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Demand: Overview of Courses  The Business School scheduled 90 to 100 courses per term (excluding summer). The autumn term was the most heavily scheduled.  Approximately 80% to 85% of regularly scheduled courses were for the MBA program. Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

46 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Standard vs. Non-Standard Teaching Times  There is a strong adherence to standard time blocks (89% of MBA, 80% of Exec Ed and 50% of PhD)  The majority of courses (59%) were taught in the middle two periods (10am to 11:45am and 1:20pm to 3:05pm) Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

47 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Distribution by Course Enrollment  The distribution of course hours between “small” (1 to 25), “medium” (26 to 40) and “large” (41 to 75) enrollments shows what size rooms are in greatest demand  In autumn and winter, 1/3 of courses are small, ~10% medium and 60% large.  In spring, about 1/3 are small, about ¼ are medium, and half are large. Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

48 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Demand vs. Supply  The chart below compares the number of hours to be scheduled each term (the “demand”) with the number of hours available for scheduling (the “supply”) for small, medium and large classes.  There is significantly more capacity vis-à-vis need in large rooms.  There is insufficient capacity in the 26 to 40 range. Sloan / Exec Ed Rooms Course Hours vs. Available Room Hours, by Size Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

49 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd.  For each room below, the chart provides a view of the relative number of classes that are poorly aligned (red) and well-aligned (light / medium blue) to the room’s size (shown in dark blue). Current Scheduling Patterns vs. “Optimal Alignment” Demand vs. Supply Number of Seats in Room Classes Poorly Aligned to Room Size Classes Well Aligned to Room Size Stanford GSB: Existing Conditions

Case Study: Stanford Graduate School of Business  Existing Conditions  Recommendations

51 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Optimal Inventory  The chart below shows the optimal inventory assuming the current 4 day / 4 period scheduling pattern and room utilization assumptions of 60% (close to current practice) and 67% (target). Stanford GSB: Recommendations

52 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd.  Current classrooms are not adequate and cannot be made adequate given the constraints of the South building.  South classrooms do not meet competitive / contemporary standards.  Classrooms cannot accommodate aisles, which are preferred for pedagogical reasons, and still meet capacity requirements.  Large (~150 seat) classroom – which is desirable for review sessions, outside speakers and potentially some larger courses – cannot be comfortably accommodated within existing building.  Difficult to accommodate any significant number of group study rooms.  The GSB should plan to build a new classroom building.  Regardless of when and where a new classroom building comes on line, improvements should be made to the existing classroom inventory. Is there a need for a new building? Should it be a classroom building? Yes… Stanford GSB: Recommendations

53 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Recommended Instructional Space Program  The recommended conceptual program for instructional space is as follows: Stanford GSB: Recommendations

54 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Suggested Improvements for Existing Classrooms “ Rightsize” the existing inventory Stanford GSB: Recommendations  Use variable per seat square footage allocations to dedensify classrooms and improve mix where possible, using the “ideal” inventory as a target.  Note that existing envelopes are not large enough to dedensify the largest rooms to a desirable square footage allocation (shown in green).

55 Bh Biddison Hier, Ltd. Suggested Improvements for Existing Classrooms  Upgrade furnishings, fixtures and equipment  Replace and reconfigure tables to allow for the addition of aisles where possible  Seats: If loose seats are used where possible, they may be used in new facilities once built.  Lighting: Modernize lighting to create zones and ability to raise and lower illumination levels.  Technology  Significant investments in technology in the existing facilities are not warranted:  Costs to retrofit  Speed of change in technology  Not required by current pedagogy at Stanford  However, design of a standardized podium would facilitate faculty use, can be maintained more easily by IT staff, and could be easily relocated to any new facility. Stanford GSB: Recommendations

Q & A

For further Information Please contact: Thomas Hier Principal Biddison Hier, Ltd. Consultants to Higher Education 4315 Fifteenth Street, NW Washington, DC Phone: (202) Web: Margaret Dyer-Chamberlain Director of Capital Planning Stanford University 655 Serra Building, Second Floor Stanford, CA Phone: (650)