Room Audits
Outline
The HEFCE Space Management Project 2006 sets out current good practice recommendations on managing space and the need for effective space management. To support the better management of space, the Timetabling Office carry out regular room audits throughout the year. These are unannounced and are usually carried out over a one-week period.
Aims
- To ensure teaching space booked is being used as booked and to identify room users who regularly reserve space and fail to use it.
- To assess the utilisation of different types of rooms and different zones in order to drive strategy on how space is developed across campus, and to support the construction of the teaching timetable.
Methodology
Paid student auditors will each be allocated to a zone on campus, and will visit a specified list of rooms on an hourly basis throughout the teaching day. The auditors will count the number of occupants in each room and record this on data sheets. In carrying out the audit, disturbance will be kept to a minimum and auditors will only enter a room when necessary e.g. vision panels in doors will be used to check occupancy if possible.
This data is entered by each auditor on to an online database, which is cross-checked by our admin team against their data sheets for accuracy. This information is then compared to the University timetable, which produces lists of unused bookings and statistics about room frequency, occupancy and utilisation.
Details of all unused bookings are sent to each department to collect their reasons for non-use.
A report is then produced by the Timetabling Office and passed to the Space Policy and Management Group, before being published on our website.
Download Audit Reports
Contacting Us
All queries regarding Room Audits should be directed to Kate Beaumont on 01904 324041 or roomaudits@york.ac.uk.