Hi Sarah and all
In Plymouth we have a mixture of open plan and more private working
space/facilities. The LD team has an open plan office area at present
(for about another year - then will be moved ... no idea where!) This
works pretty well, and has all the advantages (and some of the
disadvantages) you mention in your summary, Sarah. We avoid some of the
disadvantages by not seeing students in this space. We use some small
offices in the library for our individual tutorial sessions. These are
pretty good on the whole - especially for confidentiality - though they
also present some potential security issues that frankly we have not yet
addressed ... though we've raised them. We had to fight to get a phone
in our main tutorial room. We also discussed the possibility of having a
'panic' button for staff ...
As our campus is one big building site at present, there is a lot of
temporariness! However, I'm arguing for LD office and working spaces
that will allow us to continue to benefit from the variety of spaces we
currently have: I would prefer to continue to have an open plan office
environment for the team, separate from where we work with students,
which would also include at least one smaller office available for
private / quiet study by team members. For our students, I'd like LD to
retain its key presence in the library: an open area for drop-in /
reception for academic staff and students, next to our resources
collection, with tutorial rooms not too far away.
We will also have a new university 'gateway' main entrance to/from the
city from the autumn. Our 'Office of the Dean of Students' (= student
services) will have a reception area there and we will be 'represented'.
All the best
John
John Hilsdon
Co-ordinator, Learning Development
01752 232276
[log in to unmask]
http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/learn
-----Original Message-----
From: learning development in higher education network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sarah McCarthy
Sent: 07 August 2007 14:39
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Open Plan working
Hi all,
A belated thanks to everyone who shared their views about
open plan working - Martin at Portsmouth, Ben at Tremough,
Tracy at Bristol, Ann at Manchester, Julian and Jill at Hope.
All very useful material for our discussions with senior
managers! As I see it, the benefits of working open plan are
as follows:
* Collegiality and "team feel"
* Potential sharing of ideas that may result from
closer proximity
* Development of good working practices
* Less isolation from other colleagues
The disadvantages seem to be:
* Lack of confidentiality - even if a room is provided
for this purpose for students or staff, phone calls
cannot be confidential in a shared space.
* Students feeling reluctant to enter a shared space,
particularly if they are distressed
* The difficulty of impromptu discussions with staff or
students
* Lack of Room available for resources/learning
materials
* The buzz of noise which can sound unprofessional to
students or staff on the other end of the phone
I agree with Jill that dedicated spaces for learning which
are open plan work well as (hopefully) student learning has
been the paramount concern from the outset. Unfortunately,
we are not in this position. If we had a reception desk, a
space equipped for students to learn collaboratively or
independently and rooms to use when students and staff visit
us, I would be more than happy with the idea. The reality is,
it is a way to draw the new team together. Of course, this is
no bad thing, but I am concerned about how students will view
this, and if it will affect their decision about whether to
access the learning skills service.
I'll let anyone interested know the outcome. In the mean
time, if anyone else would like to contribute to the
discussion, please do so. I'd be particularly interested in
hearing from anyone who has been a "space management
consultant" as Julian eloquently put it!
Best regards,
Sarah
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Sarah McCarthy
University of Exeter
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