Space Management Policy

Policy Number: 9.52
Effective Date: February 24, 2023
Revision History: August 30, 2021
Policy Contact: Director of Operations in conjunction with the Space Management Steering Committee

I. Purpose and Policy Statement

The Space Management Policy establishes a framework for the efficient use, equitable allocation, and periodic review of GGC’s physical resources to support the College’s mission. Space allocation and reallocation cannot be handled in an ad-hoc manner on a long-term basis without subsequent space issues arising. As such, this policy is intended to provide a basis for transparent space decisions that maintain a proper balance between teaching, student success, engagement and outreach, and administrative functions on campus.

II. Scope

This policy applies to all members of the campus community. The campus community includes all faculty, administrators, staff including student workers, students, alumni, interns, and volunteers as well as members of the GGC Foundation Board of Trustees, College-sponsored advisory committees, visitors, vendors, and other service providers.   

III. Roles and Responsibilities

1. The Office of Operations serves as the College resource regarding space planning and management on and off campus; provides effective stewardship of the space inventory database; manages space requests; conducts annual space audits; supports campus moves; and provides accurate and timely space inventory and utilization reports to inform decision-makers about short- and long-term space needs.
2. The Space Management Steering Committee (“SMSC”) serves as the decision-making entity that is responsible for developing policies and plans that promote stewardship of all College space resources including academic, athletic, auxiliary, and administrative spaces; ensuring that such policies and plans align with the College Strategic Plan; and prioritizing institutional needs for equitable and efficient allocations of space resources.
3. Subcommittees may be established to analyze or explore specific space issues and policies. Subcommittees shall bring forth recommendations to SMSC for discussion and recommendation. The SMSC Chair appoints members to various subcommittees as needed.

IV. Compliance

1. General Space Policies
   1. SMSC will provide recommendations on space decisions, but the ultimate decision on how College space is allocated is the President’s.
   2. The College, not any academic unit (school, department, office, center, group, or individual) within the College, is the owner of its physical space resources.
   3. All space is subject to allocation and reallocation to align with the College’s Strategic Plan, institutional priorities, and the best interests of the College and its programs. Space requests that directly support education, including activities that support student success, will be prioritized. Short and long-term priorities will be considered to promote fiscal responsibility and equitable space allocations for the College’s needs and not for a single department or school.
   4. All buildings and properties on campus and off campus are subject to this policy whether they be owned or leased buildings.
   5. Overflow or flexible space shall be preserved to ensure departments and the College can adequately address moves and changing staffing requirements.
   6. Furniture may not be moved or modified without approval from the Operations department in all spaces on campus including but not limited to instructional spaces, conference rooms, common areas, and administrative spaces.
   7. Efficiency is balanced with the flexibility to ensure proper stewardship of space resources and to achieve utilization rates above the goal of 70 percent.
   8. In instances in which space becomes vacant due to events such as moves to new space, elimination, reduction, or change of an existing function, downsizing of staff, or any other reason, such space may be considered unassigned and revert to the control of GGC through SMSC.
   9. All requests, including new hires/modification/move requests, for space needs, must be sent through and approved by the SMSC. Before any office reassignments are made, the SMSC shall contact the applicable Vice President or equivalent operating head to confirm in writing whether or not the office space is to be retained for a current FTE and/or if the vacated position is slated to be filled for their respective unit. This notification will serve as the due process opportunity for each operating unit.
   10. No operating unit or individual is authorized to occupy space simply because office space is vacant. The office space must be authorized and reassigned through the SMSC.
   11. All instructional spaces including classrooms, conference rooms, instructional and computer labs - whether scheduled by the registrar or a department - are required to be scheduled through the college scheduling software.
   12. All space occupancy changes will be reported to the Office of Operations to maintain data reliability.  Any occupancy changes made to instructional space will also be communicated to the Registrar.
   13. A space request must be submitted and approved before any change or modification can be made to existing space (including buildings & property). Conversion of existing space to other functional uses/occupancies (FICM⁶ code changes) is prohibited except when approved by the Space Management Steering Committee.
   14. All campus moves shall be approved and coordinated through the Office of Operations regardless if the move is within the same building, department or school to maintain data reliability and ensure proper stewardship of College space resources.
   15. SMSC will promulgate principles, procedures and guidelines as necessary to meet this policy. SMSC reviews all space requests and shall provide recommendations to the President for approval. The President may delegate space decisions to SMSC or Office of Operations for minor space requests.
2. Office Space
   1. Office space is prioritized for GGC employees including faculty or staff.  Allocation of offices shall only be approved by SMSC and implemented by the Office of Operations.
   2. On an annual basis, a pool of faculty offices will be allocated for use by the SMSC to the deans. The deans will be responsible for placing faculty into these offices. The deans will submit a final inventory list of offices that has name, title, and school to the Office of Operations. If a faculty office is vacated before the end of the year the office space reverts back to the school who it was allocated to.
   3. Requests for additional office space requires written justification that includes an audit of the department/group/center’s current space. 
   4. Units occupying office space exceeding standards (i.e. through staff and/or program reduction or redirection) should notify the Office of Operations for an audit to determine a possible reallocation of space.
   5. Auxiliary and athletic facilities shall follow the space standards referenced in this policy for office use and allocation.
3. Reservable Space
   1. Conference and meeting spaces are a College-wide resource and do not belong to individual schools, departments, programs, centers, groups or individuals. Conference rooms may be used as instructional space and follow similar scheduling and use guidelines as classrooms and instructional laboratories.
   2. Conference and meeting spaces shall be scheduled through the College scheduling software and can be used by multiple departments to optimize utilization across campus.
4. Space Scheduling Software
   1. All classes and events are required to be entered into the College’s Space Scheduling software.  All classes and events in the Space Scheduling software take precedence over events that are not requested through the scheduling system.
   2. All reservable space to include classrooms, conference and meeting rooms, large venues, and outdoor space are subject to periodic audits to ensure they are being used as scheduled and maintained appropriately.
   3. Student groups, which are registered with the Office of Student Involvement, may reserve space on campus during normal building operating hours through the Office off Student Involvement.
5. Access to Space. An essential element of space management is security and maintaining adequate access control so that College facilities may only be accessed by those that are authorized. Issuance of access devices should be careful, systematic, and audited, as inadequately controlled access devices result in poor security. The Office of Public Safety will be overall responsible for controlled access on campus.  Departments that will support this oversight will consist of Facilities, Operations, and Auxiliary Services. Specific responsibilities are as follows:
   1. Public Safety is responsible for the overall administration of the access control management console.
   2. Facilities is responsible for maintenance, installs, and anything related to the operations of the hardware on the access points around campus.
   3. Operations is responsible for managing the requests and approving access to faculty/staff requested by the Department Access Coordinator.
   4. Each Vice President, Dean, and\or Department Head will work together to designate a Department Access Coordinator to serve as the primary contact between their respective units and Operations to ensure employees are given the access they need to perform their job functions. Operations must be contacted immediately of any changes involving the Department Access Coordinator.
   5. Auxiliary Services is responsible for creating the card that will provide authorized access to the controlled doors based on established business rules.
6. Grant & Research Space
   1. All space that is required by grants or research must be requested by the grant writer or researcher before the grant is submitted or before the research starts.  The request will be reviewed and approved by the SMSC. The SMSC may ask for a formal presentation before approval is given.
   2. Research space encompasses all space that is primarily intended and used for conducting research and creative activities; and spaces that directly serve one or more research or creative activities labs as an extension of the activities in those labs.