Guidelines and Procedures for Office and General Purpose Space
This document outlines principles and procedures that apply to office and general purpose space. For principles
and procedures that apply to Research Space, please refer to the link on this page. For principles and
procedures that apply to classroom and instructional space, please refer to the Registrar’s webpage. For
principles and procedures that apply to Conference Services, please refer to the Conference Services website.
I. Principles
A. All space is the property of the university rather than of a particular program or unit. Space may be reassigned as needed to ensure the best usage for the university as a whole.
B. Space allocations should support the overall educational mission of the university and unit.
C. Periodic reviews will be made to ensure the most efficient ongoing use of space.
D. Analyses of requests will include an assessment of the space presently available to the requester as well
as its utilization. Audits will be performed as necessary.
E. Office space should be assigned using the following guidelines:
a. Each full-time employee of the university should have use of individually-assigned private spaces
as deemed necessary by the supervisor and the availability of offices. Full-time faculty should
have use of a private office.
b. Support staff should be assigned space in reasonable proximity to their supervisor.
c. Faculty should be assigned offices in reasonable proximity to their classrooms, labs or studios,
when feasible, to ensure convenience of access for students and faculty.
d. Faculty within the same academic department/unit should be assigned offices in reasonable
proximity to one another.
e. No employee should have more than one office except in certain approved circumstances, for
example in cases of externally funded research, or a part-time administrative appointment. Such
exceptions should be approved by the dean/unit head, and will be subject to periodic reviews.
II. Priorities
Where demands exceed supply, space assignment priorities will be applied by the Provost and the Academic
Space Advisory Committee according to the following priorities:
A. Full-time employees have priority in office assignments, over part-time employees, retirees, and
students/student groups.
B. Full-time faculty and administrators have priority over full-time support staff.
C. Arrangements should be made for part-time faculty and employees, retirees, graduate students, and
other occupants to share office space.
III. Procedures
Each campus department/program/college will update their assigned space allocations on an annual basis,
providing accurate current information on all occupants, uses, and functions for each room within their assigned
areas. The updated inventory will be submitted to Academic Planning and Office of the University Architect. All
unit heads should review files for their areas, and ensure their accuracy prior to submitting them. Inventory files
will be subject to periodic review and audit by the Academic Space Advisory Committee.
A. Requests for Space
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a. All requests for new space, reallocation of space, or change in space use should be made by
completion of the appropriate Space Allocation Request Form. Once completed, the form should
be submitted to Academic Planning for review.
b. Units may reassign space within their department/program/college for the same purpose and
same occupant category without completing a Change of Use space request form: e.g., an office
vacated by a full-time faculty member may be assigned to another full-time faculty member, in
keeping with the principles and priorities noted above. Such reassignments must be reported to
Academic Planning and Office of the University Architect at the time the reassignment is made
so that records can be updated. Office furniture is to remain with the room.
c. All other reassignments require submission of a Change of Use request form, and must be
approved prior to final assignment.
d. Academic Planning and/or Office of the University Architect will conduct an audit of the
requestor’s existing space prior to taking any action.
B. Action on Space Requests
a. Any unit/department/program may make a request for space. All requests for new space (office
or non-office) and all requests for space reassignment must be approved by the requestor’s
dean or division head prior to submission.
b. Minor space adjustments that are consistent with the principles and guidelines included in the
Academic Space Policy and approved by the Academic Space Advisory Committee will be
handled in an expedited manner by Academic Planning and Office of the University Architect
staff.
c. Proposals for major space changes and/or complex requests will be reviewed on a regular basis
by the Academic Space Advisory Committee.
d. Recommendations of the Committee will be forwarded to the Provost for review prior to any
final decisions by the committee.
e. Initial approval of a request or project is conditional and allows the proposal to move forward
for an assessment of feasibility and adequacy of resources.
f. After receiving conditional approval, the requesting unit must complete and submit a FAST
request so that a feasibility and budget review may be conducted.
g. All conditionally approved requests may be subject to revision or denial, depending on the
results of the assessment carried out in step f.
h. In the event a review of feasibility and budget leads to a determination that a project cannot be
completed as initially proposed, the Academic Space Advisory Committee will invite the
requestor to consider and propose alternative options.
C. Occupancy of New or Renovated Space
a. A space needs assessment will be made for units scheduled for new or renovated space
immediately prior to move planning.
b. Where new space will not be fully utilized in accordance with planning standards by units for
whom it was originally intended, the excess space may be allocated to other units in need.
c. When new construction and renovation creates vacancies in existing space, campus units will be
given an opportunity to request use of that space. Requests should be made as outlined above.
D. New Faculty Members
a. To ensure that new faculty members are provided with suitable office and research space upon
arrival, the Provost will work with Academic Planning, the Office of the University Architect, and
the Academic Space Advisory Committee to develop a university-wide plan that provides
guidelines for identifying under-utilized space, and procedures for reallocation as needed for
new faculty.
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