PROGRAMMING: INSIGHTS INTO THE PLANNING PROCESS

Over the years, many colleges and universities involved with the work of Project Kaleidoscope have been engaged in planning new spaces for science— spaces that accommodate the learning communities that are an essential part of a robust undergraduate STEM learning environment. From analyzing the experiences of these campuses, PKAL has begun to distill a road-map for institutional transformation that provides direction for various journeys of academic agents of change— whether they are experimenting with curricular renewal, exploring pedagogical initiatives, examining assessment policies and practices, or establishing metrics for new spaces for science. In space planning, such journeys can be captured under the concept of “programming,” in which the a-to-z process of planning is outlined— as steps that include identifying and defi ning needs, making quantitative and qualitative institutional audits of the past/present/future institutional circumstances, and– most important— having fun. At the PKAL 2007 Summer Facilities Seminar, the programming process serves as the outline for the formal and informal discussions that will take place. Participants will consider questions such as: what is the end result of the programming process? To arrive at documents that support the next steps in the design process. what needs to be reviewed in the context of the programming process? To review existing plans: the campus plan, the strategic plan, the academic plan, the growth plan, and the plans for technology and for sustainability. where do you start in the programming process? To create a manageable committee, of eight-ten persons, fi guring out how to get the right people at the table— administrators, faculty, staff , facilities offi cers, students, etc. what needs to be in place at the early stages of the programming process? A vision statement from which the future of the institution can be extrapolated easily. what are the goals of the programming process? To have a collective understanding of the assumptions of the community about: a) the character of the space; b) the objectives and guiding principles for the use of the space.