Thought Leaders Report 2024: The Campus of 2030: Risks and Opportunities [PDF]

APPA’s 2024 Thought Leaders Report on the Campus of 2030 provides campus facility professionals with insights into what that future campus will look like, who will attend it, and how it will operate. The remaining years of this decade will not be easy for already stressed faculty and staff. Still, marshaling forces and adapting to technology and the new higher education environment will help them get there.

Table of Contents 

Section 1: Executive Summary

• The Campus in 2030
• Getting from here to there 

Section 2: Introduction 

Section 3: Higher Education in 2030

• A smaller but more diverse population of students
• A stripped-down, highly skilled workforce
• An industry struggling to prove its worth
• A campus fully immersed in digital services
• Many colleges and universities struggling to remain financially sustainable

Section 4: The Higher Education Campus in 2030

• Smart, adaptable, and resilient
• Lean, focused, and operating under financial constraints
• Optimized campus facilities to reduce costs and risks
• Operated and maintained by a smaller, more diverse facilities workforce

Section 5: What Will Help Higher Education Reach Its Potential in 2030—and What Could Limit Us

• Strengths to build upon
• Gaps that must be filled

Section 6: Actions Required to Meet the Campus of 2030

• Assess the current state of the built environment
• Manage and optimize campus space to prioritize the long-term financial stability of the institution
• Shape the built environment to support the future of teaching and learning
• Better communication of facilities’ needs, priorities, and opportunities
• Train and educate facilities management staff and leadership to confront new challenges
• Update or create an institution master plan that includes new priorities, financial constraints, and opportunities
• Create policies and processes to govern the use of AI technology
• Commit to a culture of innovation within the facilities organization

Section 7: Questions for Institutional Discussion

Section 8: Conclusion

Appendix A: Bibliography and Resources.

Appendix B: Impressions from the Symposium

Appendix C: Participants at the 2024 Thought Leaders Symposium