The Campus Planning Process

The planning process included three sequential phases—Understand, Explore, and Realize. This rigorous process identified pressing campus and urban issues, analyzed facility assets, and conducted campus-wide qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Understand

The first two phases of the process are all about getting to know Michigan Tech. They include setting the direction for the process, engaging the campus community, gathering information, and discussing the vision for 2045.  

Michigan Tech's campus is a place for teaching, learning, research, and engagement. We work to understand the data and feedback by visualizing it and asking questions. 

Explore

From there, we take the data and feedback and begin to establish priorities and ultimately a framework. These themes and potential futures shape the scenarios we present back to the campus community.  The plan will address questions ranging from enrollment changes, program delivery/offerings, demographics, workforce and industry needs, research, transportation, student life and housing, land use impacts, and building renovations.  

Realize

The final phases are focused on implementation and packaging the final plan,  which will provide a blueprint for implementation while also allowing flexibility to adapt to the University’s needs. 

Project Schedule

The project schedule allowed for ample time spent in each of the three phases.

  • Understand Phase - January 11, 2021 - August 12, 2021
  • Explore Phase - August 30, 2021 - January 9, 2022
  • Realize Phase - January 10, 2022 - October 2022

Each phase includes coordinated meetings between consultants, steering committees, and planning work groups, engagement with the campus community  through listening sessions, town halls, MAPMYTECH mobile app, and an interactive website, and presentations to the students, faculty, staff and community as well as to the Board of Trustees.

Schedule Highlights

  • October - Virtual Engagement - Analysis, Framework and Planning Elements
  • November - On-Campus Engagement - Scenarios
  • December - Board Workshop - Campus Master Plan Recommendations
  • February - Virtual Engagement and Board Presentation - Campus Master Plan
  • April - "Roll up your sleeves" sessions  - Develop strategies and timelines for moving forward with elements of the Campus Master plan
  • October - Board Approval - Campus Master Plan