GOAL 7.

To acquire new and improve existing space, equipment, teaching materials, technology and supplies to allow the departments to provide outstanding and varied educational opportunities for students and staff.

Short-term Objectives:

• Continue to lobby for space needed in support of academic programs.
• Request regular feedback from College-wide space committees.
• Identify future academic space requirements by department on an annual basis.
• Vehemently insist on appropriate environmental conditions for all space including proper ventilation, safety standards, temperature regulation, acoustics, lighting and cleanliness. Renovate existing classroom space to meet these conditions.
• Increase the amount of space devoted to academic functions.

Learning Environment and Teaching

• Articulate the need for suitable working conditions in order to accomplish our academic mission including:
  • Insisting on regular custodial maintenance of academic buildings.
  • Continue enhancing technological support including E-mail, Fax, telephone, etc.
  • Providing adequate funding for routine maintenance on all equipment and adequate reserve funds for emergency repairs.
  • Purchasing and maintaining transportation vans to enable academic departments to take advantage of surrounding resources and to do field work.
  • Developing rapid response system for equipment repairs.
  • Developing regular maintenance schedule for audio-visual equipment.
  • Providing for systematic repair and replacement of worn-out classroom furniture.
  • Establishing a regular and predictable equipment and supply budget including regular upgrades of computers for faculty and staff. Include budget to deal with safety and security of equipment.
  • Streamlining process by which hardware and software acquisitions are made.

Long-term Objectives:

Space

• Increase amount of space devoted to academic functions.
• Provide each full-time faculty member with a private office with a computer port (and hardware) and access to the local area network and the Internet. Four to five part-time faculty, including DCE faculty, share an office.
• Acquire adequate conference, seminar and student meeting rooms and storage areas.
• Increase amount of laboratory, performance and studio space. Renovate current space, including multiple computer ports and hardware in space used by students.
• Increase amount of research space for faculty and students.

Learning Environment and Teaching Materials

• Provide sufficient and convenient state-of-the-art multi-media facilities for classroom teachers.