Higher Education Design: Six Learning Environments Every Campus Needs. Now.

June 6, 2025
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Higher-ed institutions are at a crossroads. Fewer students, rising costs, and a fickle belief in the value of a degree are eroding admissions. Counteract the doubt with fresh, modern on-campus learning spaces that get students excited to commit.

Universities, community colleges and trade schools often think these spaces are optional. Not so. Today’s savvy students (and their parents) expect the best in higher-ed design. It’s also a plus for retaining faculty and staff.

In this blog, we’ll review six critical learning spaces – why they matter and how to furnish them using Smith System products designed to nurture the whole student. Grab your backpack, as we travel from dynamically flexible classrooms to esports labs, outdoor lounge spaces and more.

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What Do Students, Faculty and Staff Really Want From Learning Spaces?

There’s the obvious, like tech-saturated spaces for career-focused learning. Educators and students are relying on technology, both old and new, to help make complex subjects easier to teach and understand.

  • Belonging: Perhaps most of all, students want belonging They want inspiring higher-ed spaces that reflect their unique identity and interests. They want to envision fitting it, states the Concordia College (Moorhead, MN) website.

“The most important factor when considering a college is how the school makes you feel. Regardless of all the programs, opportunities and scholarships, the school you choose should feel like home, a place … to grow and develop not just academically, but in all aspects of life.”

That manifests, in part, with inviting and exciting spaces where adult students of all ages can see themselves doing want students do: learn, study, work, socialize, relax, and most of all, graduate prepared for their future.

  • Agency: Students also want agency – to feel empowered, to choose how, when and where they learn and connect. They want spaces intentionally designed to foster academic learning, creativity, inclusivity and comfort in environments that also support their mental well-being. The same goes for faculty and staff.

“In this moment, it’s crucial for institutions to ride the wave of change while keeping a steady focus on student success and overall institutional health,” writes Hanover Research, a private company specializing in corporate and education data analytics.

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Six Must-Have Higher Education Learning Spaces

It’s pretty clear what’s out: Stagnant, traditional learning spaces. Students and educators want highly versatile, multi-functional environments with a comfortable, appealing “casual maturity.” It’s about blurring the lines between studying and socializing, work and play, indoor and outdoor learning.

Let’s review six learning spaces higher-ed campuses need to help advance student learning, belonging and individual agency:

  1. Flexible Classrooms
  2. Learning Commons
  3. Career and Technical Education (CTE)
  4. Esports
  5. Outdoor Learning Spaces
  6. Faculty and Admin Spaces
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Flexible Classrooms

The proliferation of flexible learning environments, especially classrooms, isn’t new. But it is accelerating on higher-ed campuses. Flexible classrooms are purposefully nimble. They enable individual study, group work or group discussion, and lectures – sometimes within the same space, at the same time.

That flexibility helps faculty, too. They can adapt more quickly, and cater to different learning styles and teaching methods, using lightweight modular furniture that’s easy to rearrange to each class.

In fact, constructing flexible learning environments starts with furniture, according to a recent article by Andy Viano, a journalist and editor at EdTech: Focus on Higher Education.

“Students in a flexible classroom are typically seated in pods and around tables, something that also allows the professor to flow through the space and work one-on-one with students as needed. It’s also the kind of setup that allows for personalized, adaptive learning if instructors choose to employ that method.”

CO Architects is a Los-Angeles-based architecture and design firm with numerous projects in higher education. They’re seeing an increase in requests for agile spaces equipped for various technologies and experiential needs. Again, furniture plays a significant role.

“Flexible furniture not only offers easily movable and versatile pieces, but also incorporates foldable and stackable options with integrated storage.”

Elemental® Half Round Nest & Fold Table

Numbers™ Adjustable Height Stool

Elemental® Adjustable Nest & Fold Table

Learning Commons

A generation ago, the crowded student center was the only place to find a quasi-learning commons (and vending machines) on campus. Today, these subtly energizing, yet relaxed, zones should be sprinkled throughout campus buildings.

Why? Because learning commons are the in-between spaces where students, faculty and staff gravitate to study, recharge their brains and devices, and catch-up with classmates and colleagues. Commons are the touchstones where academic and social lives effortlessly intersect.

The most effect learning commons enhance campus life, with a mix of furniture types to accommodate neuro-diversity and different learning styles. Calm, comfort and semi-privacy are key.

Flowform® Learn Lounge Screen - Leaves

Flowform® Ottoman - Habanero

Flowform® Learn Lounge Offset Rectangle Table w/ Power

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are having a resurgence with adult students of all ages, and for good reason. They offer opportunities for career pathways across broad fields, more immediately than a four-year-degree.

CTE merges traditional academic learning with hands-on, practical experience in various careers. Students are equipped with in-demand skills and competencies needed for key industries, like green energy, culinary arts and the construction trades.

These programs require highly durable, versatile furniture that can stand up to multiple tasks and daily cleaning.

  • Planner® Studio Table with stainless steel tabletop is built to endure just about anything in the CTE realm, and it’s easy to sanitize. The adjustable-height table with steel frame supports up to 400 pounds. Casters are optional.
  • Potential™ Stool is a cost-effective option for durable, inclusive seating in adjustable heights on glides or casters. This stool is the perfect perch for the Planner Studio Table.

Planner® Studio Table - Stainless Steel Tabletop

Planner® Studio - Mobile Whiteboard

Potential™ Adjustable Stool - Apple

Esports

Today, collegiate esports far surpass late-night gaming sessions in dorm rooms. Esports is a structured part of higher education, with a complete intertwining of competition and academics, for all genders.

For a generation raised on gaming, esports are a natural part of college life. There are club and competitive leagues. The latter treats esports similar to traditional sports, with scholarships and dedicated state-of-the-art facilities. Students have a chance to compete, network and gain valuable career skills. Among them are communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving.

Esports also foster a sense of belonging. Being in community with other gamers helps combat stress and student isolation, and it refines social emotional learning.

Dr. Joey Gawrysiak, is executive director of esports communications and management at Syracuse University. He says collegiate esports programs are growing, especially at larger institutions. This shift is making esports a sustainable and long-term offering at colleges nationwide.

“Schools want to provide engaging experiences for students, while developing the next generation of workers for the burgeoning esports industry," Gawrysiak explained. “Esports engage learners where other activities have not. Coupled with the growing presence of esports programs in high schools, enthusiasts now see a path to college where there might not have otherwise been."

Furniture for esports areas requires comfortable, adjustable gaming chairs and stools, ample surface areas and spectator seating.

Groove® Fixed Height Stool - Charcoal

Flowform® Soft Rocker 

Planner® Single-Student Desk

Outdoor Learning Spaces 

A nice day on a campus inevitably draws students outside. They crave fresh air and nature, with an innate knowing of the benefits that science now confirms. Regular contact with nature can improve students’ physical health, mental wellbeing, cognition and focus. The same goes for faculty and staff.

For schools, the mission is making outdoor learning areas as functional and versatile as indoor spaces. But equally important is curating a casual and comfortable aesthetic, with underlining durability. It’s a mix of practical (surface areas for beverages and devices) and cozy (smaller seating pods).

CO Architects describes why its higher-ed projects emphasize outdoor learning and socializing areas.

“Interconnected with the increased awareness of overall wellness, institutions are placing a high importance on mental health, and realizing the positive health benefits of spending time in the natural environment.”

  • OpenSpaces Outdoor Furniture provides contemporary options for fresh-air learning with highly durable, color-infused tables, firm seating and more.
  • Flowform® Outdoor offers contemporary upholstered bench and stool seating, partial dividers, and versatile tables for curating cozy outdoor pods.

Flowform® Outdoor - Triangle Table

OpenSpaces Adapt Table

Flowform® Outdoor Bean Bench - Small 

 

Faculty & Administrative Spaces

Higher education professionals have some of the highest burnout rates of any profession. The intense demands can erode job satisfaction and retention.

Designing spaces for college faculty and staff involves creating environments that support personal and professional needs. Like students, college faculty and admin need areas for solo tasks, collaboration, and interaction with students and colleagues. They also need privacy to recharge and prep between classes and meetings.

CO Architects is seeing a shift in the opposite direction. “There has been a slight reduction in the amount of space dedicated to faculty offices, as institutions are increasingly adopting more flexible, shared workspaces or hybrid work models for faculty and staff.”

The gist: If schools can’t increase quantity, improve the quality of faculty and admin spaces. Focus on highly functional, comfortable zones that users can micro-personalize for productivity.

  • Flowform® Tables have a casual look, with organic shapes and rounded corners. They’re practical and stylish.
  • Numbers™ Mobile Chair is ergonomically sculptured for comfort and 360-degree seating. It’s sleek and stackable.
  • Flowform® Learn Lounge Single Seat provides a soft, yet highly supportive sit for work and relaxing. It’s easy to push into place with optional casters.

Flowform® Round Trapezoid Table

Numbers™ Mobile Chair

Flowform® Learn Lounge - Single Seat

Remember the phrase, “Dress for success”? Staying current with higher education design is a bit like that. It doesn’t have to include major renovations. Focus on installing design-forward furniture to create the six, exciting on-campus learning spaces that make students want to commit and faculty want to stay.

Smith System is ready to help you pass the test. Contact us today.