In addition to making it difficult to grow enrollments, a lack of available and appropriate classroom space limits an institution’s ability to make strategic change.

Most colleges and universities attempt to strategically growing certain programs that are considered mission-critical. Such growth allows them to meet the needs of prospective students and enhance its market position.

Changes in instructional techniques are also important strategic initiatives that academic space must support. These changes frequently increase the demand for specific instructional technology, high capacity spaces, and certain room layouts or types of seating.

Space management that supports these types of strategic change is as much about the makeup of academic space as it is the quantity. The school may have plenty of classrooms, but very few of those rooms may have been modified to fit its current needs. Additionally, renovation or new construction projects are often of little help. Why? These projects are typically initiated by an availability of funds for a specific department or non-academic use rather than a comprehensive analysis of the changing needs of the institution as a whole.

The unfortunate result of these factors is a space bottleneck, where the few rooms that meet the changing needs are completely booked during primetime. When this happens, space – not strategic and/or academic mission – dictates the direction of the institution.

Check back next week to learn how institutions are currently addressing this challenge.