POLICY
#05-1
1.
GENERAL
All
University of Rhode Island land, facilities and buildings belong to the
University as a whole. The University has the authority and
responsibility to
allocate space to specific users for certain periods of time, to review
these
allocations periodically, to assess utilization, and to reallocate
space as
needed to support the University's Academic, Strategic and
Master Plans.
2. SPACE
ENHANCEMENT, DESIGN
& ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS
The
committee charged with the responsibility to allocate space is the
Space
Enhancement, Design & Allocation (SEDA) Committee. The primary
focus of the
Committee is to consider the space needs of the community, the planning
and
feasibility of new projects, and the future priorities of the
University in
order to make informed decisions about space allocation and design of
space
that meet program needs. The SEDA Committee is not responsible for
event
scheduling or assignment of space for events or classes. Decisions
regarding
space are made in alignment with the Campus Master Plan, the
University's
Academic and Strategic Plans, and in communication with the Master Plan
Review
Team (MPRT) and the Joint Strategic Planning Committee (JSPC). As
necessary,
the President reviews space allocation and/or enhancement plans before
they are
implemented. To sort out competing demands, a series of tools have been
developed: a space policy, allocation guidelines, and procedures for
allocating
and reallocating space.
The
policy and allocation guidelines apply to all four campuses. The
Graduate
School of Oceanography Narragansett Bay Campus has a space allocation
policy
and space committee specific to that campus. Both this policy and the
GSO
policy shall be used jointly to guide space use on that campus.
3.
SPACE ALLOCATION GOALS & CRITERIA
The
following criteria and goals will be used to guide the allocation
process:
Space
should be allocated equitably.
Space
allocations are made to units, not individuals.
Departmental
and unit allocations should be as contiguous as possible, unless
interdisciplinary research, teaching or work group needs dictate
otherwise.
Existing
space allocations must be utilized as fully as possible, as assessed by
the
University Planner and SEDA, before additional allocations are made.
Requests
for space will be reviewed against the allocation guidelines and
adjusted
accordingly.
Requests
will be reviewed according to priorities for academic programs,
research, and
support services as established by the President and Provost and by the
Academic, Strategic and Master Plans of the University.
When
possible, a designated use should be allocated to space that meets
functional
design requirements in order to minimize renovation costs, e.g., a user
requiring wet lab space should not be allocated dry space in a non-lab
building
if wet lab space is available elsewhere.
Classrooms
and other teaching facilities shall not be depleted as a result of
space
reallocation.
The
scheduling of space allocated to a unit is the right and responsibility
of that
unit. Space allocated and scheduled by a unit should be made available
for
other units when not in use (i.e., conference rooms, seminar rooms,
etc.).
Space scheduling practices will be reviewed periodically by the
University
Planner and SEDA.
Space
that becomes vacant within a college or vice-presidential unit can and
should
be reallocated by the Dean or Vice President within that unit; however,
the
reallocation plan must be directly forwarded to SEDA for review,
recommendation, and approval by the President before implementation.
Space
specifically allocated by SEDA for time-limited uses (i.e., grants)
reverts to
unassigned status after completion of the specified
time
period, and must be vacated by the user. Extensions will be considered
as
needed if the space remains available.
4.
DEPARTMENTAL/UNIT PLANNING
RESPONSIBILITIES
Departments
and units are responsible for engaging in strategic planning on a
regular basis
and ensuring that their strategic plans have been approved by their
Deans and
the Provost or Vice President for conformance with the College and/or
University's strategic plan. The strategic plans of each department and
unit
must contain explicit space and facilities provisions. These provisions
require
consultation with the University Planner to ensure they are coordinated
with
the long-range planning of the University.
The
University is committed to providing facilities for activities that
advance the
mission and goals of the University, but the University cannot
guarantee that
space, or funds to renovate space, will be available within the time
frame
requested. Applications for grants and other funding initiatives must
specify
space needs and any required renovations prior to submission so that
planning
for them can occur before the award. Advance planning is critical to
meet needs
within requested timeframes.
5.
PROCEDURE FOR REQUESTING SPACE
PLANNING SERVICES
Department/Unit/Program
generates space planning need.
Request
is reviewed by Dean and/or Assistant/Associate Vice President.
Supported
requests are signed and submitted to the Provost and/or Vice President
for
review, prioritization, and approval. Provost and/or Vice President
ensures
that the unit has done a recent strategic plan and that is has been
vetted
within the College and University's strategic plans.
Request
is forwarded to the University Planner for review of request and
strategic
planning documentation.
The
University Planner works with department on space planning, which may
result in
a request for a space allocation.
6.
PROCEDURE FOR REQUESTING SPACE
Please
note that the process described below can take months, or even years,
so
submittals of requests should be made with as much lead time as
possible.
Inadequate lead times may result in an inability to meet requested
timelines.
Department/Unit/Program
completes REQUEST FOR ALLOCATION OF SPACE form. Request is reviewed by
Dean or
Assistant/Associate Vice
President.
Supported requests are signed and submitted to the Provost or Vice
President for
review, prioritization, and approval.
Approved
requests are forwarded to the University Planner, entered into a
requests
database, and reviewed for completeness.
Requests
are brought forward to SEDA for discussion, prioritization, and
direction for
further action. SEDA communicates as necessary to JSPC and MPRT.
Proposed
scenarios are
reviewed with requestor.
Scenarios
are reviewed
by SEDA for recommendation
Vice
President for Administration reviews SEDA recommendation and presents
to President,
as necessary.
Allocation
is
approved/denied.
If the newly
allocated space requires
renovation that will be requested through Asset Protection funds, the
Asset
Protection request process must be followed. If other funds are
available for
renovations, this should be indicated on the Request for Allocation of
Space
form.
7.
SPACE AUDITS & UTILIZATION
ANALYSES
Space
audits will be conducted on a regular basis by Property &
Inventory, who
maintain the official Space Inventory; by University Planner to review
utilization; and on an as needed basis for specific requests and
projects.
Space
audits will minimally consist of an updating of the space inventory
records,
walkthroughs of space with department representatives, and other survey
instruments as needed.
Departments
and colleges may be asked to provide information on FTE's and
headcounts of
faculty, staff and students, teaching schedules, research/grant funding
and
duration, and any strategic planning documents.
Inappropriate
and/or inefficient uses, such as vacancies, labs used for office space,
offices
or labs used for storage, study space or other non-office or lab
functions,
multiple offices for faculty or staff, space assigned to non-supported
graduate
students, or dead storage, as well as hazardous conditions, will be
noted and
reviewed with the unit with a goal of increasing utilization.
8.
SPACE ALLOCATION GUIDELINES
Senior
Administration
Offices
President:
400 - 450
NASF (Net Assignable Square Footage)
Provost:
350 - 400 NASF
Vice
Provosts/Presidents: 180 - 225 NASF
Deans/Associate/Assistant
Vice Provosts/Presidents: 175 - 200 NASF
Chairs/Unit
Heads/Directors: 150 - 180 NASF
Faculty
should not have more than one office on the same campus; in certain
cases
hoteling arrangements may be made.
Whenever
possible, faculty offices should be single offices with windows.
Adjunct
faculty and per course lecturers should be housed in shared offices
with at
least one other person.
Emeritus
faculty who still carry teaching loads and/or advise graduate students
may keep
a single office, when possible. Other emeritus faculty should share an
office
or hoteling space, when possible.
Faculty
offices should be in the range of 120 - 140 NASF. In some cases
room
sizes may fall outside of this range due to current building
configurations.
Faculty in disciplines that do not require additional research space
may be
provided with offices larger than the range, when possible.
Classrooms
and other teaching facilities shall not be depleted as a result of
space
reallocations.
With
the exception of very specialized teaching labs, all teaching spaces
should be
generally assigned, i.e., allocated to and scheduled by Enrollment
Services.
Space
allocated for time-limited uses (i.e., grants) reverts to unassigned
status
after completion of the specified time period, and must be vacated by
the user.
Research
activity will be reviewed as part of periodic space utilization
analyses.
Staff
should not have second offices on the same campus; in certain cases
hoteling
arrangements may be made.
Staff
offices may be private, shared, or open landscape, as appropriate.
Clerical and
secretarial staff spaces should be in the range of 60 - 120 NASF.
Specific
allocations will depend on duties of the individual. Offices for
administrative
staff that require private offices should be in the range of 120-140
NASF.
Department
spaces typically include chair/directorÕs office; administrative
and clerical
support space; copy/file/mail/work rooms; break rooms; commons; and
conference
rooms. The need and size of these shall be assessed on a case-by-case
basis.
Graduate
students who are supported through either teaching or research
assistantships
should be provided with desk space in shared offices.
Graduates
students should be assigned between 45 - 60 NASF.
FORMS
are available on the web in pdf format at
http://www.uri.edu/facsen/URI_Space_Request_Forms.pdf