INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION
2. S o m e key points
In opening the discussion of this module, you should present the definitions of teaching and learning spaces. A n understanding of the meaning of these terms is essential to the review of the assessment methods.
Introduce the concept of space norms and show h o w they vary for different types of activities and different methods of instruction. Emphasize the benefits of space utilization surveys.
Underline the utility of creating an artificial 'pricing' formula for space for hours of the day and days of the w e e k . This strategy can have the effect of ensuring that the traditionally less attractive hours and days are fully utilized. In addition, the importance of utilizing space in evenings and weekends, as well as during vacation periods, should be underlined.
3. Conducting the group sessions
Participants have been asked to reflect upon the following questions which m a y serve to guide s o m e of the discussion on this module.
1. In your institution, is the management of space centralized or decentralized?
2 . D o norms exist in your institution for the use of space for teaching, learning, research and other activities?
3. In your institution, is standardized information collected o n space utilization?
4 . W h a t method is used to assess the utilization of space, and is it an effective method?
5. Is the management of space transparent in your institution?
INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION
In this module it might be useful to ask participants to identify their space- related management problems first. Then the discussion of the techniques, norms and assessment strategies can proceed in the context of real problems.
M o d u l e Nine: M a n a g e m e n t of space: trends a n d international experiences
1. A reminder of the objectives of the module
The following are the objectives for this module. They indicate what the participant should be able to do at the completion of the module.
1. Describe the major trends in space management in higher education.
2. Cite a number of approaches to space management taken in different countries.
3. List a number of strategies employed to improve space management.
2. S o m e key points
In this module, you reiterate some of the key points presented in the preceding module.
Y o u might wish to discuss the issue of campus housing for staff and students and the problems it presents. Course participants m a y have some interesting experiences relating to this issue. Y o u might also compare the relative advantages of centralized and decentralized space management procedures.
3. Conducting the group sessions
The following questions have been posed to the course participants for reflection prior to reading the module. They could be used to focus the discussion.
1. W h a t are the problems related to space management in your institution?
2. W h i c h of the examples given best relates to the situation in your university?
3. W h i c h of the strategies described to improve space management would be most useful for your institution?
M o d u l e T e n : M a n a g e m e n t of space: Exercises 1. S o m e key points
Emphasize the importance of norms of space allocation and utilization and their local context.
Stress the importance of a space inventory and audit, which is very important as it m a y bring out large areas of un/under-utilized space.
For most developing countries frequency rate m a y be low, but occupancy rate is very often higher than the norms because of overcrowding. T h e utilization rate (the product of frequency rate and occupancy rate) will hide such discrepancies. It should be noted that the manager must look at both indicators separately to identify where corrective measures need to be taken.
Mention that this exercise deals only with teaching facilities for the purpose of the learning materials, but that the scope can and should be broadened in a real-life situation. Significantly, m a n y developing countries have large campuses with enormous land areas which can be used for generation of income.
2. Conducting the group sessions
A s in the other modules with practical exercises, you should introduce the exercise by emphasizing that although improvement in space utilization can be easy to implement, space management has remained a neglected area, as will be seen in this exercise.
INSTITUTIONAL M A N A G E M E N T IN H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N
G o through the different tables and ask the participants to identify obvious discrepancies in the r o o m allocation and utilization. S o m e rooms of the university have never been used.
T h e manual exercise can be worked out individually even within the group setting. Here there is little scope for debate.
During the role-playing exercise to articulate the alternative scenarios, the participants should be encouraged to look for inadequacies in the allocation of facilities and their utilization (for example, d o you need a 'moot' court for the L a w faculty?). These areas should be corrected first with n e w parameters.
T h e next step is to encourage the participants to look into the future of the university and its mission, and to project space needs by faculty. Y o u should encourage them to explore the economies that could be m a d e by changing seating/working styles especially, with the introduction of n e w technologies in education (note that the use of computers has drastically changed space requirement in the classroom, laboratory and in the offices).
Explore the changes in the seating norms.
T h e real computer exercise is indeed short and will take less time than the earlier ones. Y o u m a y use the extra time to recapitulate s o m e of the earlier exercises.
Organize the plenary session so as to debate the alternative strategies proposed by the different groups and to discuss their relative merits and faults.
Introductory r e m a r k s
Y o u should reproduce the following guidelines for distribution to the participants well in advance of the course, so that they m a y have adequate time to prepare themselves for their attendance in the course.
Depending upon the number of participants and the choice of topics, you m a y wish to allocate one topic to each participant, or several topics to each.
If you allocate more than one topic to a participant, you should indicate that the first section should only be prepared once, as it is repeated in each topic as background information.