How To Design a University “Admissions Magnet”

The competition to enroll top-tier students gets fiercer each year. To attract tech-oriented star students, forward-thinking universities are creating tech-rich facilities – new or re-purposed buildings offering the latest in technology connectivity for students’ tablets, laptops, and mobile phones. Designing these tech-rich learning environments requires an unusual degree of planning, as defined in this article in University Business.

Infrastructure is a big part of the planning picture. A primary consideration is furniture; architect Joe Sorci, quoted in the University Business article, prefers easy-to-reconfigure modular furniture which will accommodate both immediate and future needs. Sorci strongly recommends having a single supplier for layout design and installation, to avoid conflicts of placement and sizing when several manufacturers’ products are involved.

Along with a transition to BYOD (bring your own devices), and the shift from lecture halls to social learning spaces, these planning points can transform a building into an “admissions magnet” that also brings out the best in faculty and encourages the support of alumni and the local community.

Photo © f11photo – Fotolia