Office Space Allocation

How is space allocated?

Via Delegated Authority

  • Owner of all space on campus: the Provost, who in turn delegates this authority to the Colleges. 
  • Owner of all space assigned to Departments/Units within the College of Arts & Sciences: the Dean, who in turn delegates this authority to the Space Committee.
  • Owner of Space within a Department/Unit: The Chair/Director as defined by Professional Rights and Duties. 

Who makes space decisions for the College?

The College of Arts & Sciences Space Committee (CASSC) makes space decisions for the college.
Through delegation of authority from the executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), the CASSC oversees use and distribution of all space delegated to A&S by CU Boulder’s provost office. To ensure the allocation of space considers input from space users in each division, the CASSC consists of the following voting members:

  • Divisional Dean of Arts & Humanities.
  • Divisional Dean of Natural Sciences.
  • Divisional Dean of Social Sciences.
  • Associate Dean of Research / Centers.
  • Assistant Dean of Infrastructure, Commitee Chair.

What framework guides space decisions?

Guiding Principles
The CASSC considers space requests and deliberates the reallocation of space based on the following principles:

  • Flexibility - Space planning must incorporate flexibility to meet current needs and accommodate changing needs and functionality. Space is not assigned in perpetuity. It is assigned to activities and not individuals. As such, it may be reassigned as activities change. Resources will be focused on current needs over potential/future needs. Creative solutions to space needs that encourage and support collaborative, flexible, interdepartmental cooperation will be prioritized.
  • Cost – Construction costs must be considered in concert with any space allocation decision. Existing infrastructure will be studied to match needs with spaces and mitigate the need for renovation. Facilities must be fully utilized before major construction or renovation will be considered. 
  • Contiguity – Whenever possible space will be allocated in a contiguous manner to keep Departments unified and encourage targeted collaboration with compatible units. Our College is made up of a wide and diverse group of Departments and Centers that have equally wide and diverse space needs. Requests for unique accommodations, adjacencies and needs will always be considered when allocating space.    
  • Efficiency – Space is allocated to maximize efficient utilization of resources. Request clearly tied to an imposed, immobile deadline will be prioritized to improve time to delivery and departmental efficiency. A logical and transparent process for identifying and negotiating space reallocations improves program efficiency.

How does a Department request new space?

Via this Space Requests Process
New space requests will be accepted via the following steps:

  1. The Chair will first review the College’s ‘Office Space Principles and Use Guidelines’ for space allocation and adhere to them as closely as possible.
  2. If space needs remain after reallocating current space in accordance with the College guidelines, the Department Chair must obtain a copy of the floor plans for all department space and identify the use of each office (i.e., names of babyÖ±²¥app/staff/students occupying each office, lab and carrel). 
  3. The Department Chair will then send a copy of the annotated floor plans along with a space request to the Assistant Dean of Infrastructure.

How is a new space request processed?

The Review Process is as follows:

  • The Space Committee will support the status quo unless there are outstanding inequitable distributions across departments, or serious space needs which cannot be ameliorated by internal reallocations.
  • The Space Committee meets monthly to consider requests. The committee will review hire/retire/move information from the previous cycle, vacant spaces, and all requests. Based on this review, applications will be responded to in 1 of 4 ways:
    • Denied. If a request is not found to be a priority, or can be accommodated within the Department’s current space, it will be denied with an explanation. 
    • Improvements Suggested. If a request can be accommodated within the Department’s current space but requires renovation to do so, the Department may suggest a cost share with the College to complete the requested renovations.
    • Approved. If a request cannot be accommodated within the Department’s current space regardless of renovations, members of the Space Committee will work with the requesting Department to reallocate space to address the need 
    • Approved but advanced. If a request cannot be accommodated within the Department or College’s current space regardless of renovations, members of the Space Committee will work with the requesting Department to advance the request to the Provost’s Office. 

How long does a new space request take to be processed?

Up to and over 1 year. Plan accordingly 

Requesting Departments should allow ~2 months for review and response from the committee, then if feasible and approved, 2 to 12 months for a solution. Details like the type of space, construction requirements and reallocation agreements with occupants can delay space allocations. 
If the solution cannot be accommodated within the CAS portfolio, this timeline could extend.