MACRO LEVEL SPACE NEEDS F UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

MACRO LEVEL SPACE NEEDS FINDINGS

PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. Table of Contents

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING Long Range Development Plan

Macro Level Space

Needs Findings

January 2009

Document prepared by: PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC.

899 Logan Street, Suite 508

Denver, CO 80203-3156 (303) 832-3272 ∙ FAX (303) 832-3380

E-mail: [email protected] www.paulien.com


PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Document prepared by:

PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. Daniel K. Paulien, President

Kate Herbolsheimer, Associate

Under contract to:

MOORE IACOFANO GOLTSMAN, INC. Daniel Iacofano, Principal

Mukul Malhotra, Project Manager Jay Renkens, Project Manager

Acknowledgments This document is the result of cooperation and assistance from the staff at the University of Wyoming. Every person's contribution of information, time, and effort is sincerely appreciated. The consultant extends special thanks to the following individuals: PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

Roger Baalman, Director of Facilities Planning Robert Sena, LRDP Project Manager

CAMPUS ADMINISTRATIVE INTERVIEWS:

William A. Gern, Vice President of Research & Economic Development

Robert R. Aylward, Vice President of Information Technology Jonathon L. Benson, Chief Executive Officer, Wyoming

Technology Business Center Ted Craig, Assistant Director of Outreach Program, Wyoming

Technology Business Center PROJECT DATA:

Suzanne M. Koller, Associate Director of Institutional Analysis Zoe A. Curtright, Senior Office Assistant, Facilities Planning


PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

LONG RANGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Roger Baalman, Director of Facilities Planning Jon Benson, Chief Executive Officer, Wyoming Technology

Business Center Mark Collins, Associate Vice President of Administration Josh Decker, Assistant Manager of Real Estate Operations Carol Frost, Associate Vice President of Research, Research &

Economic Development Office Shari Gilbert, Student, Senator for College of Engineering Phillip Harris, Vice President of Administration Beth McCuskey, Executive Director Residence Life & Dining

Services Susan Moldenhauer, Director of Art Museum Molly Moore, Associate Athletic Director/Internal Operations/

SWA, Athletics John Nutter, Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs Tawnya Plumb, Assistant Librarian ETT, Law Library Jauque Schuman, Electrician – Physical Plant, President of Staff

Senate James L. Scott, Director, Physical Plant Mary Scott, Assistant to VP/IT Administration & Project

Coordination, Information Technology Forrest Selmer, Deputy Director of Utilities Management,

Physical Plant Bill Sparks, Senior Associate Athletic Director/Business

Operations, Athletics Lynn Stalnaker, Dean of Albany County Campus, Laramie

County Community College Kate Steiner, Coordinator of Student Life, Dean of Students

Office Bradley Thomas, Systems Specialist, Information Technology Peter Wysocki, City of Laramie – Community Development

Director


PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................. 2

2.0 SPACE UTILIZATION ...................................... 4

2.1 Classroom Utilization ......................................... 4

2.2 Teaching Laboratory Utilization ......................... 9

3.0 BENCHMARK COMPARISON ......................... 11

4.0 RESEARCH GROWTH ANALYSIS .................. 15

5.0 CAMPUSWIDE SPACE NEEDS MODEL .......... 19

6.0 CONCLUSIONS ............................................. 23

6.1 Space Utilization ..............................................23Classroom Utilization ..............................................23Teaching Laboratory Utilization ...............................23

6.2 Benchmark Comparison ...................................23

6.3 Research Growth Analysis ................................24

6.4 Campuswide Space Needs Model .....................24

6.5 Next Steps ........................................................25


PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC.

Section I Introduction


PAULIEN & ASSOCIATES, INC. Page 2

Section I Introduction

1.0 INTRODUCTION The University of Wyoming Long Range Development Plan being conducted by Moore, Iacofano, Goltsman of Berkeley, California, included a component to take a macro level look at space needs. The University of Wyoming requested Paulien & Associates, Inc. (“consultant”) conduct several studies. One study was a utilization analysis of classrooms and teaching laboratories. Another study used benchmark comparison findings from an August 2006 study conducted by Paulien & Associates for New Mexico State University and in which the University of Wyoming participated. This analysis was based on 2004-2005 facilities data. The consultant was also asked to conduct an analysis of research growth by meeting with key campuswide administrators with responsibilities for the research programs. The consultant also tailored a macro campuswide model for the University of Wyoming of the type the consultant has developed for several flagship and land grant universities. A minimal growth scenario is projected for the University of Wyoming, so no target enrollments were developed. Each of these studies is a section of this report.



Section II Space Utilization




2.0 SPACE UTILIZATION

2.1 CLASSROOM UTILIZATION

The first draft of classroom utilization showed a surprisingly large number of classrooms. Paulien & Associates concluded a number of these rooms being used for one or more course sections were probably not classrooms as their primary function. The University of Wyoming worked with the consultant to better identify the uses of these rooms, resulting in a reduction in the total number of classrooms of about 50 rooms. The classroom utilization analysis is based on facilities inventory reports from Fall 2006 through Spring 2008. The number of rooms and the classifications may not reflect the expected or sustained operation of classrooms due to the high levels of construction on the campus. For example, because the Classroom Building renovation and addition removed several classrooms from service and the College of Business presently under construction has removed several classrooms from service, several spaces on campus that would normally be classified as conference rooms or class laboratories were utilized for classrooms to fulfill the required class schedule. While the present classifications reflect short term uses, the results reflect a realistic view of the campus utilization from a macro level because continued improvements will be made to the campus classrooms and class laboratories as the methods and pedagogies change. As major new construction finishes and existing classrooms are renovated, the number of classrooms and the station counts will continue to change. The lowest use rooms are those with 20 or fewer seats, which average less than 15 hours per week. This indicates a number of these rooms may have a dual use as conference rooms. Fifty-seven rooms, almost one-third of the total classrooms, are in this size category. The consultant urges the University of Wyoming to take a closer look at this subset of rooms to see which of them, if any, should not be included in the classroom analysis. The 132 classrooms with 21 or more seats averaged 27 scheduled hours of use per week for credit instruction, doubling the use of those with 20 or fewer seats. The room types generating the most weekly hours are those with 46-50 seats averaging 31 hours per week, those with 151-200 seats averaging 30 hours per week, and those with 26-30 seats averaging 29 hours per week. The seat fill is strongest among the rooms with 151-200 seats, followed by rooms with 20 or fewer seats, 21-25 seats, and with 31-35 seats. The rooms with 151-




200 seats average 86% of seats filled when they are in use, while the rooms in the other three categories each average 69%. Thirty hours per week at 60% is the most widely used standard. Many of the jurisdictions that have utilization targets have increased the percentage expected from 60% to either 65% or 67%. W




When all of the classrooms campuswide are examined by hour and by day, only on Tuesday and Thursday do a few hours exceed 70% of the rooms in use. This causes the consultant to question further whether a fairly significant portion of this set of rooms should be reviewed for possible re-classification. The University of Wyoming has very limited evening use of classrooms. That is a possible opportunity, but perhaps not terribly relevant to the student body and mission being addressed in Laramie. ThThe following graph shows the usage of classrooms by building.




The ones that exceed 30 hours per week are the Classroom Building (26 classrooms averaging 36 hours) and the Law Building (3 classrooms averaging 34 hours). The Education Annex averaged 30 hours for its 10 classrooms. Several buildings average less than 10 hours per week. They are the Cooper House, Earth Sciences Building, and Field House, and they have only one classroom each. Those rooms should be checked for possible re-allocation or increased scheduled class use.

The campus map on the next page shows the number of classrooms and whether the average use for the building exceeded 30 hours per week (green), 20-29 hours per week (yellow), or below 20 hours per week (red). Note that almost 90 percent of the classrooms are on the West Campus with most of them west of Prexy’s Pasture.

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2.2 TEACHING LABORATORY UTILIZATION

The analysis of teaching laboratories shows the 42 rooms now classified as teaching labs averaged 13 hours per week with 70% of the seats filled when the rooms are in use. The most widely used teaching laboratory expectation is 20 hours per week at 80% of seats filled. The consultant finds that, in doing utilization studies for colleges and universities, they very seldom achieve the 80% fill. It is also not unusual for universities to average between 12 and 16 scheduled lab hours per week. At land grant institutions, the agriculture and engineering labs have been recognized as needing lower use targets because of the complexity of their laboratory needs. Within these findings are some individual rooms with very low scheduled use. These include room 462 in Animal Science Molecular Biology, room 28 in the Arts and Sciences Building, and the lobby of the Corbett P.E. Building. These rooms may have more appropriate classifications than teaching laboratory.

The work done since the December 2008 briefing has been substantial, but an additional round of cleanup is highly recommended.

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Section III Benchmark Comparison




3.0 BENCHMARK COMPARISON The University of Wyoming asked the consultant to use the University of Wyoming participation in a 2006 benchmark study for New Mexico State University (“NMSU”) as the basis for space needs analysis. The study included the following universities:

• University of Arizona – Tucson • Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge • University of Missouri – Columbia • University of New Mexico – Albuquerque • Oregon State University – Corvallis • University of Tennessee – Knoxville • University of Texas – El Paso • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University –

Blacksburg • Washington State University – Pullman • University of Wyoming – Laramie

It needs to be noted this data was collected more than four years ago and examines conditions at those universities approximately four to five years ago. The consultant would normally prefer to do an updated analysis. The consultant has agreed to the University of Wyoming request to utilize the NMSU study data for this analysis. The following chart shows the University of Wyoming has more space than the average of the other institutions. The University of Wyoming did not have the highest amount of space but was closer to the highest amount than the lowest amount.

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To put this information in perspective, the consultant has compared the findings of the NMSU study with those of several other studies conducted in 2003 by the consultant. The University of Wyoming slightly exceeds the average for major public flagship and/or land grant institutions when those institutions do not have a medical school included. Those institutions with medical schools tend to have a higher amount of assignable square feet because there large amounts of space in a medical school that are coupled with relatively small numbers of students. For perspective, the consultant notes that the leading private universities, which in these studies all had medical schools, have substantially more space per student than the consensus top ten from the flagship universities.

Benchmark Comparison ASF per FTE Student

Ivy League & Equivalent 445

University of Wyoming (current all non-residential) 293

Consensus Top 10 Public Flagships/Land Grant 262

Major Public Flagships/Land Grant with Medical School 255

University of Wyoming (current E&G only) 242

University of Wyoming (2006 benchmark) 215

Major Public Flagships/Land Grant without Medical School 214

New Mexico State University Study Average 181

Notes:

Data from 2003 Paulien & Associates, Inc. studies, except for NMSU study data from 2006.

University of Wyoming data includes recently completed construction and program plan ASF (e.g. IL2C, ITF, Visual Arts, Business Building, Anthropology) as compared to Fall 2007 student FTE.

Benchmark analysis was done at the school and college level. Therefore, for each of the schools at the University of Wyoming, we could compare whether their space numbers as reported to us for the NMSU study are above or below average related to this particular group of institutions. The Business, Engineering, and Health and Social Services numbers for the University of Wyoming were at the top on a per student basis. The numbers for Agriculture and Home Economics, and Arts and Sciences were




near the midpoint, while Education was below the median, and Law was the lowest among those benchmarked. The campuswide average was higher than the midpoint. This is illustrated on the Benchmark Comparison Campuswide by College graph below.

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ASF per Student Comparison by College

BENCHMARK COMPARISON CAMPUSWIDE BY COLLEGE



Section IV Research Growth Analysis




4.0 RESEARCH GROWTH ANALYSIS The consultants were requested to meet with Vice President of Research and Economic Development William Gern as part of an analysis of research needs. The consultants also had a guided tour of the Wyoming Technology Business Center led by Ted Craig, Assistant Director of Outreach Program, and conducted a telephone conference call with Jon Benson, Chief Executive Officer. The consultants also conducted a telephone conference call with Vice President for Information Technology Robert Aylward. In the meeting with Vice President Gern, it was agreed the most appropriate measure to utilize in assessing research space needs is research expenditures, since those reflect the actual people hired to staff the research grant programs and the equipment purchased for the research programs. The information the University of Wyoming had readily available was based on research awards. Vice President Gern recommended the consultants use a .83 factor to reduce the awards numbers to likely annual expenditures. Research awards are being projected to two targets, based on the recommendation of Vice President Gern, in the amounts of $100 million and $120 million. The existing research awards for the most recent complete fiscal year were just over $76 million. In studies with other land grant universities, the consultant has found those universities generating more than $100 million in research expenditures usually have somewhat less square feet per a given dollar value of expenditures than those which have $100 million or less in research expenditures. Since at the maximum number projected the University of Wyoming would be at approximately $100 million in research expenditures, this extra research space need was assumed. It is also clear that for those schools and colleges whose research work is less laboratory-intensive and, in some cases has a component where research is conducted outside of the university campus, smaller amounts of space will be needed for a given dollar amount. For the purposes of this analysis, the projected research expenditures for Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, and Engineering have been projected at 700 assignable square feet (“ASF”) per $100,000 of research expenditures. The research expenditures for Education and Health Sciences were projected at 100 ASF per $100,000 of research expenditures. Business and Law do not have any labs now and were not assumed to need any.




The following table shows the application of this method to the University of Wyoming information for the last two actual years. Using this methodology, the finding is the University of Wyoming has a small surplus at the current time.

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING ▪ LONG RANGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Research Guideline Application ▪ ASF per $100,000 in Research Expenditures

2006 - 2007

College

Existing Research Lab

Space3

Summary of Awards FY 2006-20071

Research Expenditures (estimated)2

ASF per $100,000 of

Research Expenditures Guideline ASF Surplus/ (Deficit)

Agriculture 81,268 700 $11,760,342 $9,761,084 833 68,328 12,940Arts & Sciences 119,524 700 $14,455,370 $11,997,957 996 83,986 35,538Business 0 0 $434,000 $360,220 0 0 0Education 757 100 $605,218 $502,331 151 502 255Engineering 68,484 700 $11,235,462 $9,325,433 734 65,278 3,206Health Sciences 5,622 100 $7,492,637 $6,218,889 90 6,219 (597)Law 0 0 $10,000 $8,300 0 0 0

Subtotal/Average: 275,655 $45,993,029 $38,174,214 722 224,313 51,342

Non-College 35,930 200 $26,012,604 $21,590,461 166 43,181 (7,251)

Total: 311,585 $72,005,633 $59,764,675 521 267,493 44,092

2007 - 2008

College


Space3

Summary of Awards FY 2007-20084


ASF per $100,000 of

Research Expenditures Guideline ASF Surplus/ (Deficit)

Agriculture 81,268 $14,663,101 $12,170,374 668 85,193 (3,925)Arts & Sciences 119,524 $19,004,733 $15,773,928 758 110,417 9,107Business 0 $155,653 $129,192 0 0 0Education 757 $913,785 $758,442 100 758 (1)Engineering 68,484 $10,242,243 $8,501,062 806 59,507 8,977Health Sciences 5,622 $8,204,455 $6,809,698 83 6,810 (1,188)Law 0 $9,900 $8,217 0 0 0

Subtotal/Average: 275,655 $53,193,870 $44,150,912 624 262,686 12,969

Non-College 35,930 $22,947,184 $19,046,163 189 38,092 (2,162)

Total: 311,585 $76,141,054 $63,197,075 493 300,778 10,807

1. Data from the University of Wyoming Office of Research & Economic Development's Annual Report (July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007)2. Calculated by Paulien & Associates per the Office of Research & Economic Development as 83% of the 2006 - 2007 External Awards.3. Based on data submitted by the University of Wyoming to Paulien & Associates for a benchmarking study. Information is understood to be from spring 2006.4. Summary report provided by the Vice President of Research and Economic Development on November 11, 2008.

5. Total research awards provided by the Vice President Research and Economic Development




Projecting into the future to the research award targets shows a need for an additional 83,500 ASF at the $100 million research award level and 162,500 ASF at the $120 million research award level.


Research Guideline Application ▪ ASF per $100,000 in Research Expenditures

Target ▪ $100M Projected Research Awards

College


Space3Projected Research

Awards5

Historical Percentage

of Total Awards


ASF per $100,000 of Research Expenditures Guideline ASF Surplus/ (Deficit)

Agriculture 81,268 $19,257,812 27.57% $15,983,984 508 111,888 (30,620)Arts & Sciences 119,524 $24,959,903 35.73% $20,716,719 577 145,017 (25,493)Business 0 $204,427 0.29% $169,675 0 0 0Education 757 $1,200,121 1.72% $996,101 76 996 (239)Engineering 68,484 $13,451,670 19.25% $11,164,886 613 78,154 (9,670)Health Sciences 5,622 $10,775,337 15.42% $8,943,530 63 8,944 (3,322)Law 0 $13,002 0.02% $10,792 0 0 0

Subtotal/Average: 275,655 $69,862,272 $57,985,685 475 344,999 (69,344)

Non-College 35,930 $30,137,728 $25,014,315 144 50,029 (14,099)

Total: 311,585 $100,000,000 $83,000,000 375 395,027 (83,442)

Target ▪ $120M Projected Research Awards

College


Space3Projected Research

Awards5

Historical Percentage

of Total Awards


ASF per $100,000 of Research Expenditures Guideline ASF Surplus/ (Deficit)

Agriculture 81,268 $23,109,374 27.57% $19,180,781 424 134,265 (52,997)Arts & Sciences 119,524 $29,951,883 35.73% $24,860,063 481 174,020 (54,496)Business 0 $245,313 0.29% $203,609 0 0 0Education 757 $1,440,146 1.72% $1,195,321 63 1,195 (438)Engineering 68,484 $16,142,003 19.25% $13,397,863 511 93,785 (25,301)Health Sciences 5,622 $12,930,404 15.42% $10,732,235 52 10,732 (5,110)Law 0 $15,603 0.02% $12,950 0 0 0

Subtotal/Average: 275,655 $83,834,726 $69,582,823 396 413,999 (138,344)

Non-College 35,930 $36,165,274 $30,017,177 120 60,034 (24,104)

Total: 311,585 $120,000,000 $99,600,000 313 474,033 (162,448)

1. Data from the University of Wyoming Office of Research & Economic Development's Annual Report (July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007)2. Calculated by Paulien & Associates per the Office of Research & Economic Development as 83% of the 2006 - 2007 External Awards.3. Based on data submitted by the University of Wyoming to Paulien & Associates for a benchmarking study. Information is understood to be from spring 2006.4. Summary report provided by the Vice President of Research and Economic Development on November 11, 2008.

5. Total research awards provided by the Vice President Research and Economic Development



Section V Campuswide Space

Needs Model



Section V Campuswide Space Needs Model

5.0 CAMPUSWIDE SPACE NEEDS MODEL Paulien & Associates has developed space needs models for a number of jurisdictions and has applied many others in its 30 years of higher education space needs consulting practice. The typical model application is at a school and college level and normally involves information from specific departments. This was not the level of analysis the University of Wyoming desired for the Long Range Development Plan. To provide an additional look beyond the peer benchmarking analysis, the consultant has adapted a macro level system that was specifically tailored to two other jurisdictions. With additional information provided by the University of Wyoming, verification of some of the space needs, and with the information regarding approved facilities program plans for projects that are being constructed, the consultant is able to provide a macro level analysis for the University of Wyoming. The University of Wyoming has a fairly high amount of square feet per full-time equivalent (“FTE”) student. To some degree, this is because of the number of complex academic programs provided at the University of Wyoming and the relatively small student numbers enrolled at the University of Wyoming. Many of the other flagship universities have three to five times the enrollment of the University of Wyoming. For this reason, the consultant has reviewed available information from many other flagship/land grant universities. While several of them appear to have fewer square feet per student in categories such as special use, general use, and support space, there are some that have as much or more per student, even if they are much larger than the University of Wyoming. The consultant is opting for an approach that is a bit more generous for the University of Wyoming, but which would have been very acceptable and considered appropriate at the other universities with fairly high numbers because of the complexities. The space being allocated across the number of students includes athletics, recreation, museums, and other special and general use facilities. Needs for athletics and arts venues are not based on the number of students but on the sports offered, the climate-based need for indoor practice facilities, and the mix of cultural programs offered. The University of Wyoming competes at the highest athletic levels and provides major arts venues. The model findings are compared to the latest available facilities




information, including buildings under construction and the most recent year student, faculty, and staff numbers. The target research expenditures were applied. In the December presentation, the consultant was trying to focus the analysis on education and general space types. The models developed for the other jurisdictions were based on this type of analysis. In those instances, the jurisdictions had done significant pre-work to classify spaces as either being educational, general, or auxiliary spaces. Since this type of pre-work has not been done at the University of Wyoming, the consultant concluded it was better to deal with all of the non-residential space. The table below is based on that approach.

The existing amounts for libraries, special use, general use, and support space are at the top end of the range when using the space per student FTE factor. The consultant decided to carry the existing space forward, rather than utilize a model that would have been at a lower square foot level. For reasons discussed above, the consultant believes these appear to be reasonable amounts because of the small student body at the University of Wyoming. In using the existing space, the consultant is not indicating that needs do not exist in these categories. Capital needs in these


Space Needs Model ▪ Campuswide2007-08 Data

Total ASF Proposed Wyoming Model

Space Category Total ASF per FTECurrent ASF (2007-08 Data) Guideline Factor Guideline ASF

Surplus/ (Deficit)

Classrooms 20 ASF/Student FTE 181,980 16 ASF/Student FTE 146,608 35,372 Teaching Laboratories 23 ASF/Student FTE 209,515 20 ASF/Student FTE 183,260 26,255 Open Laboratories 2 ASF/Student FTE 20,428 3 ASF/Student FTE 27,489 (7,061)Research Laboratories 526 ASF/Faculty FTE 311,585 By College Guideline1 474,033 (166,094)Office & Conference 245 ASF/Faculty & Staff FTE 689,178 225 ASF/Faculty & Staff FTE 632,475 56,703 Libraries 30 ASF/Student FTE 270,343 Existing Used 270,343 N/ASpecial Use 40 ASF/Student FTE 365,315 Existing Used 365,315 N/AGeneral Use 33 ASF/Student FTE 300,520 Existing Used 300,520 N/ASupport Space 31 ASF/Student FTE 286,864 Existing Used 286,864 N/A

TOTAL: 2,635,728 2,686,907 (51,179)

1. Research formula by college from Research Growth Analysis section.

Current (2007-08 Data)

FTE Faculty: 592.8Total Faculty/Staff FTE: 2,811.0

On-campus FTE Student: 9,163.0




spaces should be viewed as additional to these findings. The classroom and teaching laboratory categories show a surplus because the utilization is not up to the use factors that are often achieved. The consultant believes more laboratories likely should be coded in the open laboratory category, and, therefore, has shown a need in that area. The faculty and staff office facilities are also at the high end of space per faculty and staff. The use of the University of Wyoming’s 150 square foot guideline for faculty offices and assuming a 50% additional need for all of the other office categories is a reasonable guideline and was applied here. The existing space is still higher. The University of Wyoming should not necessarily assume new research space could be accommodated through renovation of “surplus” classroom, laboratory, or office space. Depending on the exact research programs, less research space than identified may be needed to accommodate the level of research activity projected.



Section VI Conclusions




6.0 CONCLUSIONS Paulien & Associates conducted a macro level space needs analysis for the University of Wyoming under a very aggressive timetable. This analysis consisted of four studies: utilization, benchmark comparison, research growth, and campuswide space needs modeling.

6.1 SPACE UTILIZATION

Utilization was conducted for classrooms and teaching laboratories. A first draft of this analysis was provided to the project leadership and the Advisory Committee in early December 2008. Additional information was provided by the University of Wyoming to allow a second pass with more accurate classification of rooms.

Classroom Utilization The classroom utilization was determined to be 23 hours per week at 64% seat fill, compared with targets that are often 30 hours per week at 60% seat fill, or even higher.

Teaching Laboratory Utilization The teaching laboratories averaged 13 hours per week at 70% seat fill with several rooms still in the mix which the consultant feels would be better classified elsewhere. For a land grant university with its engineering and agriculture programs, the consultant believes 16 hours per week is a reasonable target for the University of Wyoming. While 80% seat fill is the most often used standard, it is rarely achieved, and the consultant believes 70% is a reasonable target.

6.2 BENCHMARK COMPARISON

The University of Wyoming had more than average amounts of space in this comparison with ten flagship universities from around the country which were desirable benchmarking partners for New Mexico State University, which commissioned the original study. The University of Wyoming was at approximately the 75th percentile. The consultant believes the small student size at the University of Wyoming may require somewhat more square footage per student because of certain types of spaces that are




needed at a given size regardless of the student body. Examples of these spaces are athletics, museums, performance facilities, and laboratories, which have fewer sections of a particular course than at larger universities. The analysis by college in the study showed Business, Engineering, and Health and Social Services at the top of the benchmark list on a space per student basis. The numbers for Agriculture and Home Economics, and Arts and Sciences were above the midpoint. Education was below than the median, while Law had the least space per student of those compared.

6.3 RESEARCH GROWTH ANALYSIS

Analysis done with relevant campus leadership suggests it may be feasible for the University of Wyoming to increase its research awards from approximately $76 million in the most recently tabulated fiscal year to $120 million. This would translate to approximately $100 million in annualized expenditures. Research guideline analysis suggests there would be a need for significant additional research facilities to accommodate that level of research growth. The factors documented in the study suggest a need for approximately 162,000 additional ASF for the research growth.

6.4 CAMPUSWIDE SPACE NEEDS MODEL

A campuswide space needs model was applied. The University of Wyoming requested the consultant to do this without meeting with schools and colleges, which is a normal part of the consultant’s process. Therefore, macro level findings were compiled with no breakdown by school and college. The amounts of space at the University of Wyoming for classrooms, teaching laboratories, and office and conference space are higher on a per person basis than often found at other flagship universities. The same is true of the categories of special use, general use, and support space, which include such spaces as athletics and recreation facilities, student union, art and cultural facilities, and physical plant service facilities. The consultant reviewed the list of spaces and did not see obvious items that seemed excessive. Therefore, in those categories existing space was carried forward. The campus does show somewhat more space than the guideline findings for classrooms, teaching laboratories, and offices, and a previously mentioned need for research space.




6.5 NEXT STEPS

The University of Wyoming is in the early stages of updating its facilities information to reflect current conditions. The information available regarding the classrooms and teaching laboratories contain some questionable room classifications. The consultant is available to review those spaces and advise the University of Wyoming as to whether some of these spaces should be re-classified. The most likely spaces for review are department conference rooms that hold one or two senior or graduate seminar courses that are probably not best coded as classrooms, and teaching laboratories that have, as their primary use, the unscheduled work by students, which should be categorized as open laboratories. The Long Range Development Plan is moving forward with the capital program that the University of Wyoming has identified for short-term implementation. Assuming the research growth is adequately housed, this analysis does not show substantial needs unless the enrollment for the campus increases.

Documents

MACRO LEVEL SPACE NEEDS F UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING