UK Higher Education Space Management Project - …

1 UK Higher Education Space Management ProjectReview of Space normsSeptember 20062006/40 Review of Space normsContentsPageExecutive summary 3 Introduction6HE Space norms: their role and development7 Use of norms today8 Outline of UGC and PCFC Space norm methodology9 Estimation of norms implied by current estate size and student numbers10 Conclusions on feasibility of updating norms13 Framework for indicating Space need16 Annex 1: UGC and PCFC Space norm methodology19 Annex 2: Framework for indicating Space need: sample spreadsheets22 List of abbreviations26 Review of Space norms2006/401 Executive summaryPurpose of the studyThe UK Higher Education Space ManagementGroup commissioned this study to research thescope for providing updated Space norms for thehigher Education (HE) to Space normsSpace norms are usually expressed as an allowance of non-residential Space per allowance is made up of different types ofspace, such as general purpose and specialistfacilities, and other non-teaching facilities, such asoffices.

2 It varies according to academic used to be published by the UniversityGrants Committee (UGC) and the Polytechnicsand Colleges Funding Council (PCFC). They werebased on observations and assumptions abouthow students in different disciplines were taught,such as how many hours and what type ofteaching activity was needed, staff:student ratiosand areas per workplace, for example the areaper student in a lecture theatre or a were widely used both by individualinstitutions and by the UK HE Funding Councilsfor a range of purposes, including assessments ofinstitutions capacity to accommodate studentgrowth and to inform the size of new buildingprojects. Norms were never intended to be seenas requirements for, or entitlements to, UK HE Funding Councils have not publishedany new or updated Space norms for over 15years.

3 Space Management guidance in the 1990smoved away from a Space norms or standardsapproach to Space planning and Management ,towards the view that each Higher educationinstitution (HEI) should decide for itself theamount and type of Space that it the length of time since norms were lastupdated and the policy shift away from them,they continue to be used by many HEIs. Thesurvey of Space Management practice carried outin Phase One of the Space Management Project ( Review of practice 2005/25 ) found thatsome 45 per cent of respondents used UGC orPCFC norms or Space weightings, often withmodifications. Space norms often provoke strongviews, both from those in favour and from thoseagainst.

4 Feedback from the Phase One surveysuggests that while some HEIs do not wantupdated norms, others would welcome of updated UGC and PCFC normsSince the last update of norms, there has been adecline in the amount of Space available per full-time equivalent (FTE) student. Although the sizeof the HE estate has increased, it has not keptpace with the growth in student numbers. Eitherspace is being used more efficiently, or academicactivities are being delivered differently, or study estimates the updated equivalent ofUGC and PCFC norms based on the size of theestate and numbers of staff and students acrossdifferent disciplines using data from was done for two reasons: to provide an updated broad brush re-estimation of UGC and PCFC norms forthose HEIs which have continued to findthem useful to assess the scale of the change that hastaken place when measured in terms ofperformance against norms.

5 We made acomparison between a reference year (1991-92) and exercise was broad brush only because ofsome differences in definitions and dataavailability between the two years. We have setout the re-estimated norms in this report and ouranalysis found that on average the sector isoperating at 80 per cent of the prediction basedon UGC norms and at just under 80 per cent ofthe PCFC on the feasibility of updatingnormsIn this study we investigated the feasibility ofupdating UGC and PCFC norms by examiningthe way in which the norms were originallyderived. Both UGC and PCFC norms were afunction of series of coefficients, including: total hours of on-campus contact orlearning hours per week per studentReview of Space norms2006/403 breakdown of those hours into differenttypes of activity, for instance lecture theatrehours, seminar hours and laboratory hours total hours that Space is available per weekto be used, for instance 40 hours predicted frequency and occupancy rates forspace use, that is planned utilisation Space standards per workplace in teaching,learning, research and support spaces definition of discrete subject groups ordisciplines staff:student ratios by discipline or subjectgroup professorial.

6 Other academic staff ratios bysubject group academic:support staff ratios by subject the sector, the coefficients have changedsince the norms were devised. We exploredwhether it would be feasible to update them on asector-wide basis, and if there was still sufficientconsistency between HEIs to enable such asector-wide approach to be concluded that it would be technicallyfeasible to construct new norms, but that thechanges that have taken place in HE and thediversity across the sector render it difficult toselect a range of coefficients for their calculationwhich would be applicable across the this diversity we do not think it isappropriate to recommend a single set of normsfor use across the , we also concluded that the conceptsunderlying the development of norms should beretained.

7 Because the principles of basing anassessment of capacity or Space need on whatactivities are to be delivered and how that mightbe done are still relevant. Without an assessmentof this type, it is difficult to know whether anHEI, or any organisation, has broadly the rightamount and type of for calculating indicative spaceneedsIn this study we developed a method to calculateindicative Space needs which shares much of thegeneral approach that underpins UGC and PCFC norms. However, the method assists HEIs inestimating Space needs based on their ownparticular profile of academic activity andmethods of delivery. This approach is likely to beof most interest to HEIs which would like tobetter understand the capacity of their estates; tostart from first principles in getting an insightinto what type and how much Space may beneeded; and to model the effect of changes instudent and staff method is intended to be flexible andtransparent.

8 It takes the form of a frameworkwhich can be used to generate indicative spacepredictions for types of Space and by studentFTE for all or part of an HEI, based on staff andstudent numbers and a series of defaultcoefficients to assist calculations. HEIs canoverride the default settings if they consider thatalternatives would better reflect their owncircumstances and requirements. The moregenerously the coefficients are set, the greaterwill be the estimated indicative Space calculation,and vice of Space norms2006/40 Key data on student and staff numbers, and To be provided by HEIscontact hours and some Space series of coefficients generating indicative Default range provided which can be modified Space profiles for most Space categoriesby calculationsGenerated by the interaction of 1 and 2 for a rangeof Space typesThe output can then be compared with existingspace provision.

9 It is also possible to comparethe indicative Space profile generated by theframework with the sector-wide analysis, whichis incorporated in the SMG model forbenchmarking the size of the estate andcalculating the cost of having an estate kept ingood condition and fit for purpose. The model isavailable to HEIs on the SMG web-site, Review of Space norms2006/405 IntroductionThis report by Kilner Planning and LondonEconomics to the UK HE Space ManagementGroup sets out the results of a study into thefeasibility of providing updated Space norms forthe Higher Education study is one of a series of research projectscarried out as part of the UK Space ManagementProject (SMP) under the direction of the UK HESpace Management group (SMG).

10 The SMG issupported by the four UK funding bodies for highereducation: the Higher Education Funding Councilfor England (HEFCE), Scottish Funding Council(SFC), Higher Education Funding Council forWales (HEFCW) and Department for Employmentand Learning (in Northern Ireland) (DEL).This report outlines what HE Space norms areand why they were developed. It explores viewsfor and against their use, and looks at howsubstantial numbers of Higher educationinstitutions (HEIs) continue to use them, ormodified versions, despite the last updates beingsome 15 years ago. It outlines the way spacenorms used to be calculated, and provides abroad brush re-estimation of University GrantsCommittee (UGC) and Polytechnics and CollegesFunding Council (PCFC) norms on the basis ofthe current staff and student numbers andfloorspace across the sector.