International Journal of
Information and Education Technology

Abstract

In a typical university, a fulltime instructor teaches from three to fifteen hours a week. For a teaching university, this may even be as much as eighteen hours a week, up to 50% of the standard working time. During non-classroom hours, an instructor has many duties - advising students, committee meetings, conducting research, evaluating student work, and preparing for future class meetings, as well as serving as a community liaison. Much of the time, an instructor's office remains empty - a place simply to store books and papers. With a large proportion of empty offices during teaching times, and with a faculty becoming more technology-savvy, combined with perennially decreasing education budgets, it makes sense to revisit the traditional, cellular faculty office (the ivory tower) and consider alternatives that can both maintain a good academic workspace and make optimal use of resources (activity-based workspaces, or ABW). Unfortunately, many instructors loathe giving up their traditional office space, as it signifies status as well as a sanctuary away from students and colleagues. The tension between collaboration and privacy is difficult to resolve. As academic models change, case studies and best practices of successful projects present a path to faculty ABW. This paper reviews the academic tradition of a single or shared, enclosed university office space. It takes a forward-looking approach to activity-based workspaces– a concept that will be commonplace in the coming decade as Millenials start academic careers - and reviews supporting practices in industry as well as academia. Finally, this paper presents best practices and recommendations for transitioning faculty to open, shared and non-territorial workspaces.