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Universities have long been pioneers when it comes to shared resource management. From rotating access to labs and lecture halls to flexibly sharing faculty offices, campuses have been embracing desk hoteling, office space sharing, and resource scheduling well before these became trends in the corporate world. As institutions that manage complex ecosystems of people, spaces, and schedules, universities benefit immensely from technology that brings clarity, autonomy, and insight into how campus resources are used.
Space management tech empowers universities to:
- Let faculty and staff easily book the spaces and resources they need, when they need them.
- Reduce administrative overhead by enabling self-governance in space booking.
- Eliminate guesswork around space usage and gather actionable data on space utilization.
- Support productivity and collaboration by ensuring equitable access to limited resources.
Here’s how space management software is helping universities simplify the complex:
1. Sheds Light on Space Use To Manage the Cultural Shift
Moving from traditional, assigned office spaces to more flexible shared ones can feel like a loss of status, privacy, or convenience for faculty. However, shared office spaces are a strategic necessity due to growing student and faculty numbers and limited campus real estate.
“Shifting our way of working was challenging. We had a culture where people had their own offices, and now no one has their own office. We needed something so easy, it gave faculty no choice but to adopt the system.”
— Caroline Purcell, Lead for Deans Projects at the University of East London
Space management tech brings transparency and data into the transition, bringing transparency to the actual usage rates of various spaces. This builds awareness and understanding among faculty for the transition and helps universities frame the change as a necessary, fair, and beneficial evolution in how campus space is used.
2. Faculty, Staff, and Students Can Book the Space They Need—On Their Own Terms
From shared offices to meeting rooms, university faculty and staff often juggle limited resources and busy schedules. A smart reservation system lets faculty and staff independently book spaces across campus—whether it’s for a single workday visit, recurring department meetings, or quiet office time. Even without assigned offices, faculty can still book private, well-equipped office spaces when they need it.
“When people from other campuses visit our site, the desk booking system gives them the freedom to book a desk so they have a seat to stay in when they get here. Before, people just randomly sat wherever they felt like. The booking system has made it easier for us to know it’s okay to use a desk because it’s available that day.”
- Alejandro Vazquez, Administrative Manager at Columbia
By promoting space sharing and reducing reliance on permanently assigned desks, universities can improve space utilization and offer more flexible arrangements to faculty who may be on campus intermittently.
Students also rely on a range of physical spaces to meet, study, and innovate. Whether it’s booking a quiet study desk in the library or reserving rehearsal space for a group project, space management software gives students visibility and control over their environment.
“We just opened up a new student hub with spaces that students can reserve for studying, group projects, and other academic uses. With the new tech, they can see their reservation time, get confirmation, and know what’s available.”
- Winnie HeeWee Wong, Student Engagement Executive at Swinburne University of Technology
The added transparency prevents double-bookings and ensures spaces are reserved fairly based on access levels—keeping student-only areas secure from unintended use.
3. Bring Clarity and Control to High-Demand Spaces
Universities juggle frequent requests for high-profile venues like auditoriums, event spaces, and conference rooms. Space management software helps streamline and enforce these requests by routing them through the proper channels and ensuring appropriate approval workflows.
This not only reduces manual coordination but improves visibility across campus activities, supporting better communication among departments and centralized event planning.
4. Track and Manage Shared Equipment and Amenities
Beyond rooms, universities must also manage access to shared resources like lab equipment, kitchen spaces in residential halls, and tech gear. With centralized scheduling and reservation systems, students and staff gain equitable access, and the university retains a clear record of who used what—and when.
“We have a communal kitchen that only students living in the residential buildings can use. We have about 400 students and only 9 stove tops, so students have to make a reservation to use the kitchen.”
- Winnie HeeWee Wong, Student Engagement Executive at Swinburne University of Technology
This level of oversight helps reduce misuse, prevent bottlenecks, and even support recovery of missing equipment.
5. Maximize the Use of Every Square Foot
Classrooms and meeting spaces often sit underutilized between scheduled events. With smart scheduling software, professors and staff can see real-time availability and book spaces that would otherwise go unused—improving campus efficiency without the need for more construction or expansion.
“It would be so much extra work to have to check every classroom and every study space just to make sure that the right people are in there at the right time. Space management tech has made it easier to see who should be in our academic buildings at what time.”
- Gavin Curless, Events/Facilities at Cornell College
Manage Spaces Smarter With Technology Built for Campus Complexity
Universities have been leading the way in flexible, shared space models for years—and now, with purpose-built technology, they can take it to the next level. From faculty offices and science labs to rehearsal rooms and communal kitchens, space management platforms give institutions the tools to empower users, reduce admin workloads, and make informed decisions based on real data.
Want more success stories? Discover how Columbia and Cornell College transformed their space scheduling with Skedda.
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