Space at the University of Iowa is a valuable, expensive, and limited resource required by all programs to succeed. These space guidelines have been established to create uniformity, flexibility, and efficiency in the University’s work environments. The University shares responsibilities amongst professionals, committees, users, and leadership to manage its space and assure the allocation and utilization of it aligns with its program needs and strategic aspirations. Space on campus, and associated spaces, is allocated based on programmatic need and academic/administrative priorities and may be reallocated if those needs and priorities change. 

Space allocation is the responsibility of the following University Central Administration (UCA) leadership:

• Executive Vice President and Provost
• Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations
• Vice President for Research
• Vice President for Medical Affairs
• Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
• Vice President for Student Life
• Office of the President

University Central Administration leadership assigns space to organizational units of the University for them to manage in performing their assigned responsibilities, and to house the personnel associated with those activities, consistent with strategic planning initiatives of the University. Space management responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 

1. To support an accurate and complete record of space allocations, organizational units are required to verify space allocation changes on an ongoing basis to Facilities Management Information Systems. 
2. To support an accurate and complete record of office space occupant(s), organizational units will verify and update occupant changes on the UI Space Survey on an ongoing basis. 
3. University space may not be assigned to non-campus organizations without prior approval from the UCA. 
4. Space allocations that satisfy long-range UI plans (strategic plan, master plan, university space plans) take precedence over temporary, short-term requests. 
5. Costs associated with any space reallocations, renovations, cosmetic improvements, and equipment are the responsibility of the new occupying department, unless otherwise agreed upon by the University Central Administration.

When a program needs space within an organizational unit, the following steps should be taken. 

1. Contact program or department lead. 
2. The request, if justifiable and approved by the department lead, forwards the request to the college or organizational unit leader (e.g. dean of the college). 
3. This organizational unit reallocates or reassigns space within the organizational unit to address the request and informs Campus Planning and Development of the change. 
4. If the college or organizational unit cannot resolve the space request, it is elevated to University Central Administration leader listed above.
5. When the organizational unit cannot meet its needs within current space, the UCA leader (e.g. Provost) will forward the unit’s needs and justification to Campus Planning and Development to review whether there are opportunities to explore reallocation between organizational units based on utilization data and if not, for inclusion into the University’s space plan and master planning process.

Campus Planning and Development (CP&D) is responsible for leading the planning efforts associated with the maintenance, operations, and improvements (renovations and new construction) of the university’s physical environment. CP&D is responsible for developing comprehensive plans and processes that support the building, site, and infrastructure needs of all campus programs. Specific focus areas include: 

1. Campus Master Plan
2. Campus Development Plan
3. Project Planning 
4. Space Planning & Management
5. Facilities Data Management 

Specific duties the CP&D has relative to the University’s space management program are as follows: 

1. Works with each CP&D organizational unit to determine its current and future space needs to successfully address its strategic aspirations.
2. Partners with Facilities Management to search for options to resolve space needs and recommend space reallocations involving more than one organizational unit.
3. Ensures the organizational unit long-range plan and college space analysis has been complete before assigning additional space.
4. Create and manage the ongoing university space plan.
5. Create and maintain the University’s space model.
6. Staff and chair the University Space Committee.
7. Manage space requests and reallocation for all owned and leased space. 
8. Make recommendations regarding space use to the University Space Committee. 
9. Ensure all space is used in an efficient manner while planning for the long-term needs of the university.
10. Develop and maintain space planning guidelines.

Successful application of space guidelines depends upon an accurate university-wide space inventory system. Key decisions about renovations, relocations, or approvals for new construction, all of which have major capital planning implications, depend on accurate understanding of existing space allocations, conditions, and utilization. 

Facilities Information Services (FIS) is an organizational unit within Facilities Management that is responsible for the data stewardship of all space, infrastructure, and physical development data for the university’s 20 million+ gross square feet of space across 2,112 acres. FIS has a direct reporting relationship and partnership with the Campus Planning and Development unit within the VP for Finance and Operations. This unique organizational structure combines professional resources needed to support the University’s allocation, utilization, and planning of campus space. Specific duties this organizational unit has relative to the space management process are: 

1. Management of the Space Information Management System (SIMS) which maintains floor plans, space data, and the building inventory for all university owned and leased buildings.
2. Management of the University Geographic Information System (GIS) which creates and maintains University interactive web and printable maps.
3. Management of the University Utility and Mapping Services which creates and maintains the University computer-aided design (CAD) map which is comprised of survey grade information of campus infrastructure and physical development.
4. Provides dynamic integration of managed data schema as a single source of truth with the UI Data Warehouse (DWPROD) which enables and supports business intelligence (BI) activities and application development. 
5. Maintains the University Room Numbering Guidelines which allow floor and room numbering and wayfinding procedures to be applied consistently to all University buildings.
6. Assign room numbers for new or renovated space according to the University Room Numbering Guidelines. Because room numbers affect emergency responders, as well as multiple campus databases, room numbers should not be changed without a formal review by FIS.
7. Assist in room and building name assignments and changes.
8. Support construction delivery and operations and maintenance activities performed by University and ENGIE.
9. Provide space reports as needed including HEFMA, NFS, and the Facilities Governance Report.
10. Monitor renovation projects, in conjunction with project managers, which will impact space use and/or floor plans.
11. Assure data can be cross referenced with other valuable databases such as Human Resources, Tableau, GIS and other systems.

The Controller’s Office annually conducts a Space Survey to collect information for the University Facilities and Administrative Rate (F&A) calculation. The survey is required to be completed by all the departments in the Carver College of Medicine and the College of Engineering, along with Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, and Psychological & Brain Sciences within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 

Departments are asked to provide Functional Use, Funding Source, and Occupant data for rooms that they occupy. The Functional Use portion can only be completed in May and June while the Funding Source and Occupant portion of the survey is open all year. 

All departments, including those not required to do the Space Survey for F&A purposes, are asked to keep the Occupant portion of the survey up to date. The occupant data is used by Central Administration and Collegiate Administrators to analyze the availability and productivity of space. 

During the survey process Departments are asked to report any changes in room assignment or room type to Facilities Management (FM). This helps FM to keep the Space Information Management System up to date. 

The University has adopted the National Center for Educational Statistics, Post-Secondary Facilities Inventory Classification coding system. These are found in their Facilities Inventory Classification Manual, or FICM for short. Space descriptions, definitions and codes are in Appendix Section 1.

The University Space Committee, a sub-committee of the Campus Development Team, advises the University on space related issues to include policy, use, analysis, and allocation. The committee:

1. Provides recommendations to the Provost, VP for Finance and Operations, and VP for Research for General fund space issues that cannot be resolved amongst affected programs.
2. Provides recommendations to the Master Planning Team and Campus Development Team regarding future space needs to meet strategic aspirations or long-term facility management issues.
3. Manages the Space Guidelines, University space policy, and planning metrics in the Space Planning Model.
4. Supports and advances recommendations from the Instructional Space and Research Space subcommittees. 

Membership

• Kirk Banks, Associate Director, Facilities Information Systems, Facilities Management
• Jason Miller, Representative, College of Medicine
• Ashly Lagneaux, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
• Josh Weiner, Associate Dean for Reearch, College of Liberal Arts & Science
• Aliasger Salem, Associate Vice President, Research Administration
• Alberto Segre, Professor, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Computer Science
• Lois Geist, Provost Office
• Renee Houser, Registrar’s Office
• Ted Welter, Assistant Controller
• Maggie Vogel, Campus Planning and Development
• Lori Cranston, College of Public Health (at large west campus)
• Joe Bilotta (Chair), Campus Planning and Development

Space policies and guidelines have been established to help the university manage its space in a way that supports its program operations. These are used to:

1. Determine a program’s space needs.
   • Current space needs based on today’s operations.
   • Future space needs to address strategic aspirations.
2. Determine appropriate allocation of space through sound metrics and utilization criteria.
3. Establish space types and use metrics in the space planning model.
4. Determine master planning facility requirements.
5. Help inform decisions relative to space allocation and use.

Numerous architectural space guidelines, use and occupancy metrics, and policy related measures follow. They are reviewed, approved, and adopted by the University Central Administration for use in space analytics, design considerations, decision making, project planning and master planning. The University Space Committee adopts and uses these when making recommendations to campus leadership. The architectural space guidelines are organized by space type and include two sections. The first covers allocation, management, and expectations of the specific space type. The second includes the University’s architectural guidelines for the specific space type.

1. Assignment of multiple offices for any member of the campus community, including both faculty and staff, is strongly discouraged. However, a second office may be justified, and approved by the organizational unit leader in certain situations for faculty with joint or administrative appointments or engaged in research in lab space distant from their home office. When justified, and approved by the organizational unit leader, the second office should be shared and/or smaller than the individual’s primary office space.
2. Fully remote employees will not be provided a dedicated office station. Shared stations may be made available for their use when needing to work on campus.
3. Hybrid work arrangements provide an opportunity to increase space utilization and reduce costs by sharing offices. Assignment of shared space, rather than private space, is expected for staff approved to work in a hybrid work arrangement. These spaces don’t have to be, but can be, assigned to individuals.
4. Regardless of who it is assigned to, conference spaces and meeting spaces are to be shared when possible. First preference for use may be established for the assigned department.
5. Office space types for individual assignment shall consider the majority use and main functions or tasks the job requires. For example, if a person averages 1 private meeting a day, it does not justify a private office setting.
6. Post-doctoral scholars, graduate students and part-time faculty and staff should be assigned office space in a shared office arrangement.
7. Each organizational unit should ensure that offices are occupied. When offices, or individually assigned workspaces are left unoccupied for significant periods of time, organizational units are expected to use these spaces to alleviate pressing space needs prior to requesting space. Unoccupied space could be subject for reassignment per the UI Operations Manual, 35.4 Reassignment of Space for Primary Use.
8. Emeritus/retired faculty and staff may be provided shared offices, at the discretion of the organizational unit, as long as space is available AND the emeritus employee remains engaged in organizational unit activities. These shared offices are intended to allow an individual to maintain contact with their organizational unit, discipline and colleagues. An emeritus/retired faculty or staff member actively engaged in teaching or research may retain a private office at the discretion of the organizational unit, if space is available.
9. Support spaces for meetings, whether in a group or individual, shall be planned and provided to reduce the dependency on the number of private, dedicated, individual offices.