Information to support strategic campus management in universities

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to underpin the importance of the availability (or absence) of campus management information (CMI) in supporting universities’ goals. Design/methodology/approach: Four perspectives of campus management were used to develop a structured survey enquiring campus managers about universities’ goals, finances, users and spaces. Its descriptive analysis distinguishes two domains: campus strategy and CMI. Findings: A total of 14 participant universities in nine countries provided substantial data, increasing the available CMI in each of the four perspectives compared with previous research. Three goal-related patterns driving the strategies of universities and their campuses were identified across competitive, social, economic and environmental performance aspects. Accordingly, particular CMI is discussed. Research limitations/implications: The paper’s overarching approach in four perspectives challenged the collection of data, which needed to be retrieved from different departments in the organisation, with different domains (human resources, finance, facilities and organisational strategy), lingo and accountability cultures. Originality/value: These findings improve the current understanding of university campuses as strategic resources enabling a variety of university goals and missions in today’s knowledge-based economy, society and cities. Moreover, the authors discuss that a more structural approach to collecting CMI may benefit universities to identify critical aspects of campus management supporting their strategies from which performance indicators can be derived and shared among campus managers with similar strategies to make better future decisions.