The bottom line on school construction in 2012 is that total spending edged up slightly from the previous year, (to $12.9 billion from $12.2 billion), but the spending for new schools declined from $6.9 billion to $6.177 billion. The increase in overall spending was attributable to more spending for additions and a major increase in spending for…

This study investigated the degree to which Public-Private Partnership (PPP) services are related to infrastructural development in Nigerian Universities. The research design used was descriptive survey method. The population for the study encompassed all the 20 universities in South-west Nigeria. Stratified random sampling was used to select 12…

This publication is part of an Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) series devoted to strengthening the role of key standing committees of governing boards. While there is no optimum committee system for institutions of higher education, certain principles, practices, and procedures prevail. The best practices…

The Bailey Yard is the largest rail classification yard in the world, stretching eight miles across the western prairie at North Platte, Nebraska. Trains leave Bailey Yard everyday--coal trains, grain trains, manifest trains--and each one represents a train prototype. Minneapolis Public School buildings are like a manifest train, where the…

Reducing school district energy expenditures has become a universal goal. However, school board members, superintendents, and directors of buildings and grounds are often unaware of the many options available to conserve energy. School energy conservation used to be relatively simple: turn off the lights and turn down the heat in the winter and…

One would not expect Niles West High School to be a model of sustainability. Located in Skokie, Illinois, the facility is more than 50 years old and at 612,000 square feet, it stands among the nation's largest high schools. Last winter, Niles West became one of the first five schools in the United States to achieve certification from the U.S.…

This article invites teachers to let their students' imaginations soar as they become part of a team that will design a whole new kind of living technological museum, a facility that celebrates the world of infrastructure. In this activity, a new two-story building will be built, occupying a vacant corner parcel of land, approximately 150…

After more than a decade of dedicated investment, state funding to assist local California school districts in the construction, modernization, and maintenance of their school facilities has come to a halt. As the Governor, the legislature, and other stakeholders debate the future of the state's K-12 school facility funding role, a big unknown…

After decades of dedicated investment, state funding to assist local California school districts in the construction, modernization, and maintenance of their school facilities has come to a halt. As the Governor, the legislature, and other stakeholders debate the future of the state's K-12 school facility funding role, a big unknown exists:…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of superintendents who have conducted both successful and unsuccessful school construction referendums in the state of Indiana from 2008-2010. This research will serve as a guide for superintendents who will undergo a school construction referendum, especially in Indiana. This study will…

Many school and college campuses are like small cities--they offer a little bit of everything. Although academic buildings and residence halls account for a sizable percentage of the facilities on a campus, the academic community on a school campus can include other buildings with specialized design and performance needs: laboratories,…

This article illustrates details of the planning, building, and improvement phases of a cost-efficient, full-dissection gross anatomy laboratory on a campus of an historically design-centric university. Special considerations were given throughout the project to the nature of hosting cadavers in a building shared amongst all undergraduate majors.…

As community colleges continue to experience record enrollments, administrators must face the challenges of growth. The unprecedented growth in community college enrollment is due to both the rising expense of higher education at four-year institutions and the number of people returning to school to train for careers in higher demand. However,…

At colleges and universities today, the increasing number of students is putting new pressure on facilities--and on facility staff. Student needs are also increasingly different, and most campus facilities have not kept up with the changing times. Facilities are expensive to build, maintain, and renovate, and costs are on the rise. Funds for…

The FY 2013 Educational Facilities Master Plan (Master Plan) and the FY 2013-2018 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) reflect the adopted actions of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Council and integrate the facilities planning process with the annual capital budget and the six-year CIP. The CIP is developed in accordance with the Board of…