While students can listen to a lecture online, participate in discussion boards and interact over video platforms at home, educators still crave enhanced collaboration and engagement between students and faculty. Recently, C.W. Driver Companies constructed an interior build-out for the new Swenson Family Hall of Engineering at Chapman University, with the goal of fostering collaboration and blurring the lines between teaching and research.

“The past year of online learning has shifted student preferences and increased the competition in higher education,” said Dave Pintar, director of project development, C.W. Driver Companies. “Colleges are responding and considering how to attract and retain students through prioritized investment in campus facilities.”

Study alcoves and research pods promote interdisciplinary relationships and group work sessions. Across campuses, classrooms are being built with collapsible panels, enabling rooms to be flexible to respond to new teaching modalities, and to service various student and faculty needs.