We follow the construction spend rate of the US education industry; using the US Census Bureau Construction Spending figures released the first day of every month.
We encourage our colleagues in the education facilities industry to respond to Census Bureau-retained data gathering contractors in order to contribute to the accuracy of the report.
Here are terms of art commonly used to describe low occupancy rates or low space usage factors in schools, colleges, and universities:
Underutilization – Refers to spaces or facilities in educational institutions that are not used to their full capacity.
Low Occupancy Rate – The percentage of available space or seats in a facility that remains unoccupied during a given period.
Space Utilization Rate – A metric indicating the extent to which physical spaces (classrooms, labs, etc.) are being used, often low when spaces are underused.
Idle Capacity – Describes resources or spaces within an institution that are not actively used or scheduled.
Excess Capacity – When the available space or facilities exceed the demand or actual usage.
Low Enrollment Impact – Refers to reduced space usage due to lower-than-expected student enrollment.
Vacant Space – Areas within a campus (e.g., classrooms, dorms, or offices) that remain unoccupied or unused.
Underused Facilities – Buildings, rooms, or resources that are not fully engaged in academic or operational activities.
Space Inefficiency – A term describing the suboptimal use of available space relative to its potential.
Ghost Space – Informal term for areas that are rarely or never used, remaining empty for extended periods.
Unoccupied Seat Ratio – The proportion of available seats in classrooms or lecture halls that are not filled.
Facility Downtime – Periods when spaces like auditoriums or labs are not in use.
Low Utilization Factor – A metric used in space management to indicate below-optimal use of facilities.
Empty Classroom Syndrome – A colloquial term for classrooms that remain empty or sparsely used during scheduled hours.
Space Surplus – When the available physical space exceeds the institution’s current needs.
Non-Optimized Space Allocation – Refers to the inefficient assignment of spaces for classes or activities, leading to underuse.
Low Footfall Areas – Campus zones with minimal student, staff, or visitor traffic, indicating low usage.
Unused Capacity – Similar to idle capacity, focusing on resources or spaces that are available but not utilized.
Vacancy Rate – A term borrowed from real estate, used to describe the percentage of unused space in dormitories or other facilities.
Scheduling Inefficiency – Low space usage due to suboptimal scheduling of classes or events, leaving spaces empty during peak hours.
Dormitory Underoccupancy – Specific to residential facilities, where dorm rooms or beds remain unassigned or empty.
Classroom Vacancy – Refers to empty or underused classrooms during scheduled academic hours.
Space Redundancy – When institutions maintain more space than necessary for their current operations.
Low Space Efficiency – A broad term for spaces that are not used effectively in terms of time, capacity, or purpose.
Operational Underuse – Describes facilities that are not fully integrated into the institution’s operational or academic activities.
These terms are often used in facilities management, enrollment planning, and campus space optimization discussions to address inefficiencies and plan for better resource allocation. If you need further clarification or examples for any of these, let me know!
French caretakers take sand from Omaha Beach in Normandy, and scrub them into the letters to give them the gold coloring for all 9,386 US soldiers who died.
My ancestors nurtured our soil, refined our natural wealth, and possessed an ingenuity rarely seen.
They also ate bread made of bark, and babies were given milk blended with water. They starved and fought so incredibly hard for Sweden, and it was… pic.twitter.com/Eb3j2SW3KF
— Durham Cathedral (@durhamcathedral) June 8, 2025
Pentecost in the UK is celebrated on Whitsunday, which falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter, typically in May or early June. In 2025, Easter Sunday is on April 20, so Whitsunday will likely be on June 8. The exact date varies yearly based on the lunar calendar used to determine Easter. The following Monday, known as Whit Monday, is also recognized, though it’s less commonly a public holiday today.
Today we refresh our understanding of the regulations for Class D campus radio systems. We review the literature for production technologies and FM transmission technologies through airwaves, cabling systems, the internet or a combination of all.
Flag Day in the United States, observed on June 14th, commemorates the adoption of the American flag by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. It’s a day to honor the symbol of the nation’s unity, freedom, and democracy. The flag represents the ideals and principles upon which the country was founded, including liberty, justice, and equality.
On Flag Day, Americans typically display the flag at their homes and businesses, participate in patriotic ceremonies, and reflect on the significance of the flag in American history and culture. It’s also a time to remember the sacrifices made by those who have served and continue to serve in defense of the nation. Flag Day serves as a reminder of the values that bind Americans together as one nation, under the banner of the stars and stripes.
Today at 11 AM/ET we update our understanding of best practice literature relevant to the information and communication technology enterprises in education communities. Our online meetings coincides with the day of two IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee teleconferences at 14:00 Central European time and 2:00 PM Eastern time in the Americas. Starting 2023 we have begun to break down our coverage of information and communication technology embedded in campus buildings into two modules – Infotech 200 and Infotech 400.
Open to everyone. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
“Composition in red, yellow, blue and black” (1921) / Piet Mondrian
Status check on open source consensus products — and practical applications — evolving around distributed ledger technologies for financing, planning, design, operation & maintenance of the #WiseCampus.
“Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people.
Let your memory be your travel bag.”
— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (From “The Gulag Archipelago”)
Today we explain our collaboration with other education settlements in the US and other nations. We conform to participation requirements set by ANSI US Technical Advisory Groups to the International Organization for Standardization but we also have liaison with other universities in the European Union who conform to the participation requirements of their own national standards bodies.
Wonder what it takes to build a modular school structure? Students at Richard Bulpitt Elementary are getting the opportunity to see it in the works. The first-ever modular expansion project in @LangleySchools is underway. You can read more about from @LangleyTimes. pic.twitter.com/cSOrIikXqf
— Lina Bertling Tjernberg🇸🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@LinaBertling) June 20, 2025
Happy Midsummer! 🌺☀️🇸🇪🎉
We had so much fun celebrating the magic of this Swedish tradition by making flower wreaths, dancing around the maypole, enjoying a smorgasbord buffet and music with our American friends, families and allies here in DC. pic.twitter.com/NC9tEKa4RS
— Embassy of Sweden USA (@SwedeninUSA) June 21, 2024
With emphasis on OB-GYN because educational settlements are where families begin and grow among the young.
Many research universities have large medical research and clinical delivery enterprises that provide significant revenue. We periodically scan public consultations for literature that sets the standard of care for the facilities and technologies in these enterprises in education communities.
Illumination technologies have had a pattern of consuming about 35 percent of building electrical energy use. That number has been pressed downward with the expanded application of LED luminaires and occupant responsive controls; much of the transformation hastened by the IEEE, IES and ASHRAE best practice catalogs.
Today we run through the development status of these products with specific interest in exterior illumination best practice. This topic also is covered in the 4 time monthly meetings of the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.
University endowments are comprised of money or other financial assets that are donated to academic institutions. Charitable donations are the primary source of funds for endowments. Endowment funds support the teaching, research, and public service missions of colleges and universities. In the case of endowment funds for academic institutions, the income generated is intended to finance a portion of the operating or capital requirements of the institution. Today we will pick through few reports where safety and sustainability claims are listed and described.
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
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