Planning News & Resources

Google is stepping up to the plate and providing CornellNYC Tech with start-up space:

"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Google Inc. CEO Larry Page and Cornell President David J. Skorton today announced that Google will allocate 22,000 square feet of its New York headquarters to CornellNYC Tech, while the university completes its campus on Roosevelt Island. The space will allow Cornell to build its presence in New York in close proximity to the tech companies and entrepreneurs with whom it will collaborate. This arrangement represents Google, Cornell, Technion and the City of New York’s commitment to educating and developing engineering and tech talent in New York City. Google will initially provide Cornell with 22,000 square feet of office space on July 1, 2012, free of charge for 5 years and 6 months or until the completion of Cornell’s campus on Roosevelt Island—whichever occurs first. Additionally, Cornell will be able to expand to 58,000 square feet over five years as it builds its presence in New York City."

This author, Julia Nugent of HMFH Architects, is a SCUP member:

"A residential master plan also informs overall campus planning because it addresses such a significant portion of an institution’s buildings. It allows a more thoughtful approach to campus projects, so that a new science facility is not competing with a first-year community for university funds, building sites, and attention. And finally, an effective plan supports programmatic decision-making on campus, allowing leaders to look at their institution as a whole and focus on areas that need attention. If, for example, a university concludes that it must offer a first-year experience that bridges the transition from home to campus life, then it may need to reconsider placing freshman in three residence towers near the athletic complex because smaller housing communities are reserved for juniors and seniors. Here, the residential master plan would help by articulating the current system, how existing facilities could be used differently, and what new construction might be integrated into the campus fabric to achieve these goals.

It can be easy to be lulled by the expediency of repairing buildings each summer as issues come up, when the overall condition of residential facilities should be considered. Replacing bathroom fixtures in Residence X because it will reduce water consumption is good, but in a residential master plan, university leaders can see how Residence X fits into the entire campus and whether Residence X, new bathrooms or not, meets student needs and the overall residence life program."

They're exciting. Yes. But we, also, have wondered what the business plan is. The Chronicle editor Jeff Selingo muses:

"With some real dollars at stake, do these elite universities know something about the future of higher education that the rest of us don’t? Or with their billions in endowments, do they have the luxury of throwing money at ideas, to see which ones stick? Or are they simply altruistic, and want to provide free education to the world?

From where I sit, it doesn’t seem like any of these universities have a business plan for these massive open online courses or MOOC’s, as they are known. In recent weeks, at various gatherings, I’ve heard plenty of ideas for a business model, although I’m not sure all of them are viable. They could eventually follow the iTunes model and sell access to a course for $1.99. That starts adding up to real money if you get 100,000+ people to sign up. Depending on the course subject, they could sell access to corporate recruiters. That’s essentially what Sebastian Thrun did last fall, when he sent the résumés of his best students from his Stanford MOOC to Google and other Silicon Valley companies.

Perhaps the best idea I’ve heard so far is that the universities could use these courses as an alternative admissions system."

A new role for land grant institutions?

"As modern economics continue to encroach on the family farm and as jobs move to cities, people – especially young people – are fleeing rural America. The problem isn’t new and isn’t unique to this corner of southeast Nebraska. But after years of false starts and failed efforts to reverse depopulation, University of Nebraska researchers believe they’re building an infrastructure that will help revitalize rural parts of their state that, in many cases, have been shedding residents for half a century or more.

The project makes sense in both the abstract and the concrete. As a land-grant university, the university’s flagship campus in Lincoln is charged with working in rural communities and training the state’s agricultural workers. Speaking more practically, fewer and fewer students are graduating from Nebraska high schools each year, making it harder for college recruiters to fill their entering classes with in-state students. State appropriations to the university are also lagging.

A booming rural Nebraska, the theory goes, could bring a replenished tax base and more in-state applicants."

This image of the opening session is shared by SCUP board member Ken Higa.

Provocative:

"Senior campus technology leaders should be held accountable for developing and delivering on plans to:

• Increase Quality
• Increase Access
• Reduce Costs

Every project that technology touches (which now means most things we do in higher ed) should be looked at through the lenses of quality, access and costs. It is no longer adequate to address one or two legs of this three legged stool."

The city did not want to recognize an educational exemption for the college's planned retirement community. However:

"The college says its Regis East project would be an educational facility, where the residents, 55 and older, would be required to take at least two courses per semester. The housing would also create internships for Regis students in gerontology and social work."

The college just won.