Student numbers are down. Campuses feel it - classrooms sit half-full, and costs keep climbing. Space planning is the fix. Prioritize the spaces students need, rethink the rest, and deliver on climate goals without sacrificing success. Undergraduate enrollment is down about 3% from pre-pandemic. The slowdown will speed up after 2025. Still, Spring 2025 enrollment bumped up 3.2% over last year. That gives you a window. Start optimizing now while you’ve got room to move. Smart space planning lets you keep the right rooms, rework the others, and cut costs without cutting corners on what matters for students.
We’ll cover the must-know metrics, the best data sources, and the moves that turn enrollment dips into a leaner, more efficient campus.
The peak’s coming. In 2025, there will be about 3.9 million 18-year-olds graduating high school. After that, the number drops for 15 years. By 2041, we’ll see a 13% drop in traditional-age students. Lower birth rates after the Great Recession started this shift.
The drop isn’t even. Here’s what’s ahead for some states:
A few states buck the trend - Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, North Carolina, and Tennessee will see some growth. But if your campus is in a shrinking state, you’ll compete for every student.
Empty seats mean empty buildings. On average, just 60% of campus space is used daily. The rest sits empty. Lower enrollment widens that gap. Still running the lights, AC, and heat in those empty spaces wastes money and energy. Occupancy data tells you exactly where you’ve got room to rethink, and space planning gives you a plan.
Great decisions come from sharp data. Here’s what to track:
Mashup your data. Schedules show what’s planned. Sensors show who’s actually there. The gap helps you find no-shows, informal study groups, and rooms always dark - despite being "booked."
Most schedules stack classes Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 2. That makes some buildings busy only those days, while others stay quiet. Simple fix - spread classes across all weekdays and various time slots. That keeps more spaces used, without building more.
Start by reviewing your schedule. Prime time is usually 25 hours a week when most classes fight for space. Classrooms see about 67% use during these hours. Off-peak, it drops.
Work with departments to put some courses in early morning, late afternoon, or Friday slots. Offer upgrades - better tech or labs - for off-peak classes. Distribute labs through the week. This steadies demand, allows you to close buildings during downtime, and reduces energy spikes.
Schedules show enrollment. Sensors show who’s there. When you merge these, you see a true picture.
Install privacy-first sensors in classrooms, labs, libraries, and hangout spaces. These count phones - not people - using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals. The result? Anonymous, minute-by-minute headcounts without tracking anyone personally. Compare this to your booking system. If a lecture hall’s scheduled for 20 hours, but sensors show it’s empty for half, you’ve found a room to consolidate.
Combine three sources - schedules, sensors, and network logs. Now you can pinpoint which rooms, floors, or even wings rarely see use. One university cut costs by 20% in a year by blending class schedules with real-time sensor data.
Run reports by day, hour, and term. Spring often dips below fall in enrollment. Classrooms can fall 11% in use from fall to spring. Plan maintenance or renovations in those lulls for smooth operations.
Once you know which rooms are empty, tell your building automation to pause heating, cooling, and lights. Buildings account for nearly 40% of global CO₂, and campuses contribute a lot.
Demand control ventilation (DCV) adjusts fresh air based on how many people are in a room. If the room’s empty, DCV dials ventilation down. When it fills, ventilation goes up. Matched HVAC and occupancy cuts energy use by 10–30%. That’s $0.50 savings per square foot, per year, if DCV connects to real-time data. Lighting works the same - sensor detects people, and lights switch off shortly after everyone leaves. Put these together, and you lower your carbon footprint and your utility bills.
Modern automation integrates with occupancy systems through open APIs. No need to rip out controls. Just layer occupancy data on your current setup, set space rules, and let automation run. Recommission or upgrade your controls to use occupancy info and you’ll see 15–25% energy savings if systems are tuned right.
Track your CO₂ alongside energy use. Many schools target carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. Real-time occupancy data helps you see progress, pinpoint high-emission buildings, and set retrofit priorities. Swedish schools using AI-powered HVAC cut carbon emissions by 60 times the emissions created during the AI rollout.
Smart campuses use sensors, cloud platforms, and analytics to optimize everything. Space planning drives that strategy. When you know how students use buildings, you can automate lighting, dial in HVAC, plan cleaning crews, and share live “how busy” dashboards so students find open seats.
Here are proven returns:
Combine Wi-Fi logs, building automation data, access controls, and room bookings with real-time counts. Now you see campus activity at a glance. Privacy-first sensors send anonymous numbers via open APIs, so you can feed your data warehouses, building systems, signage, and dashboards - while keeping student info safe.
Start with high-traffic spots - libraries, student centers, dining halls, top study areas. Then add classrooms with poor utilization and labs showing low seat fill. Sensors go live in a day or two, so you’re making data-driven decisions by term’s end.
Open standards and API access keep your data flexible. Tag sensors with building, floor, room, and space type. Export metrics to any analysis tool. Upgrading your management system? Your data moves with you.
Leadership doesn’t want complex sensor feeds. They need clear charts showing cost impact, carbon reduction, and freed space.
Build dashboards focusing on:
Keep it simple: no more than three dashboard pages. Use drop-downs for filters. Export to CSV or PDF for meetings. A good dashboard guides action without overload.
Standardize your data. Make sure facilities, registrar, finance, and IT teams use the same definitions. Shared language avoids confusion and gets everyone on board fast.
Lower enrollment doesn’t stall your campus. It lets you match your buildings to what’s needed. Use occupancy analysis to spot underused buildings, consolidate classes, and turn extra space into high-value areas - think maker labs, wellness centers, or business partners.
Mothball any building below 30% use. Shut down HVAC, lights, and networks, but check in regularly. When demand comes back, open up quickly.
Convert low-traffic rooms to flexible study zones, telehealth, or incubators. These often drive more student engagement and revenue than empty lecture halls.
Connect your space planning to enrollment forecasts. If your state expects a 20% drop in high school grads, build plans for each scenario - 10%, 15%, 20%. Forecast which buildings get consolidated, which get updates, and which can lease out or sell.
Privacy-first tools like Occuspace give you real-time, anonymous counts, so you make decisions without risking privacy. Sensors install in minutes, work with your building automation and campus IT, and give you the clear, actionable data you need.
Think of space planning as ongoing. Tweak as needs, budgets, and climate goals shift. Start with the numbers that matter, mix your data sources, automate building systems, and give leaders clear results. You’ll run a leaner, more student-focused, and lower-cost campus - ready for what’s next.
Privacy-first occupancy sensors do the job. They scan Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals using your existing network. No new wires. Just plug them in and you’re live in minutes. The sensors connect to your building automation, IWMS, or analytics through open APIs. No batteries to replace. Install across campus in days, not months.
With real-time occupancy, your systems only heat, cool, and light when rooms get used. Demand control ventilation eases off HVAC in vacant spaces, cutting energy by 10-30%. Lighting controls shut off empty rooms. Tracking CO₂ gives you goals and shows which buildings to upgrade first. All steps move you toward carbon neutrality.
Track weekly room hours, seat fill, and peak daily use for every building. Consolidate into spaces with the best utilization. Repurpose rooms for study, wellness, or partnerships. Put buildings with less than 30% use into mothballs. Use occupancy analytics to make sure students have what they need - when they need it. Balance your schedule across all weekdays and time slots, so you’re not cramming or wasting space. This way, you save costs and carbon while keeping student experience front and center.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
Block quote
Ordered list
Unordered list
Bold text
Emphasis
Superscript
Subscript
