management files
The 2017 State of Facilities in Higher Education report analyzes new trends in higher education space management, provides insight into the challenges impacting campus facilities, and shares best practices for how college leaders can fund and manage their facilities in light of these challenges.
Many North American colleges and universities are pursuing a high-risk strategy to build new campus facilities as a way to reverse lagging student enrollment, according to a new report from Sightlines, a Gord- ian company that provides facilities intelligence and analysis for higher education institutions. The 2017 State of Facilities in Higher Educa- tion report from Sightlines found that, overall, there was more than 10 percent growth in campus space from 2007-2016 (the most recent period for which data is available), eclipsing enrollment growth of just 8 percent for the same 10-year period. This is the fourth consecutive year Sightlines has documented a trend of space growth outpacing enrollment growth on North American college campuses. “In light of the facilities management challenges facing higher educa- tion institutions — notably large segments of aging building stock and High-risk construction in the higher education market Growth in college campus space eclipses enrollment growth and increases stress on facilities management.
flattening if not declining enrollment trends — it’s extraordinary to see that many higher education decision-makers are choosing to add new buildings to their campuses,” said Mark Schiff, president of Sightlines. “While our research indicates that institutions are taking steps to invest more strategically in facilities resources, the vast majority continue to underestimate the renewal needs of deteriorating spaces while pushing high-risk investments into new facilities.” The gap between space growth and enrollment growth is even more pronounced for master’s and baccalaureate institutions. Master’s institutions saw an average enrollment growth of less than 4 percent from 2007-2016, but a growth rate in campus space of more than 12 percent during that same time period. Baccalaureate institutions have experienced minimal enrollment growth since 2007 but still averaged a 6 percent growth in campus space during the last decade. The only ex- ception was research universities, where 14 percent enrollment growth from 2007-2016 exceeded an average of 11 percent growth in campus space for the same period. Sightlines’ fifth annual report includes data from 366 higher education institutions in the U.S. and Canada, with a collective enrollment of 3.1 million students and 1.5 billion total square feet of campus space, including more than 52,000 buildings. Approximately 40 percent of the institutions in the study were private and 60 percent were public. Other highlights in the 2017 report included the following: Stressed service levels — Campus facilities operations budgets have failed to keep up with inflation, creating stress on service levels. The
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csengineermag.com
april 2018
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