Education Space Consultancy

Providing expert timetable and space management consultancy services within the education sector

Episode 2/10 – How to … Create Institution Frequency, Occupancy and Utilisation Tables and Graphs

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This is the second episode in the Teaching Space Utilisation Survey Data Video Tutorial Series this time looking at how to create institution frequency, occupancy and utilisation results, tables and graphs.

I have used Microsoft Excel to put together these results, tables and graphs, therefore in addition to providing a video a downloadable version of the spreadsheet used is also available below. Plus there is a downloadable one page sheet that includes the formulas used so you can quickly and easily refer back when creating your own frequency, occupancy and utilisation rates for your institution.

As with calculating room results, calculating your institution’s results is a fundamental part of [Read more…]

Episode 1/10 – How to…Create Room Frequency, Occupancy and Utilisation Results

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This is the first in a 10 episode Teaching Space Utilisation Survey Data video tutorial series that I am making available to all for free, via the Education Space Consultancy website.

During each of these 10 episodes I build upon each skill learnt with the aim of creating a thorough set of data analysis results, tables and graphs within Microsoft Excel that you can use to investigate your institution’s or department’s teaching space utilisation survey data.

I always use each of these techniques as a starting point in pinpointing areas of weakness and strengths within an institution’s results when putting together a Teaching Space Utilisation Survey report, so I hope you find the techniques used in these videos helpful in helping you get the most out of your teaching space.

In addition to providing each video tutorial, all content used will be available for download plus I will also detail any formulae’s used within each post so you can refer back during or after the video.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions either by getting in contact with me directly, or by commenting below. Finally, if you find these tutorials helpful please let others know by sharing them via social media, you can do this simply by clicking the social media buttons below

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Episode 1 – How to…Create Room Frequency, Occupancy and Utilisation Results

This first episode starts from the beginning and outlines how to create room frequency, occupancy and utilisation results using your Teaching Space Utilisation Survey results.

[Read more…]

Working Together To Get The Most Out Of Teaching Space – The Space Util Group

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I have worked and spoke with many HE and FE institutions from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and America over the last year and have discussed very similar issues with each when it comes down to getting the most out of their teaching spac such as “Teaching rooms are being booked and not used”, “When rooms are used they are being used inefficiently” and “The availability of teaching rooms does not match the demand”. 

These are common issues that I believe most institutions share, recognise and are trying to address. But how are they addressing them?

What I have found is that each institution (both FE and HE) approach solving specific teaching space utilisation issues differently, some slightly, some very and each with a varying degree of success.

For example, as mentioned a lot of institutions suffer from the issue of teaching rooms being booked and not used. This is in fact a very significant and prevalent issue, often resulting in 100’s of hours of teaching space availability being wasted per week – see article “Are There Rooms Timetabled But Not Used”. However, do you know how others address this issue? Or do you know how big an issue this is for other institutions? Is there an acceptable level of rooms booked and not used? Are there proven successful and unsuccessful strategies?

[Read more…]

Functional Suitability – Does It Matter?

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Over recent articles I have discussed some of the different methods of getting more out of the space you have available, however one key aspect I haven’t touched on often is the importance of knowing how functional your space is and what you need to do to improve its functionality.

The functionality of space(s) is often something that is ignored, but it shouldn’t be. A space with a poor functionality hampers its users, working against the way they would like or need to work, rather than with. By having functional space the users have the space and tools they require to make the most out of their time and perform the best they can.

The best way to understand how functional your space is, is by measuring it! By measuring the functionality of the spaces at your institution you are collecting a data set that measures how the space performs in relation to the expectations for this type of space and the suer requirements/expectations.

This can be done by carrying out a Functional Suitability Survey of an area or the entire [Read more…]

5 Reasons To Carry Out A Teaching Space Utilisation Survey

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Many institutions carry out a Teaching Space Utilisation Survey at least once each academic year throughout a teaching week, with each of these surveys recording the number of people using their teaching space as well as sometimes checking who is using each teaching space against the timetables for that week. At Education Space Consultancy, Teaching Space Utilisation Surveys are one of the core services we offer to HE and FE institutions, as they are often a seasonal, time consuming and stressful survey to put together, manage and analyse for those working within an HE and FE institution.

So why carry out a Teaching Space Utilisation Survey in the first place? What is it that the institutions are looking to understand and accomplish by carrying out these surveys? This article takes a look at what, in my experience, I believe to be the 5 core reasons and benefits of carrying out a Teaching Space Utilisation Survey.

1) Increasing The Availability Of Teaching Space

I have found that is common amongst institutions for there to be  a perception amongst [Read more…]