Master Planning for the Future

What is a master plan?

A master plan is the first step to updating a college or university’s strategic plan. It’s a roadmap, for how the University will shape its physical spaces to align with and enhance its strategic goals. For most plans that includes goals related to enrollment, on-campus residential targets, optimized space utilization, as well as enhancing student engagement and success. In short, an effective master planning process will result in a plan that will be able to multiply the effectiveness of a strong strategic plan.

Image: University of Notre Dame Morris Inn

What are questions to be asking and trends we are seeing?

While the deliverables of a masterplan look similar to the past, the questions we’re asking, and being asked, have started to show acceleration around some specific trends that are good thought-starters for most explorations.

• How can spaces be evolved to better serve the needs of today’s students and faculty?
• Are there new/unexpected ways that we can differentiate ourselves for tomorrow’s student?
• How will legislation like the College Transparency Act and other public scrutiny affect the curriculum that colleges and universities continue to provide?
• How can we take the lessons witnessed about the value of outdoor spaces to create low-cost, high-value, 3^rd spaces?

Image: Huntington University HUB