History
In 1996, a UBC consultant reported that the campus' learning spaces were facing many challenges: a $45 million deficit in deferred maintenance; an outdated inventory of classrooms and teaching labs; departments competing amongst themselves over limited resources; and no coordination of priorities or central direction. Based on consultant reports, two significant steps were taken: the creation of a Classroom Master Plan, and the decision to establish a centralized unit with overall management responsibility for all classrooms and teaching labs on campus. The unit would report through the Registrar’s Office to the Vice-President, Students. On November 1, 1999, Classroom Services, then called Instructional Facilities Management, officially commenced operations.
Early days
In 1999, Instructional Facilities Management was comprised of a director, a manager, two staff, and an annual budget of $200,000. Given the direction outlined in the Classroom Master Plan, the poor condition of classrooms, the absence of equipment standards, and disparate operating practices, it was clear that teaching labs would take a back seat to the focus on classroom development for several years. To help promote this focus, in early 2000, the name of the unit was changed to Classroom Services.
From 2000 to 2003, Classroom Services categorized classrooms, established audio-visual equipment and furnishing standards, created a cyclical maintenance program in partnership with Building Operations (then called “Plant Operations”), developed guidelines for classroom design, and worked to improve course scheduling protocols.
Over the next several years, the successes of its efforts to improve the learning environment were rewarded with budget increases and an expanded mandate.
Budget overhauls
In 2003, the unit received a $300,000 budget increase to pilot its Service Delivery Model for Classrooms. At the same time, the unit was given an additional $500,000 annually and asked to oversee the development of the University’s informal learning spaces (then called student study and social spaces). In 2006, a new budget model was established that infused almost $3 million into Classroom Services’ annual budget. With the infusion came the demand to establish a Teaching Lab Improvements Committee (TLIC) and a long-term strategic plan for teaching lab improvements.
Meanwhile, the learning spaces were expanding. Between 2004 and 2007, the construction boom at UBC resulted in a 25% increase in the classroom inventory. In 2008, the formal and informal learning spaces and aggressive expansions at UBC Okanagan were added to Classroom Services’ responsibilities.
Today
In order to keep up with ever-increasing demands, Classroom Services as an organization grew. As of 2010, the unit is comprised of seven managers, eight office staff, and 15 AV engineers and technicians.
Our current initiatives include:
-
deciding upon and implementing new scheduling software which can meet the changing needs of the campus community.
- publishing a completely revised and updated version of UBC’s classroom design guidelines
- increasing our ability to schedule courses more flexibly
- developing classroom designs that encourage collaboration
- continuing to advocate for and emphasize the development of ILS our emphasis on informal learning spaces
- working with Dr. Holger Hoos and PhD student Chris Fawcett, from the department of Computer Science, to potentially create new exam scheduling software
- phase II of our web development, aimed at enhancing and redesigning the Buildings and Classrooms directory and making our informal learning spaces searchable
