University Business - December 2008 - (Page 16)

BEHIND the NEWS Dorm of Distinction Receives Green Distinction THE 10 WEST STREET RESIDENCE HALL AT Suffolk University in Boston—which earned a runner-up designation in the University Business Dorms of Distinction competition this year—has now been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Suffolk acquired the historic, partially renovated property in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood after a developer’s condominium project failed. Sustainable highlights of 10 West Street include: • A location in a high-density urban area that’s readily accessible via public transportation. • Reuse of an existing building to prevent demolition waste and reduce the amount of new building materials required. • More than 80 percent of the regularly occupied Extensive daylighting is a key part of the 10 West Street design. spaces designed to take advantage of daylighting. • An HVAC design with direct digital controls for centralized monitoring, adjustment, and alarms for each piece of equipment. • Low-emitting carpets, paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, wood, and furnishings to protect indoor air quality. • Local and regional building materials and furnishings. • A green housekeeping program. CBT Architects transformed the fixed individual condo configurations with minimal demolition into a residence that now houses a far larger number of people per unit and per floor than the condos would have. The hall was designed to hold nearly 270 students. To learn more about the other residence halls named Dorms of Distinction, see the August 2008 issue of University Business (also available online). —M.E. U BETW EEN T H E L I N E S EM=C2: A New Formula for Enrollment Management By John Maguire, Lawrence Butler, and their colleagues at Maguire Associates; Trafford Publishing, 2008; 152 pp.; $19.95 NO, WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT MASSenergy equivalence, but the formula offered by enrollment management consultant John Maguire (president of Maguire Associates) suggests a new way to look at the forces driving college choice. In the formula, EM is enrollment management, and C2 stands for “community of communities.” “Communities” in this case are the various sources, from social networks like MySpace and Facebook to the annual college ranking lists, from which students derive much of their information about colleges. Understanding and cultivating the synergism between these communities, the students, and the institution can help enrollment managers leverage the marketing message. Taking a cue from their own description, the authors have added an online component to their book, www .thecommunitysquare.com, where readers can discuss and evolve the ideas in the book. One criticism: although humorous, the book is loaded with puns and quasiscientific terminology that sometimes obscure the message beneath. —T.G. Teaching Assistants Get Schooled ASSISTANCE FOR NEW TEACHING ASSISTANTS CAN VARY FROM A HANDBOOK TO A FEW days of training. Tapping into the wisdom of more experienced TAs can also help, especially after classes are under way. This is now easier to do, thanks to a wiki, http://uscta .wikidot.com, created over the course of two years by TAs at the University of Southern California’s Center for Excellence in Teaching. The living document allows users to collaborate as they revise and improve the information provided. Covering topics ranging from the basics (“know your class schedule”) to the more complicated (“how to grade fairly”), the wiki includes a grading scale, so users can offer their assessment of each section’s usefulness. “Created by TAs for TAs, there is no other like it in the nation,” says Lawford Anderson, director of the USC center. He hopes other universities will use the wiki as a source of information. With about 1,500 graduate student TAs at USC during any given year, and more than 400 of them new to teaching, Anderson anticipates the wiki will be very popular on his own campus. —A.M. 16 | December 2008 universitybusiness.com http://uscta.wikidot.com http://uscta.wikidot.com http://www.thecommunitysquare.com http://www.thecommunitysquare.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - December 2008

University Business - December 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Human Resources
2009 Annual Directory to Financial Services
Future Shock
Independent Outlook
Endowment Management
Look Before You Leap
50 Best Branding Ideas
Remedial Nation
What's New
Facilities Focus
End Note

University Business - December 2008