The State of Facilities at Eastern Region Institutions JUNE16
1. Center
University of Missouri – Columbia
University of Missouri – Kansas City
University of Missouri – St. Louis
University of Nebraska at Kearney
University of Nebraska at Lincoln
University of Nebraska Medical Center
University of Nebraska Omaha
University of New Brunswick
University of New Hampshire
University of New Haven
University of New Mexico
University of North Texas
University of Northern Iowa
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon
University of Ottawa
University of Pennsylvania
University of Redlands
University of Rhode Island
University of Rochester
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southern Maine
University of Southern Mississippi
University of St. Thomas
University of Tennessee Health
Science Center
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Texas at Dallas
University of the Sciences in
Philadelphia
University of Toledo
University of Vermont
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Department of General
Services
Wagner College
Wake Forest University
Washburn University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
State of Facilities in Higher
Education: 2015 Benchmarks, Best
Practices, & Trends
Eastern Region Institutions
2. % of Space Over 50 Years Old Continues to Rise
Age categories are an important indicator of long-term facilities risk and capital needs
2
Roughly 58% of space is over 25 years old, which is a critical age threshold that threatens the reliability of program delivery. While
some Eastern region institutions have been able to renovate their 25 to 50 year old space, others have had to watch their facilities
age without significant renovation and are now crossing over into the over 50 year old category, significantly compounding the
challenge of finding money to address the preponderance of needs coming due.
19%
23%
32%
26%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
%ofSpace
2015 Age Profile
Under 10 10 to 25 25 to 50 Over 50
Buildings over 50
Life cycles of major building components are past due.
Failures are possible.
Highest risk
Buildings 25 to 50
Major envelope and mechanical life cycles come
due.
Higher Risk
Buildings 10 to 25
Short life-cycle needs; primarily space
renewal.
Medium Risk
Buildings Under 10
Little work. “Honeymoon” period.
Low Risk
High Risk
3. Campus Density Intensifies the Challenge
Density Factor
3
In addition to older space, Eastern region institutions are dealing with a higher density of users on their campuses;
especially when compared to institutions in other regions (Central, Midwest, Rocky Mountains, Southern, and Pacific
Coast are combined all averaging approx. 363 users/100,000 sq. ft.). Higher density causes more daily wear and tear on
campus buildings and adds considerably more strain on operating staff to maintain and clean those spaces.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Users/100,000sq.ft.
Central Eastern Midwest Rocky Mountain Southern Pacific Coast
4. Capital Funding Slow to Recover; Hitting Highs in 2014
4
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Annual Capital One-Time Capital
Eastern region institutions took a sizable cut in capital funding in 2010 and it took until 2014 for these institutions to
make a full recovery. While facing several years of stagnant investment levels, Eastern institutions realized that they
had to reexamine their funding strategies. Although total capital spending was slow to recover, annual capital spending
has been on the rise since 2011 as campuses have begun to look at institutional sources of funding more seriously in
recent years. This funding type enables leaders to be proactive about pending critical needs and flexibly apply
appropriations to preserve physical assets. This becomes increasingly important when institutions are unable to rely
on large one-time infusions of capital to address major needs.
$/GSF
5. 5
Sightlines’ Impact on Capital Spending
2011 new members’ capital spending before vs. after joining Sightlines
$0.72
$1.11
$3.29
$3.30
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
$3.50
$4.00
$4.50
$5.00
Before After
$/GSF
54% Increase
6. Mix of Capital Spending on the Right Track
6
44% 41% 41% 44% 43% 42% 40% 38%
39%
39% 41%
39% 40% 43% 45% 46%
17% 20% 19% 17% 17% 15% 15% 16%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Space Renewal & Safety Code Envelope & Building Systems Infrastructure
In addition to total spending and funding sources, project selection must also be taken into account to fully understand the
impact of historical investment patterns. To counteract the slow funding recovery, Eastern region institutions have recently
made strong efforts to invest a greater portion of their capital into high priority project needs that affect building reliability
(envelope and mechanical systems) rather than space upgrades. Sightlines has found that space renewal projects
last about 12 years while envelope and buildings systems investment last 30 years or more. So, while funding can
be limited at times, the shift of that funding to more durable, high ROI investments is an important strategy.
7. Facilities Operating Budgets Slowly Rising
7
4.87 4.93 4.93 5.03 5.01 5.04 5.18 5.22
0.32 0.34 0.34 0.35 0.37 0.37 0.39 0.4
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Daily Service Planned Maintenance
Facilities operating budgets are starting to grow at Eastern region institutions, but at very modest rates. When
compared to steady state adjusted levels, campuses are funding their facilities operations approx. 15% less than
the rate of inflation. This is forcing campuses to try to do more with less.
$/GSF
9. Facilities Asset Reinvestment Needs Continue to Grow
9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
While funding shifts to more durable, high ROI investments have helped to mitigate some risk, the slow capital
funding recovery has caused facilities backlogs to increase by almost 23% since 2008. Finance and Facilities
leaders at Eastern region institutions will need to look into implementing strategies that make the problem smaller
and more manageable, which will help build confidence among decision makers and lead to a greater commitment
of capital and operational resources for facilities.
$/GSF
10. 10
Changing the Conversation
Strategies for success
Understand
and
communicate
that not all
buildings are
created equal
Use
building
portfolios
Invest over
time
Reallocate
savings
Visit our website at Sightlines.com to download a
free copy of our 2015 State of Facilities in
Higher Education report for further insight into
the four strategies for success.
11. Sightlines Drives Results
11
The Most Accurate
Data = 360° View of
Finance and Facilities
Analysis - Insight,
Benchmarking and
Best Practices or
“Facilities
Intelligence”
Data-Driven
Decisions Leveraging
Disciplined Data
Analytics
Make-the-case for
Balanced Policies on
Space, Capital and
Operations
Continually Improve
the campus by
aligning with Mission &
Strategy