It’s difficult to overstate the influence universities have on their surrounding communities and the people in those communities. Despite this, the higher education industry continues to undergo constant changes. Full-time undergraduate enrollment has suffered a decrease from 11.1 million in fall 2012 to 9.4 million in fall 2022. This trend is largely influenced by factors such as the global pandemic, hefty tuition costs, and high school graduates opting for online education or immediate entry into the workforce.
To prevent your university from experiencing negative higher education trends, you must evaluate your institution and processes to identify necessary improvements and ensure continued student enrollment and satisfaction. You must assess the current state and function of campus facilities and transform those spaces with creatively sourced materials to attract students to your institution and meet their evolving needs in today’s higher education landscape.
If your institution’s campus requires upgrades you haven’t had the time or resources to implement, you are not alone. A higher education facilities report published by Gordian identified deficiencies during inspections of schools’ cleanliness, general repair, mechanical spaces, exterior, and grounds, many of which are likely due to the costs of construction supplies and services. The good news is that many institutions are recognizing avenues for improvement, with investments in campus buildings growing by 33%. Your institution could be next!
Before beginning a renovation project, NACUBO recommends formally documenting a space inventory to assess existing campus areas and determine whether they are being utilized effectively. These inventories help identify and evaluate the spaces throughout an institution, including their usage, frequency of use, and the individuals using them. This inventory can also note the space’s furnishings and overall state. After identifying and assessing the spaces on your campus—along with their functionality and condition—NACUBO advises creating a separate space management plan to document optimal space usage.
An excellent starting point for attracting prospective students to your university is a lively campus atmosphere. Students will value classrooms equipped with hybrid technology options, versatile learning spaces designed for both solo and collaborative study, inviting outdoor areas, and modern dorm and dining facilities. Buying furniture to meet all these needs can seem overwhelming, but a complete campus remodel is usually not necessary to meet your students’ needs.
Here are a few of our ideas for using furniture to improve areas common to all campuses:
Once you’ve assessed the spaces on your campus and identified the necessary upgrades and renovations, another challenge in achieving successful space utilization is acquiring the materials and supplies required for these changes. This is where cooperative purchasing emerges to help you save time and money, ensuring that your vision for your campus spaces is realized.
When your institution makes plans to update the campus infrastructure, your procurement leaders will have to manage diverse requirements, source innovative design solutions, and oversee project installations. Partnering with a cooperative purchasing organization provides a competitive edge by helping you manage tight project budgets and overall expenditures more effectively. And, instead of researching individual materials and searching for one-off deals, you can consolidate purchases from fewer suppliers and take advantage of tiered discounts included in our contracts.
If you're seeking a cooperative purchasing organization that can not only meet but exceed your furniture and project material needs, look no further than OMNIA Partners. We understand that buying furniture can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! Our furniture suppliers offer a broad range of product lines, from budget-friendly options to high-end selections, ensuring solutions that meet both your needs and budget.
Don’t wait for your enrollment to dip to assess the spaces on your campus and transform unused areas. Create a space inventory to determine what areas are available to you, assess those spaces for outdated elements and opportunities for enhancing technology, and start furnishing your campus with unique furniture and other materials to draw new and old students alike. Become a member of OMNIA Partners today to experience large-scale discounts, partner with suppliers that can suit your individual needs, and ensure that the legacy of your institution lives on for a new generation of students.
To gain ideas for planning and executing campus renovations, recommendations for furniture and other ancillary items that will change your campus for the better, and even more ways OMNIA Partners can help you on your furniture journey, check out our full whitepaper today!