Getting More Out of Your Classrooms: Tips for integrating utilization data & classroom space management

1. Getting More Out of Your Classrooms:Tips for integrating utilization data & classroom space management Fadi MuslehOffice of the Provost – Space Utilization Initiative Monika Dressler & Susan McDowell College of Literature, Science, and the Arts – Instructional Support Services MAIS Connection User Conference – November 2008

2. Today’s Agenda • Overview: • Space Utilization Initiative • Classroom Utilization Efforts • Case study: LSA Instructional Support Services • Wrap-up & Questions

3. Space Utilization Initiative Purpose • To explore how space and utilities are used on the Ann Arbor campus • To plan and manage these resources more effectively to better meet the University’s mission and needs Scope • General Fund (state funded) space on Ann Arbor campus • Excludes: Athletics, Housing & Unions, Hospital, Parking & Transportation

4. Executive Sponsorship & Project Team

5. Campus Partnerships & Involvement

6. Financial Challenges • Unpredictable State of Michigan funding • Volatile energy costs • Average 2% building growth (General Fund space) each year • Desire to decrease building growth to 1%

7. Areas Being Explored • Instructional • Research • Administrative • Other (food operations) • Information and systems • Business practices • Campus-wide policies or guidelines • Incentives to encourage better use of space • Shared space, technology

8. Classroom Utilization: Work to Date • Campus-wide target goals • Time utilization = 70% • Seat utilization = 65% • New classroom utilization data warehouse • Accompanying utilization reports in Business Objects

9. Report Samples

10. Report Samples (cont.)

11. Report Samples (cont.) For more information about utilization reports: http://www.provost.umich.edu/space/resources/classroom.html

12. Actual Classroom Utilization Today • Time utilization is highest in the Fall term • Drops in Spring and Summer • Overall utilization well below target of 70%

13. How the Data Will Be Used • Understand how current classrooms are used and if they meet departments’ needs • Planning ahead: • 50 to 70 classrooms will be added in the coming years • Important to identify underutilized, undesirable rooms • Identify opportunities to repurpose underutilized rooms for higher-priority academic and research needs of the University • Provost’s Office will be discussing classroom utilization during annual budget meetings with deans

14. Case Study:LSA Instructional Support Services MAIS Connection User Conference  Getting More Out of Your Classrooms  Slide 14

15. LSA ISS: Mission • Provide excellent learning environments for LSA faculty and students • Facilitate exceptional instructional opportunities enhancing creative, inquiry, and discovery … which make the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science and the Arts extraordinary.

16. LSA ISS: Services • Design and support of LSA instructional spaces • Support and manage LSA classrooms and equipment • Provide AV and IT equipment check-out services from 3 Locations • Plan, design, and implement instructional technology innovation • Train and assist campus community in using LSA equipment and classrooms • Facilitate connections to funding, resources, and other support structures • Provide staffing, support, and equipment for special events

17. Overall Challenges • Many classroom management levels within LSA: • College managed: scheduled centrally by Registrar and funded and supported by college • Departmentally managed: scheduled, funded, and supported by the individual LSA department • College managed w/ department priority: funded and supported by the college, but department given priority scheduling for courses and other department activities • Instruction takes place in many types of space • Traditional classrooms (room type 110) • Conference, meeting rooms, lounges, and so on …

18. Data Challenges • Data needed for classroom management is located in multiple systems • (M-Pathways, LSA MRS, LSA ISS database, and departmental systems) • Difficult to view classroom schedules • Difficult to view room attributes, such as furniture layout, AV and IT equipment, etc. • Room attributes recorded inconsistently…or not at all • No common campus-wide language for attributes (e.g. “overhead projector” has different meanings)

19. Enhancing the Classroom Experience Through Improved Utilization • Instructional • Research • Administrative • Other (food operations) • Information and systems • Business practices • Campus-wide policies or guidelines • Incentives to encourage better use of space • Shared space, technology

20. Information & Systems • Sharing and exposing data • Creation of online LSA ISS Classroom Database • Inventory of AV and IT assets • 360 degree views of each LSA managed room • Database structure and software shared with Engineering • www.lsa.umich.edu/ISS

21. Information & Systems (cont.) • Inventory room and assets on a regular basis • Update data and synching regularly with M-Pathways • Works with RO to ensure HEPROD (Student Administration) is updated with correct room assets. • Works with LSA Facilities to ensure HEPROD & FINPROD (Financial and Space Mgmt) data match, e.g. number of seats. • Reduce duplicate data entry and ensure high fidelity data in systems

22. Information & Systems (cont.) • Tying classroom scheduling and utilization data to other important efforts on campus • Energy conservation efforts • HVAC (fan) scheduling relies on knowing when a room is being used • Building security and hours of operation • DPS and emergency planning and preparedness

23. Policies & Business Practices for Better Classroom Management • A/V and IT support for anyone using LSA rooms • Encourage ad-hoc use of classrooms and technology by students and student groups • Enforce guidelines about class start times and days offered to ensure classes don’t sit empty during desirable times • Clearly define college vs. department responsibilities for classroom management in LSA Space Policy. • http://www.lsa.umich.edu/facstaff/facilities/policies

24. Incentives to Encourage Better Use of Space • Implement LSA key performance indicator (KPI) to teach more classes outside of peak hours of 10am–2pm • LSA Dean’s Office analyzes classroom schedules to determine % of classes taught during peak hours • Gives priority room assignments to departments who meet the KPI (“good citizens list”)

25. Incentives to Encourage Better Use of Space (cont.) • How does this KPI improve scheduling and utilization? • Encourages departments to place courses more evenly throughout day • Reduces the number of scheduling conflicts a student encounters (fewer overlapping courses) • Allows more access to desirable classroom spaces

26. Incentives to Encourage Better Use of Space (cont.) • Departments wanting better classroom technology and support can turn to LSA • Department transfers official ownership back to LSA • LSA invests in technology and other rooms assets • Room is centrally scheduled and open to other departments for use • Department gets scheduling priority for courses and several hours a week marked for other department activities

27. Shared Space & Technology • Encourage the use of LSA classrooms from other schools, colleges, departments and the public • Provide similar technology and support in all centrally scheduled classrooms for ease of use by the U-M community

28. Shared Space & Technology (cont.) • Maintain open dialog with other units (RO and Engineering) to ensure a common language is used to describe and request technology • Make room asset and attribute information available online for U-M community to view (LSA ISS classroom database)

29. Next Steps MAIS Connection User Conference  Getting More Out of Your Classrooms  Slide 29

30. Next Steps Data and Systems: • Continue efforts to accurately record and maintain classroom data (courses, meetings, room assets), which: • Ensures proper course/room placements • Helps to indentify poor quality space for investment or repurposing • Ensure that schools, colleges, departments, Provost’s Office, and Registrar’s Office make decisions about classrooms based on accurate data • Efforts are underway, as part of the Space Utilization Initiative, to develop a campus-wide system to address some data issues above

31. Next Steps (cont.) Cultural shift: • View classrooms as an institutional resource to benefit the campus as a whole • Increase transparency of classrooms available on campus • Promote sharing of rooms and technology across departments and schools

32. Q & A • What are other best practices or local solutions in other schools, colleges and departments? • What challenges do you have with space or classroom data? • What is on your classroom scheduling wish list? • System features? Policy? Technology? • How do you want to be communicated to about classroom utilization efforts?

33. Contact Us LSA Instructional Support Services: Monika Dressler: mdressle@umich.edu Susan McDowell: gocoach@umich.edu Website: www.lsa.umich.edu/iss Space Utilization Initiative: Fadi Musleh: fmusleh@umich.edu Website: www.provost.umich.edu/space