Faculty at colleges and universities across the nation are under pressure to provide engaging classroom environments suited to a diverse student population in order to increase student retention. Faculty professional development is often supported by Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Larger, well-funded schools have created CTLs with…

With an emphasis on planning and cutting costs to make better use of resources, facilities managers at community colleges across the nation have undertaken facilities audits usually with the help of outside engineers. Such assessments analyze the history and structural integrity of buildings and core components on campus, including heating…

Several of the campus heritage plans funded by the Getty Foundation served as laboratories for applying the relatively new field of cultural landscape preservation to campus planning. With a strong landscape component, the heritage plans of The University of Kansas, Cranbrook Academy, the University of California, Berkeley, and elsewhere remind…

When trying to reach their sustainability goals, schools and school districts often run into obstacles, including financing, training, and implementation tools. Last fall, the U.S. Green Building Council-Georgia (USGBC-Georgia) launched its High Performance, Healthy Schools (HPHS) Program to help Georgia schools overcome those obstacles. By…

APPA's Facilities Performance Indicators (FPI) Survey and Report has grown from 190 institutions to a survey reflecting the input of 225 institutions, another 36 institutions preparing to participate in the survey, and 150 institutions that participated in a customized utility consortium survey through a partnership between APPA and the Midwestern…

This study examines fourth grade student achievement in relation to teacher perceptions of principal leadership and other selected variables in a large urban school district in Georgia. Student achievement was measured by performance on the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. The…

This paper asserts that given the net growth in Georgia's student population and the need to house these students, a logical and systematic approach to disburse state funds based upon an assessment of needs is critical. It explains that a local facilities plan encourages the local school system to look into the future and assess their needs and…

The Georgia Department of Education has developed submittal requirements for planning and construction of educational facilities that cover such areas as project funding sources, copies required, and format; site plan; floor plans; elevations and sections; and heating, air conditioning, and ventilation requirements. Requirements also focus on…

This report presents the guidelines for site evaluation and approval as mandated by the state of Georgia. This guide may be used by the School Site Approval Committee when making school site evaluations for official approval, and also may be used by local school systems as they make preliminary determinations regarding the acceptability of school…

With the increasing pace of school construction, knowing how much a school should cost can facilitate effective new-school planning. To help with this process, this document provides new-construction costs as figured for the State of Georgia. The estimates include costs per square foot for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, as…

The purpose of this guide is to facilitate the work of Georgia planners in systematically determining the size, nature, and functions of spaces needed for the construction or renovation of media center facilities after the minimum requirements for school media centers established by the Georgia Board of Education have been met. The first section…

The preservation of school safety should be a primary commitment of all educators. This paper presents findings of a study that examined school facility safety in 27 Georgia schools. Data were gathered from a survey of 9 elementary, 11 middle, and 7 high schools in south Georgia. The surveys elicited information related to both school-site safety…