Policy Search
Office Space
University Operations – Facilities and Support
| EWU Policy 204-10 | Authority: EWU Board of Trustees |
| Effective: December 12, 2025 | Proponent: Vice President for Business & Strategy |
Purpose: This policy establishes guidelines for the equitable, efficient, and effective allocation, utilization, and management of office space within the university.
History: This policy is new. It was adopted by the Board of Trustees on December 12, 2025
1. Introduction
The goal of this policy is to ensure that office spaces support the university’s mission in teaching, research, and service, enhance productivity, and provide a safe and appropriate working environment for faculty, staff, student employees, and graduate assistants.
This policy applies to all university-owned or leased office spaces, including faculty offices, administrative offices, shared workspaces, and graduate assistant offices. It covers all university employees, including faculty, staff, administrators, temporary employees, and graduate assistants requiring dedicated or shared office space. This policy does not apply to specialized laboratories, classrooms, or clinical spaces. Workspaces for remote employees are identified in EWU Policy 401-10 (Remote Work).
2. Office Space Assignment and Allocation
2-1. Centralized Authority
The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) holds ultimate authority for all university office space allocation decisions.
The university Space Planning Advisory Committee (SPAC) reviews space requests and identifies space solutions that best suit growing and changing campus departments with an overall campus perspective for space needs.
The SPAC is the delegated authority to perform review of university space allocations and make recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).
Requests for space allocation or reclassification typically originate in departments/divisions and are submitted to the SPAC consistent with EWU Policy 204-01 (Space Utilization). Request forms and instructions may be found on the SPAC website at https://inside.ewu.edu/spac/.
2-2. Allocation to Individual Employees
As a general rule, the university allocates one primary office or dedicated workspace per employee. Employees who work exclusively online will not be provided a dedicated workspace. Employees who work in more than one location may have a dedicated office space at one location and may have a shared workspace at another location. Exceptions to this rule are rare and require explicit approval based on compelling operational necessity, as outlined below.
- Faculty Offices:
- Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty: Typically allocated a single private office. No faculty member shall be allocated more than one private office.
- Non-Tenure Track Faculty (e.g., Lecturers, Senior Lecturers): May be allocated a single private office, a dedicated shared office workspace, or access to communal workspace, depending on departmental needs, funding, and availability. No non-tenure track faculty member shall be allocated more than one dedicated office or workspace.
- Adjunct Faculty: Typically assigned shared office space or access to communal workspaces for meeting students and preparation. No dedicated individual office is assigned.
- Emeritus Faculty: Consistent with EWU Policy 401-05, emeriti faculty may have access to shared or communal workspaces.
- Staff Offices:
- Allocation will be based on job responsibilities, need for privacy, confidentiality requirements, and supervisory duties. This may include a single private office, a dedicated workspace within a shared office, or an open-plan workspace. No staff shall be allocated more than one dedicated office or workspace.
- Administrator Offices
- Administrators will typically be allocated a single private office. An administrator may be placed in a share or communal workspace depending on their job responsibilities, need for privacy, confidentiality requirements, and supervisory duties. No administrator shall be allocated more than one dedicated office or workspace. Administrators who work at more than one location may have access to a shared or communal space.
- Graduate Assistant Offices and Student Employees:
- Teaching/Research Assistants: Typically assigned a dedicated workspace within shared office space or a communal area. No graduate assistant shall be allocated more than one dedicated workspace.
- Student Employees: depending on the responsibilities of the position, student employees may be assigned a shared office space or a communal area.
- Shared and Flexible Workspaces:
- The university may designate shared offices, hoteling stations, and collaborative zones to support flexible work arrangements and optimize space. These are generally for occasional use and do not constitute a “primary office” that would count against the one-per-employee allocation. An employee assigned a primary office or dedicated workspace will not typically be allocated an additional dedicated shared or flexible workspace.
2-3. Exceptions to Single Office Allocation
Any request for an individual to be allocated more than one primary office or dedicated workspace must demonstrate extraordinary circumstances directly tied to core university functions (e.g., dual appointments in distinct, geographically separated departments requiring immediate access to resources at both sites). Such requests require a detailed justification and the express written approval of the Vice President for Business & Strategy or designee.
3. Request and Review Process
Departments/units are responsible for assessing their internal office space needs and identifying any surplus or deficit.
Requests for new office space, reassignments, or modifications must be submitted to the Space Planning Advisory Committee per EWU Policy 204-01. The SPAC will review requests based on university strategic priorities, available resources, and overall space inventory. Prioritization will consider immediate operational needs, safety, and long-term planning, with a strong emphasis on efficient space utilization and adherence to the single office allocation principle.
