The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is excited to announce the release of STARS 3.0, the latest version of its Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS®). STARS® is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS is intended to engage and recognize the […]

We want to update the APPA community on the progress in the search for the next APPA President & CEO. Since the APPA Member and Key Stakeholder Listening Sessions earlier this year, and the appointment of a Search Committee in March, that committee has been diligently identifying top candidates to become APPA’s next President & […]

As facilities age and student demands shift, housing departments must innovate not just to keep up, but to lead. The ACUHO-I/APPA Housing Facilities Conference is your gateway to the forefront of facility management, offering exclusive insights into pioneering strategies for residence hall design, systems operation, and maintenance. The conference will take place October 28–31, 2024 […]

APPA’s Facilities Management Evaluation Program (FMEP) provides institutions with a customized evaluation conducted by a team of institutional peers based on a comprehensive set of criteria. Institutions receive a written report consisting of feedback and recommended actions personalized to each institution and designed to help transform participating educational facilities programs into those worthy of international recognition.  The […]

Remember APPA’s FPI (Facilities Performance Indicators) survey and report?  The longtime APPA metric reporting platform has been reworked, redesigned, and recharged to meet today’s dynamic FM data needs. APPA’s newly designed FPI survey includes new dashboards that make it easier to gather the necessary data, and make the report ratios available instantly, and with visual enhancements. […]

The new APPA professional development course, Invest in Success, was a sold-out event for its first virtual offering. Developed by Michelle Frederick, the training and organizational manager for facilities and administrative services at American University, Invest in Success develops individual understanding and behaviors that enhance FM professionals’ ability to be valuable contributors to their organizations. […]

In 2023, APPA member Cleveland State University received an industry award for emphasizing the university’s relationship with the city of Cleveland in its campus master plan. Key principles guiding the plan included serving all members of the community, acting as an economic engine for the university and the city, and leveraging the assets of the university’s downtown location.  […]

Whether looking for the latest operational guidelines or a classic text related to facilities planning and management, educational facilities management professionals can find what they need in the APPA Bookstore, whose much-awaited annual spring sale runs March 1–31.  Sale savings are 10% on all books, on top of the usual significant bookstore savings exclusively for […]

From high employee turnover and prolonged vacancies to student mental health, political unrest, and climate anxiety, colleges and universities face serious challenges related to community and institutional well-being. APPA members are encouraged to register for a free virtual event in late February exploring the roots of these challenges as well as strategies for activating collective […]

From the 2008 recession to the COVID-19 pandemic, major external environmental factors have contributed to an era of reduced funding in higher education marked by staffing cuts, new working environments, and uncertainty about the future. But “the truth is that higher education had been on a collision path with fiscal uncertainty long before that,” according […]

With APPA’s 2023–2024 membership year ending March 31, member institutions are encouraged to renew their investments now to ensure continuous access to benefits including cutting-edge resources and professional development programs, such as deeply discounted registration for the APPA 2024 Spring Conference.  Renewals must be handled by member institutions’ primary representatives, who may do so by visiting […]

With the staffing shortage showing no sign of abating within educational facilities organizations, FM leaders are redoubling efforts to strengthen the skills and cohesiveness of the teams they have. The newest program to address these goals is APPA’s Invest in Success program, whose official kick-off will be a two-day virtual event March 27 and 28, […]

Updated March 22, 2024 From the announcement of Lander Medlin’s retirement through the APPA Member & Key Stakeholder Listening Sessions and across numerous discussions, there has understandably been tremendous interest in the process of recruiting and ultimately selecting our association’s next President & CEO. That includes selecting members of a search committee that will work […]

Five educational institutions and six educational facilities professionals have been honored for their excellence and achievement in APPA’s 2023 Awards Program. As profiled in the January/February Facilities Manager, the latest recipients are recognized for initiatives aimed at addressing the workforce shortage, streamlining business operations, promoting resource and energy efficiency, and much more. The 2023 recipients:  Learn more […]

Who hasn’t watched the news about recent events on collegiate and K–12 campuses? Everything from political unrest, data piracy, and workforce attrition to active shooter incidents have grabbed attention nationally and worldwide.  These challenges and many others impacting the work of facilities management professionals will be addressed in APPA’s 2024 Spring Conference, April 15–17 in Nashville. […]

Demonstrating their knowledge in a wide range of areas related to facilities construction, maintenance, and renewal, 38 professionals from diverse educational institutions have joined the ranks of graduates of APPA’s Leadership Academy and Institute for Facilities Management. The latest classes were recognized during APPA U, held in New Orleans from January 8 through 11, 2024.  See […]

Facilities professionals looking to advance to the next level of their careers can now register for the upcoming Pathway to Professionalism (P2P) program, which explores in detail APPA’s Body of Knowledge and prepares attendees to take the optional CEFP exam at no additional cost. The next virtual P2P consists of four online sessions (three to […]

Hailing from almost every U.S. state and as far away as Saudi Arabia, close to 400 educational facilities professionals are convening in New Orleans this week for two of APPA’s signature professional development programs: The Institute for Facilities Management and the Leadership Academy, sold-out events held simultaneously under the umbrella of APPA U, January 8–11, […]

See related updates on this story. Updated June 4, 2024: We want to update the APPA community on the progress in the search for the next APPA President & CEO. Since the APPA Member and Key Stakeholder Listening Sessions earlier this year, and the appointment of a Search Committee in March, that committee has been […]

It’s been a busy year for educational facilities professionals, and there’s no letup in sight for 2024. If you missed some of the insights your peers provided in the pages of Facilities Manager magazine, we’ll help you catch up with this compilation of five articles that really captured readers’ attention in 2023. Find time to […]

Could bilingual professional development opportunities shore up efforts by educational facilities departments to attract and retain skilled workers? A budding experiment in Texas, where Spanish speakers make up some 40 percent of the population, suggests so. In May, CAPPA (Central Region of APPA) sponsored its first bilingual (English and Spanish) Supervisor’s Toolkit, a three-day APPA […]

It happens only once a year—APPA’s 12-in-12 campaign, representing a fantastic opportunity to strengthen your knowledge of educational facilities management and prepare your institution for a productive 2024 marked by industry best practices, creative solutions, and practical tools. From December 1 through December 31, enjoy a 12% discount on every item in the APPA Bookstore.   […]

What better gift for a facilities peer or colleague than to nominate them for an APPA award? The 2024 awards program recognizes outstanding APPA members—individuals and institutions alike—that have made significant contributions to the advancement of educational facilities management and play a crucial role in creating safe, sustainable, and effective learning environments.   Nominations for the […]

From triaging deferred maintenance to securing the campus against emerging security threats, educational facilities professionals face a dauntingly long list of challenges in 2024. Many facilities leaders believe the surest way to prepare themselves and their teams for such challenges is to begin the year at APPA’s Institute for Facilities Management (IFM), a multi-day professional […]

Of all the factors impacting educational institutions’ stability and productivity, workforce development and retention may be the one affecting facilities management staff most acutely. Panelists at the Higher Ed Facilities Forum in Austin, Texas, explored this topic November 14, noting that a long-term concerted investment in staff professional development can be the critical difference between […]

College and university campuses are behemoths of energy consumption, with libraries and server rooms using electricity around the clock, large buildings blasting heat and cooling, sometimes to empty classrooms and offices, and students often oblivious of their energy use during late-night study sessions or the occasional all-nighter. As a result, educational institutions have the potential […]

Since 2009, thousands of educational facilities professionals have advanced their knowledge and their careers by achieving the status of Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP). The next opportunity to achieve this credential begins January 17 with the launch of Cohort Group A28—a 90-day, online studying group of prospective CEFPs who will take the CEFP exam between […]

Soaring energy prices have taken a hit on institutional budgets in recent years, driven in part by rising demand for technological bandwidth as well as higher indoor air quality standards. Yet growing numbers of educational institutions—including APPA members—are finding ways to reduce energy, water, emissions, and waste, collectively saving money and slashing emissions.   Consider the […]

How to decarbonize buildings, including those that are dozens or hundreds of years old? A sold-out crowd of educational facilities professionals and other stakeholders in the built environment industry met in late October to explore this question in depth. The realities, of course, include the fact that building design, construction, and operation contribute close to […]

Staffing shortages and mounting retirements among skilled trades professionals are top challenges facing educational facilities departments in 2024, according to preliminary findings of a new survey of APPA members. The survey, which launched October 20 and is still fielding responses, suggests a long road ahead resolving the staffing crisis facing the field. Exacerbating the challenges […]

Difficulties recruiting and retaining facilities management professionals are barely the tip of the iceberg of challenges facing higher education these days. But solutions do exist, according to APPA President and CEO Lander Medlin, and they don’t necessarily cost a lot of money. Medlin outlined recommendations—such as providing an appreciative and welcoming culture, a sense of […]

A new Cohort Group (A27) pursuing APPA’s Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP) credential will begin its course on November 7, 2023.  The APPA online CEFP certification course and exam is a 90-day self-study course designed to help facilities professionals prepare for the CEFP examination with peers across APPA’s six regions.  The CEFP is the credential for aspiring and existing senior-level educational facilities […]