Office Space Guidelines

Overview

University space is a limited resource that should be allocated thoughtfully to support the mission and strategic goals of the college and the university. The principles below are designed to optimize the allocation of space.

Guiding Principles

All space will be designed with flexibility in mind to allow the college and university to adapt to changes in functions, curricula, programs, and technologies.
As with all university resources, space should be deployed in the most efficient and effective manner to best support the mission and strategic goals of the college.
Office space is university property that is allocated to a given unit, as available, in a manner that best advances the mission and priorities of the college and university. No unit “owns” the space that has been allocated to it, and allocations may be adjusted at any time as deemed appropriate by the university or the dean of the college.
Space allocations are made to units, not to individuals.
Conference rooms and office service spaces should be shared among one or more units whenever possible to maximize space utilization.

Workspace Allocations

The following tables show the recommended workspace type by position. These guidelines are not a guarantee that an employee or affiliate of the university/college will receive a specific workspace.

Type of Room Occupant	Workspace
Dean	Private Office
Assistant/Associate Dean	Private Office
Faculty, Tenure-Stream	Private Office
Faculty, Continuing-Track	Private or Shared Office
Faculty, Consulting/Visiting	Shared Office/Hoteling*
Faculty, Emeritus	Shared Office/Hoteling*
Fellow, Lecturer, Research Assoc., Visiting Scholar	Shared Office/Hoteling*/Workstation

*Hoteling is the elimination of assigned seating in a workspace, thus allowing employees to reserve office space for their needs on a daily basis. Hoteling spaces may be located in single or multi-person offices or may be a workstation in some cases.

Multiple Offices

It is expected that faculty will only be assigned one office. Faculty with senior administrative duties and those with joint appointments may be assigned a secondary workspace; having two offices in the same building is not typically permitted. A secondary office can be shared or private. In most cases, department chairs/program directors will remain in their faculty offices during their administrative term. All decisions related to multiple offices will be made by the dean on a case-by-case basis.

Retiring Faculty

Faculty should vacate their office within three months following their retirement date. If extenuating circumstances exist, the chair/director should discuss these with the Chief Operations Officer. The faculty member may be granted an extension not to exceed one semester beyond their retirement date. The building/department administrator will coordinate logistics, and the chair/director will communicate arrangements with the faculty member.

Emeritus Faculty

Upon request and subject to dean’s approval, an emeritus faculty member may be assigned shared office space and/or be given access to hoteling space within a given unit. These shared spaces are intended to allow an individual to maintain contact with their unit, discipline, and colleagues.

Staff/Students/Fellows

Type of Room Occupant	Workspace
Staff, Managers/Professional	Private/Shared Office
Staff, Administrative Support	Shared Office/Workstation
Graduate Students/Fellows	Shared Workstation/Library Carrel
Post-doctoral Fellows	Shared Office/Workstation/Library Carrel
Undergraduate Students	Shared Workstation

All staff in open or shared work areas will be provided access to nearby quiet space for confidential meetings/calls.

Remote/Hybrid Staff

Employees working on campus fewer than three full days each week should expect to share workspaces with other employees. This expectation applies regardless of position. Employees on campus 3 to 5 full days per week may be assigned dedicated workspace.