Instructional space analysis addresses facilities issues and unmet needs, and applies best designs and best practices to new construction and major renovations.
Classroom Utilization
Every semester, Planning calculates the utilization rate for each classroom and campus to track progress toward UMass Lowell 2020 Strategic Plan goal: A utilization rate approaching .450 (67% room usage & 67% seat fill), together with an even distribution of utilization across all classrooms, would mean an efficient use of classroom resources and reduce the need for new instructional space.
Faculty Classroom Survey
Besides classroom utilization, Planning and the Office of Registrar also monitor the physical conditions and other aspects of the classroom through a periodic faculty classroom survey, besides space inventory by the Planning FIS team and complaints received by Facilities Management. The survey also assesses faculty’s general satisfaction on classroom, examines faculty’s opinion toward future trends of instructional space, and identify any specific concerns from the faculty.
Planning, other divisions of Facilities Management, Office of Registrar, and Information Technology use the survey results to inform their corresponding priorities and policies in the classroom context. View the results of the 2017 Faculty Classroom Survey (pdf).
Best Design and Best Practices
Classroom design is a quick-changing field. The latest ideas such as highly customizable makerspace and Active Learning Classroom are very different from the traditional classroom and lecture hall layouts. However, not all of the newest and latest ideas may fit the specific needs at UMass Lowell. Planning uses classroom utilization and classroom information gathered by the survey and other means to determine which best designs and best practices would best fit the university’s needs in newly built classrooms and newly renovated classrooms.
If you have any planning questions or comments, please contact us via email: planning@uml.edu.