Estate Strategy 2007 – 2027 Approved by the University Court: 8 December 2006 1. Introduction & Summary The purpose of this paper is to set out the broad vision by which the University intends to adapt and evolve its property estate to meet the needs of its Academic Strategy over the next 20 years. St Andrews is an ancient University, the oldest in Scotland and third oldest in the UK. Its location at the heart of the medieval town of St Andrews demands that the development of the estate has sympathy for the historic setting as well as the needs of modern world- class teaching and cutting-edge scientific research. In moving forward the University continues to see much of its activities centred on the historic quadrangles of St Mary’s, St Salvator’s, St Katharine’s and Deans Court St Leonard’s in addition to the North Haugh. This strategy attempts to maximise the benefits of the nature and ambience of the historic estate while recognising its limitations in fitness for use in the development of leading edge science. In recognising this the University will seek over the strategic plan period to migrate much of its scientific activity which is currently located in St Mary’s to the North Haugh in modern, adaptable facilities which are capable of meeting the current and future needs of scientific research. Within the town the University will renovate the existing central library to provide a fundamental resource at the heart of the academic community. This may involve integration of the existing facility with the Crawford centre, providing greater visibility and accessibility to the library’s resources. Additionally, in the planning period the University will look to establish separate learning resource centres within the town and on the North Haugh which will be targeted specifically at the needs of the undergraduate population and which will complement the central library in providing a comprehensive range of resources and facilities to meet a variety of learning styles. The University will renovate much of its existing estate over the planning period, thereby rectifying the effects of the underinvestment which has hampered development in recent years. This programme of renovation will seek to adapt existing buildings to meet the current and future needs of schools in a manner which preserves the historic setting of the town centre. In order to implement this strategy the University shall require investment of around £400million (at current prices) over the planning period. This is not an investment sum which will be afforded in the current HE financial environment and from the University’s current financial performance. The University has developed a financial strategy which will allow the investment to be provided from a number of sources – retained earnings, receipts from property disposals, philanthropic donations and partnerships with third Page 1 of 18 parties. In order to deliver this strategy within the stated timescale, all of these sources shall be required to contribute. It should also be noted that at the time of developing this strategy, Fife Council is moving through the process of revising the Fife Structure Plan and Local Plan for St Andrews. Both of these Plans will have a significant impact upon the University’s ability to develop its physical assets over the coming 20 year period with consequential impacts beyond that period. Significant divergence between the University’s aspirations and the provisions of the Fife Council Plans may impact on the University’s ability to continue to be a major economic driver for Fife and Scotland and may require further revision of this strategy. A summary of the Academic Strategy, in so far as its requirements of the physical estate are outlined, is provided in Section 2 of this paper. Section 3 provides a more detailed outline of the Strategy in this area. 2. Academic Strategy The University recognises that an effective and cohesive Estate Strategy must be led by Academic Considerations. In order to ensure that this is the case, separate groups were formed for the Faculty of Arts (including Divinity) and the Faculty of Science (including Medicine) to establish and demonstrate the current and projected needs of the academic community in terms of the Estate, and to present an imaginative and powerful vision for research and teaching at St Andrews that will sustain and build on our position as a University with an internationally recognised reputation for excellence in both these core activities. This paper sets out the ambitions and needs of the University in relation to the Estate based on a series of presuppositions about our medium term future. 2.1 The 2020 Vision We have made the following assumptions about the 20 year planning period: 2.1.1 HE Environment There will be no significant shift in the current funding structure for Higher Education in Scotland and therefore both funded student numbers and core academic staff numbers are likely to remain relatively stable. However, some form of Home student direct contribution to the cost of their degree is increasingly likely, thus placing even greater emphasis on value for money issues. The global business in cross-border education will continue to expand significantly but the increase in the number of providers will force institutions to compete in a differentiated market both in terms of the standard of the academic programme and the overall student experience. Whatever form is taken in a future RAE, international research competitiveness will become more acute and the standard of research facilities will increasingly be a factor in attracting leading academics. Page 2 of 18 Interdisciplinarity will continue to grow in importance, requiring a flexible management structure, a creative approach to appointments and an estate in which to flourish. 2.1.2 Research at St Andrews We shall continue to pursue a policy of research intensity, seeking to ensure that our research output is cutting edge and internationally competitive across all disciplines. We shall endeavour to engage with a changing knowledge transfer agenda. There is an expectation of modest growth in the size of the research staff. Research-led teaching will be at the heart of student learning. There will be a managed increase in the number of postgraduate research students. Research space (Library, labs, offices), equipment and access to information must be provided for academic and research staff and postgraduates at an internationally competitive standard. 2.1.3 Learning and Teaching at St Andrews It is unlikely that there will be any significant addition to the current portfolio of disciplines, although evolutionary shifts in the emphasis of particular disciplines alongside greater cross-disciplinarity and inter-disciplinarity is predicted. There will be a change in the balance of the student population towards research and taught postgraduates, but no significant change in the overall numbers of students. Face to face teaching will remain the most important medium of communication and education at St Andrews, but there will be an increase in the frequency and importance of structured learning opportunities outside the class hour at all levels. For all forms of learning experience high quality space (lecture theatres, seminar rooms, teaching labs, Library, IT provision, learning technology) will be necessary. The demands on Library services are likely to increase, partly as a result of better liaison between the Library and the Schools and partly as we drive forward an agenda of research-led learning and teaching. There is likely to be an increase in academic staff in areas where postgraduate and overseas recruitment is strongest, and some increase in support staff may also occur. The combination of excellent research space with high quality learning and teaching space is central to the vision of the University in the planning period. We need flexible space kitted out with high-quality equipment and the capacity to keep pace with technological developments. Furthermore, we must retain the idea of the academy as a creative physical environment within which scholarship and learning flourishes.Our estate therefore must provide social settings in the spaces around and between research, learning and teaching where academics and students can engage freely with one another. Page 3 of 18 2.2 Principles for Developing the Academic Estate A fit-for-purpose Estate is essential to the delivery of excellence in research and in learning and teaching. The following seven key elements have been identified as essential. An integrated academic Estate must: meet the present needs of its personnel and be able to respond to meet future needs; be coherently planned and configured and be adaptable to meet research and teaching needs that will change more rapidly than in the past; promote and not hinder the formation of inter- and multi-disciplinary research groups and units whose work will be best carried out in spaces in close proximity to each other; send out the best recruitment message to everyone from undergraduate students to professorial staff; address the problems of split site schools and the absence of social space in most Arts schools; present a coherent physical environment that succeeds in preserving the historic distinctiveness of St Andrews while also achieving a modern fit-for-purpose estate that is maintained to the highest international standards; be environmentally conducive to research and learning and be environmentally responsible in design and equipment. Although the issues and principles outlined above are broadly relevant to the University as a whole, there are some differences in the needs of the Arts and Social Science community and the Science community that need to be recognised in devising an estate strategy. 2.2.1 Faculty of Arts The desirability of preserving our irreducible core campus in the town centre where most Arts Schools are located will always militate against high space utilization.