Classroom Master Plan

The Classroom Master Plan Committee is glad to share with the University community documentation outlining our process, the activities we engaged in, the feedback we received, audit information about learning spaces on campus, and how we plan to proceed in the coming years to make learning environments at Richmond meet the changing needs of faculty and students.

The Classroom Master Plan is comprised of eight documents in PDF format:

  • The Classroom Master Plan, which provides an executive summary of the Classroom Master Plan Committee’s work and the feedback we received from faculty and students. The document discusses near term actions taken in response to faculty and student input, and outlines opportunities for future consideration. This document also describes the annual process the ongoing Classroom Committee will follow in selecting rooms for updates, and how we plan to work with faculty teaching in those spaces to best meet the needs of everyone who uses those learning spaces.
  • Appendix 01: Classroom Audit Report (available only to the University community) provides a classroom-by-classroom analysis of every classroom on campus. Photos for each classroom were taken at the time of the audit, classroom conditions were rated, and information on classroom utilization are provided. Please note that due to the sensitive nature of this document, it is only available to members of the University Community through your Box login.
  • Appendix 02: Classroom Utilization Analysis & Room Mix Detail (available only to the University community) presents analysis completed by Ayers Saint Gross based on historical room use information provided by the Registrar’s Office. This information, along with information in the individual classroom audits, has provided the committee with a list of underperforming classrooms.
  • Appendix 03: Appendix Workshop Report details a series of workshops held by the architects from Ayers Saint Gross with faculty and students in the attempt to understand what classrooms of the future at Richmond might look like. Several of these workshops were hands-on experiences, allowing participants to design particular campus classroom spaces so that the Committee would have a better sense of how faculty think and approach learning spaces.
  • Appendix 04: Technology Report provides a review of the classroom technology deployed in classrooms and computer labs across campus.
  • Appendix 05: Context for the Analysis explains the history of classroom renovations at the University. This Classroom Master Plan is in fact our second plan, following one that began in 2004 with several goals, including standardizing multimedia so faculty could make use of media regardless of the classroom to which they were assigned.
  • Appendix 06: Committee Structure lists the members of the Classroom Master Plan Committee as well as others who were brought in at intervals during the process to share feedback from schools.
  • Appendix 07: Classroom Master Plan Interviews (available only to the University community) contains the notes from the meetings conducted by the Classroom Master Plan committee with every department or school on campus. The committee had chosen to meet with faculty rather than conduct a survey because group discussions would not only allow departments to share existing issues, but also to talk about their thoughts for how teaching, and this learning spaces, will be changing in the coming years. The committee met with over 180 faculty during this process, and notes were reviewed by departments after the discussion. These notes will be considered as the classroom committee moves forward each year in selecting and executing learning space renovations, though we will also reach out to faculty who teach in those classrooms so we’re sure to get additional input before redesigning the space.

The Classroom Master Plan is not a static plan. Needs change, new spaces are built, new initiatives are proposed, and, as environments are more closely examined, special needs are discovered.

The Classroom Master Plan has been a successful initiative at the University of Richmond. We have made great progress. In order to continue to maintain a first-class classroom and learning spaces infrastructure that supports the goals of our faculty and students, we are now undertaking a new classroom program study to renew our plan.

In total, approximately 160 spaces are included in the new Classroom Master Plan. It is also the University’s intent to expand the scope of the Master Plan process to include an evaluation of informal learning spaces. We also seek to institute the development of "incubator" teaching spaces that allow faculty to innovate new teaching and learning techniques.

If you have any questions about the Classroom Master Plan, please contact Kristen Ball, Mark Nichols, or Kevin Creamer.