Student Study Space

Paper 4.3

Agenda Item 4.3

The University of Edinburgh

Space Management Group

29 June 2004

Student Study Space

Brief description of the paper

This paper puts forwards proposals for making rooms available to students as study group space.

Action requested

The Space Management Group is invited to comment on the proposals and, if agreeable, on the means of implementing.

Resource implications

Does the paper have resource implications? Yes

If ‘Yes’, in which section(s) of the paper are they described?

There will be a need for Support Services staff to open and close rooms for this purpose in some areas e.g. Buccleuch Place which are not traditionally open in the evenings. The Assistant Director of Support Services has confirmed that this will be possible.

Risk Assessment

Does the paper include a risk analysis? No

Equality and Diversity

Does the paper have equality and diversity implications? Yes

Although the list of rooms to be made available has still to be finalised, it is likely that not all of the rooms will have access for mobility impaired people.

Any other relevant information

None

Originator of the paper

Maureen Masson, Senior Administrator, 14 June 2004

Freedom of information

Can this paper be included in open business? Yes

Student Study Space

Background

At the last meeting of the Space Management Group a paper from EUSA was discussed entitled ‘Academic Facilities and Student Services’. The Group also considered the outcome of the deliberations of the Student Study Working Group and recommended that a list of rooms should be identified which students could book for group study space. It was further suggested that these rooms should be made available for booking through the student portal.

Subsequent to the Space Management Group meeting, the Knowledge Management Strategic Plan was discussed at the Principal’s Strategy Group on 17 March 2004. The recommendations arising from PSG were that:

• ISG should consider student space issues as outlined in EUSA’s Academic Facilities and Services Plan to consider the most effective use of space for study and learning.

• MALTS in consultation with Estates and Buildings develop a Teaching Spaces Management Plan recognising that not all spaces can be equipped to a premium level and some will need to be partially equipped while others will be at a basic level. Definitions of each level will be required.

• The matter be considered by the Space Management Group.

Since these meetings, proposals have emerged for a Working Group, under the direction of Vice-Principal Helen Hayes, to look at teaching and learning facilities and study space and this is a welcome step. In the meantime, however, there is a need to review the options for the provision of study space and this paper suggests rooms that could be made available and options for booking them.

Rooms for student study

Making centrally bookable rooms available for student use after normal working hours has been discussed in the past. There are a number of issues that make this less straightforward than might appear mostly to relating to security of premises and people, equipment and accountability and a number of H&S and security issues will have to be fully explored. However it is acknowledged that there is a need to address the frequent requests from students for group study space. A list of possible rooms can be found at Appendix 1. Possible options:

• There are a number of rooms in the Pleasance which could be made available. These rooms are used in the evenings for student society meetings but are generally available during the day. EUSA are happy in principle for the rooms to be used for this purpose.

• Make available some of the centrally bookable rooms in Buccleuch Place for evening use. These will normally be used for teaching until 6pm so could be made available after the end of the teaching day. A list of rooms in Buccleuch Place can be found at

• There is also a need to make some study space available at King’s Buildings and possibilities here include making some centrally bookable rooms in the JCMB available on the same basis to those in Buccleuch Place. It might be also possible to make the space in KB House available and this will need to be explored with EUSA.

Ideally it would help to keep separate the times that rooms are used for a particular purpose and for student to be aware of what is available and when e.g. the Buccleuch Place rooms will be used for teaching until 6pm and only available for student study from say 6pm until 10pm.

Management of rooms

There are a number of ways students could access any named set of rooms that are made available as study space and these are outlined below:

Option 1

Block book a number of rooms within EBIS at specified times e.g. 6-10pm during week days. This would be the simplest method to implement although it would not allow a means to check who was using rooms and would bring added complications in terms of security and H&S implications.

Option 2

Allow students to book any of the agreed set of rooms via the Booking Unit. No refinements to the current EBIS system would be needed but there would be additional work for the Booking Unit. The Booking Unit would have to take on trust any request from students.

Option 3 – Preferred option

Work on the EBIS system and the Edinburgh Student Portal (ESP) is undertaken to allow students to directly book rooms. A list of rooms to be booked for student study (which could be a mix of centrally bookable and non-centrally bookable) would set up as a zone within EBIS, and an interface between that and the portal would be developed by MIS. This would link the booking of rooms by students linking to matriculation number. This would be relatively easy to implement although there would be no mechanism for cancelling rooms in the existing system at the present time, although this could be worked on if this was thought to be essential. Bookings would be made via ESP and students could see what bookings had been made for a defined set of rooms and times in the ESP environment. Essentially students would only see the bookings for a named set of rooms that were to be used for student study for specified periods.

The Space Management Group is invited to consider:

• Whether rooms should be made available for student study and if yes:

• Which of the proposed methods should be used to manage the bookings.

If the Space Management Group is agreeable a detailed specification will be developed with MIS colleagues after the meeting the aim of introducing something for the new session if possible and subject to funding.

Appendix 1

Pleasance Rooms

Rooms in Buccleuch Place

10 Buccleuch Place

Seminar Room 2.6 (Seats 12)

Seminar Room 2.8 (Seats 20)

22 Buccleuch Place

Seminar Room 1.2 (Seats 20)

Seminar Room 1.4 (Seats 20)

Seminar Room 2.2 (Seats 20)

Seminar Room 2.3 (Seats 20)

Seminar Room 3.3 (Seats 18)

24 Buccleuch Place

Classroom 1.07 (seats 15)

Classroom 1.08 (seats 20)

Classroom

JCMB

Rooms yet to be identified.