As universities plan for campus improvements in 2020 and beyond, several trends are dominating the conversation, according to research conducted by several higher education professionals and Planon, the leading, global provider of Integrated Workplace Management System (IWMS) solutions for real estate and facility management professionals.
The discussion around the Campus of the Future has been building for years, and facilities professionals looking to align with their own university’s mission and overall strategy are focusing on these five trends in 2020:
- Delivering actionable insights: Delivering accurate real estate and facilities data is critical for universities looking to make the right decisions on space and maintenance with limited budgets. Universities are consolidating redundant and disbursed systems, recognising the need for one integrated system to bring relevant data together in an overview that provides actionable insights and allows faster decision-making.
- Improved reporting capabilities at every level – strategic, tactical, and operational: Leadership teams must be able to communicate clearly to all stakeholders about important university goals – and stakeholders need to report to leadership on how they contribute and perform. Universities are exploring how an integrated campus management system can significantly improve their information dashboards and reporting capabilities.
- Sustainability and future-proofing operations: Universities will feel continued pressure around how they can report on and contribute to global sustainability goals in order to meet student expectations. Social responsibility and reputation, locally and globally, are critical to the future of a university.
- Campus access and safety: Facilities teams aim to improve work order response time and student safety and satisfaction by offering tools such as apps and kiosks to give students better access to facilities requests. As online learning programmes continue to grow, universities must excel at accommodating commuting students and provide the right connectivity technologies, quality video conferencing services, and online security.
- Event planning and utilisation of campus space: Campus facilities teams are experiencing an increase in the number of events, as well as a diversification in the type of events they manage. Those who can accurately track how their space is utilised can be more effective at reimagining and redesigning spaces to support changing diversity on campus.
For more information about campus management trends in 2020, check out the full higher education research report from Planon.