Ask the Architect: What Are Some Questions College Administrators Should Ask Themselves Before They Start Planning for the Future? #Architect #UniversityArchitect #Ideas #Design #Planning

Sometimes Architects Design and Sometimes They Ask Questions – Here are 50 Questions for College Administrators to Consider as They Prepare to Plan For Their Future:

1. As an institution what are we good at? What are we not so good at?
2. Where do we want to go – What is our vision for where we are headed – academically and as a family of diverse individuals?
3. How will people of all ages (continue to) learn in the future?
4. How will students live, communicate, develop, work, play, share?
5. What is the hierarchical structure of education (Provost, students, Student-Life; Administration vs Educators)?
6. How can we address “Exclusivity Vs Inclusivity” within education (i.e., white, blue, green collars all working together)?
7. What traditions do we want to keep?
8. What traditions do we want to eliminate?
9. How can we offer more value?  How can we offer more by spending less?
10. How can we accelerate/decelerate the process – what needs to speed up and what needs to slow down?
11. How can we attract more students from in-state and from out-of-state?
12. How can we offer more online/hybrid and flip classroom learning?  What other educational methods should we explore?
13. Who are our clients? Can we identify the student of the future (identity, celebrate, identity)?
14. How can we establish a “network” of future business/professional relationships?
15. How can we enable a positive transformation of self-awareness and development into early adulthood?
16. The “College Experience,” what does this mean?  What will it mean in the future?
17. How can we become more sustainable?  Are we creating a culture that values the planet?
18. What are some sustainable strategies that we do well, what are some we need to work on?
19. How can we utilize our spaces more efficiently during off-hours?
20. How can we provide better connections to the outdoors, nightlife, theater, arts, dining, sports and other events?
21. How can we offer more opportunities for community engagement?
22. How can we consider the college campus as a living laboratory?
23. What is the changing role of the professor/instructors?
24. How can we form better interdisciplinary relationships from different colleges to inter-pollinate ideas with one another?
25. How can we focus and capitalize on our strengths instead of our weakness?
26. Is the “Tiny house” concept viable for student housing?
27. Instead of student housing should we follow a “hotel” model?
28. What does a student center of the future look like? What is a library of the future look like? 
29. Can we create a new model for (higher) education so our students never stop learning/growing?
30. Is it viable to transform from a singularly “degree” approach to a “tool box” approach where students gain the building blocks they need for that stage of their career?
31. What are some public/private partnership opportunities?
32. How can we promote health and wellness on our campus?
33. How can we create a walkable campus for all our students and guests?
34. How can we support our professors and researchers?
35. How can we develop programs that engage the residents of the state?
36. How can we develop a culture of caring and giving that shares the same positive values?
37. How can we capitalize on our close relationship with local parks?
38. How can we create a better connection with urban areas – Jersey City, Patterson, New York City, etc.?
39. How can we become an “Innovation” district in our state?
40. How can we start recruiting students at an earlier age?
41. How can we better retain our students?
42. How can we better support our students educational goals?
43. How can we offer the best college experience for our students?
44. How can our built facilities improve lives of the people we serve?
45. How can our grounds improve lives of the people we serve?
46. How can our people (bus drivers, gardeners, housekeepers, librarians, etc.) improve lives of the people we serve?
47. How can we become an institution that others want to emulate?
48. Is there a way that we can work with industry/business partners to leverage our role as an academic research facility?
49. How can we make learning fun and enjoyable?
50. How can we offer more meaning to people’s lives?

We would love to hear from you on what you think about this post. We sincerely appreciate all your comments – and – if you like this post please share it with friends. And feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss ideas for your next project!

Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook