Editorial Guidelines

Facilities Manager magazine is published online by APPA, the leading authority for facilities professionals at education and research institutions. See below for submission details.

Published six times a year, Facilities Manager covers key trends and practices in facilities renewal and modernization, sustainability, campus operations, grounds maintenance, energy and utilities management, and much more. Facilities Manager is the leading resource for facilities professionals seeking to build their careers, transform their institutions, and elevate the value and recognition of the built environment in education.

Please note that all columns do not appear in every issue. Also, APPA reserves the right to decline to publish submissions that are not relevant to our readers or do not adhere to our guidelines. At the editor’s discretion, accepted articles may be edited for clarity, relevance, length, and readability.

Our Audience

APPA is the association of choice for education and research facilities professionals at colleges, universities, K-12 schools, museums, and other institutions throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and abroad. APPA’s membership includes top decision makers—vice presidents, chief engineers, facilities directors, supervisors, and managers. They read Facilities Manager for critical insights and information addressing the latest trends, issues, and solutions impacting their work and their institutions’ readiness.

Types of Articles

• Features are in-depth articles written by facilities professionals for facilities professionals, giving readers practical and big-picture perspectives on the most pressing issues and challenges advancing and impacting their work.
• Recurring columns provide personal experiences, advice, and research from the people behind facilities operations.
• Industry news covers current research findings and indicators, cutting-edge solutions, creative strategies, and products and services to inform and transform educational facilities management.

Tips for Submitting Feature Articles

We look for articles that are comprehensive and relevant to our total international membership base. Information that is current and provides innovative and/or best-practice examples resonates best with our readership. More tips:

• To establish relevance, strive to write beyond your perspective by providing specific institutional examples, diverse references, and quotes from qualified sources.
• Write in a style that is conversational and collegial, rather than formal and academic.
• Cite references in the body of the text by hyperlinking directly to the source. However, if you have a long list of citations, you may provide a reference list of bibliography at the end of the article. See below for more.
• Use concrete examples, either real or hypothetical, to bring your article to life.
• Be sure your content is well-researched, accurate, and current.

Note: We do not accept articles that are solely promotional in nature to any specific product, company, or proprietary service. However, we do run product releases in our New Products column. Additionally, APPA Business Partner members are encouraged to submit product and service information for consideration in the APPA Business Partner Whitepaper Series.

Submission Requirements for Features

E-mail all feature submissions and proposals to Anita Dosik, the editor of Facilities Manager. You may attach further documentation, including Word documents and images, but please do not send hard copy submissions. Include “Facilities Manager” in your email’s subject line.

Length: Features are usually 1,700 – 2,200 words. At the editor’s discretion, articles may be edited for clarity, relevance, length, and readability. Our advice: Comprehensive yet concise articles result in light editing and the best material.

Abstract: Please include a 100-word abstract and five keywords for your article to be included in the Facilities Manager archives and the APPA Reference Library.

Submission Requirements for Columns

E-mail all column submissions, as a Word attachment, to Kevin Willmann. We cannot accept hard copy submissions. Please include “Facilities Manager” in your email’s subject line.

Length: Length requirements for articles is 750–1,000 words. At the editor’s discretion, articles may be edited for clarity and to accommodate space. Our advice: Comprehensive yet concise articles result in light editing and the best material.

Abstract: Please include a 100-word abstract and five keywords for your article to be included in the Facilities Manager archives and the APPA Reference Library.

 Recurring Columns 

• The Bookshelf: Book reviews on current publications relevant to the profession, trends, and working environment of facilities and educational managers and professionals.
  To contribute a book review, contact Ted Weidner, field editor of this column.
  
• Code Talkers: Highlights the various codes, laws, and standards specific to educational facilities and explains the compliance issues and implications of enforcing these measures.
  To contribute, contact Kevin Willmann, FM columns editor.
  
• Facilities Digest: To share an event or news item, send detailed information for consideration. This information will be used based on available space and relevance to our readership.
  To contribute, contact Kevin Willmann, FM Column Editor.
  
• Facility Asset Management: Covers the issues and challenges surrounding the management of a facilities department, including solutions for benchmarking performance measures, database and reporting systems, and professional and educational trends in facilities management.
  To contribute, contact Lindsay Wagner, field editor of this column.
  
• Membership Matters: Explores the community benefits of leadership in educational facilities for professionals seeking to build their careers, transform their institutions, and elevate the value and recognition of facilities in education.
  To contribute, contact Kevin Willmann, FM columns editor.
  
• Perspective: Provides opinion and commentary on aspects of education administration, funding, and campus facilities management.
  To contribute, contact Kevin Willmann, FM Column Editor.
  
• Power Tools: Seeks to engage multiple voices from among FM ranks to bring fresh insight and real knowledge from the trenches on what’s working in planning and implementation for energy-related projects, products, and innovations in all aspects or educational facilities.
  To contribute, contact Kevin Willmann, FM Column Editor.
  
• NEW! Regional Round-Up: News, updates, and information from the six APPA regions.
  To contribute, contact Kevin Willmann, FM Column Editor.
  
• NEW! The Sustainable Campus: Seeks to share and promote solutions and practices in sustainability on campus.
  To contribute, contact Kevin Willmann, FM Column Editor.
  
• Technology & Trends: Seeks to identify technology and trends evolving and emerging in educational facilities.
  To contribute, please contact Craig Park, field editor of this column.
  

Additional Information

Editorial Review: The editorial staff ultimately decides the content of the publication and reserves the right to edit your submission for length; extraneous content; and/or product, service, or company pitches. Unless requested by the author, editorial changes are not sent back for approval.

Style: Submitted articles should be double-spaced, aligned left, using Times New Roman 12-point font. We encourage you to include subheads, bullets, and sidebar text suggestions in your text submissions. Please do not use headers or footers. We prefer that you cite references in the body of the text; however, those with a long list of citations should provide a bibliography at the end of the article.

Facilities Manager uses the Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.). Our preferred style is streamlined and straightforward, with minimal jargon, and with all acronyms spelled out on the first reference. Authors should write in active voice.

Biography/Byline: In your article, include the author name(s) as you want it to appear in print and include any professional titles (e.g., P.E., AIA, CEFP, Ph.D.). Also include the author(s) title, institution/organization, city, state, and e-mail address.

Graphics & Images: Facilities Manager encourages the use of graphics and photographs to illustrate submissions. With photographs, we require that the contributor owns the right to have the photograph reproduced. Photos, graphics, and other images should be sent separately (not embedded into Word files). Please provide raw data for tables and charts, as opposed to graphics. Our designer will create an accurate and appealing table/chart using the data.

Photos and images should be sent as EPS, TIFF, JPEG, or PSD files. Please include short caption suggestions or explanations in the article file to accompany all photographs and images.

Copyrights: Facilities Manager requires that submissions be original works and owned by the author. We do not accept articles that have been previously published or accepted for publication elsewhere, unless disclosed to, and approved by, the editorial staff. Authors will be sent a non-exclusive rights agreement for the submitted material. The agreement allows APPA to use the material freely in all media, while maintaining ownership with the author(s) so that they can use the material elsewhere.

Themes and Deadlines:

January/February 2025
Fostering a Culture of Mental Health Awareness
(Submission deadline December 1, 2024.)

March/April 2025
Elevating Student Experiences
(Submission deadline February 1, 2025.)

May/June 2025
Revolutionizing Campus Risk Management
(Submission deadline April 1, 2025.)

July/August 2025
Maximizing Space Utilization for Growth
(Submission deadline June 1, 2025.)

September/October 2025
Building a Stronger Workforce
(Submission deadline August 1, 2025.)

November/December 2025
Harnessing Technology for Facility Innovation
(Submission deadline October 1, 2025.)

For detailed descriptions of the themes, click here.