Resources
Mackin Harland Consulting is pleased to share resources that may be of value to others. These are provided for re-use, on condition that attribution of the author(s) and source is included with such use.
Space Utilisation and Space Chargeback
One approach to space management - intended to encourage better management of space in devolved institutions - is broadly referred to as 'space chargeback'. The theory is that university departments required to 'pay' for the space they use will make better decisions about using the space in a more efficient manner. However the approach runs the risk of replacing 'poor space management' with 'poor financial management'. This early paper approaches university space management from a broader, behavioural perspective, and makes important points. More recent quantitative case studies of space charge-back in universities have presented evidence that supports this early work.
“The Black Holes of Space Economics”, Dr Elizabeth Shove
Benchmarking and Quality
When universities adopt 'automated' constraint-based timetabling software, it becomes possible to build the timetable afresh each year, or even to create several different timetables for the following year, applying different scheduling priorities and policies. At this point, the question arises - Which timetable is better, and why? Is the timetable better (or worse) because of factors that made it easier (or harder) to schedule? Apart from measurements of room utilisation, what other measures might be used to assess the quality of a university timetable?
This paper was the first to address those questions, and to consider how the quality of a timetable might be measured in a manner that permits both comparisons between different timetables, permits analysis at both departmental and university-wide levels, and provides measures that can be used when different institutions have quite different goals for their timetable. View PDF.
Sustainability and Space Utilisation
John Pryzibilla's presentation "Optimising the sustainable performance of classroom space" has been made fully accessible by the conference organiser:
Video:
Presentation slides:
http://slideplayer.us/slide/1416644/
Mackin Harland Consulting is a keen supporter of professional development for higher education practitioners, and both principals are Fellows of the Association for Tertiary Education Management.