COMM
Appendix F8: Facilities Requests
Audience: Facilities Committee, Administrators
Purpose: To be read and responded to by Facilities Committee.
Background: Following the completion of the 2012 Chabot College Facility Master Plan, the Facilities
Committee (FC) has begun the task of re-prioritizing Measure B Bond budgets to better align with current
needs. The FC has identified approximately $18M in budgets to be used to meet capital improvement
needs on the Chabot College campus. Discussion in the FC includes holding some funds for a year or two
to be used as match if and when the State again funds capital projects, and to fund smaller projects that
will directly assist our strategic goal. The FC has determined that although some of the college's greatest
needs involving new facilities cannot be met with this limited amount of funding, there are many smaller
pressing needs that could be addressed. The kinds of projects that can be legally funded with bond
dollars include the "repairing, constructing, acquiring, equipping of classrooms, labs, sites and facilities."
Do NOT use this form for equipment or supply requests.
Instructions: Please fill in the following as needed to justify your requests.If requesting more than one
facilities project, please rank order your requests.
Brief Title of Request (Project Name): New library/Learning Connection space
Building/Location: Building 100
Description of the facility project. Please be as specific as possible.
The Communication Lab is currently located in room 803. The space is an improvement from WRAC
but still lacks several criteria for a productive performance space. We need a space that has
technology essential for presentations, sound proofing, and a larger /addition space.
Mike Seaton, Senior Instructional Support, informed us that room 803 is not capable of the technology
that is required for presentation preparation. We need a set-up as close to a SMART classroom as
possible. This includes a projector, screen, computer with internet access and Power Point, DVD
player, CD, player, and document camera. We also need a space that is equipped to record speeches in
a quiet, enclosed space.
In terms of soundproofing, we rehearse many dramatic performances in the Lab and instructors in the
adjoining classroom come in to our space at least once per semester, demanding we quiet down. This
is not possible. In order to fully prepare for a dramatic presentation and/or oral interpretation, our
students need to project. We need a space where students can do this in comfort and without
interruption.
Individual presentation preparation is not the only activity happening in the Communication Lab. Jason
Ames also uses the space for our Intramural Speech Tournament. And groups come into rehears group
presentations regularly. In the future we plan to use the space for our Speakeasy as well as the Great
Debate. We need additional enclosed space and/or a larger space to accommodate these activities.
What educational programs or institutional purposes does this equipment support?
The Mission Statement of Chabot College:
“Chabot College is a public comprehensive community college that prepares students to succeed in their
education, progress in the workplace, and engage in the civic and cultural life of the global community . . .”
Communication Studies explores the complexity of human interaction. Our courses include the
Fundamentals of Speech Communication, Dramatic Oral Interpretation, Group Communication,
Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, Persuasion, Argumentation, and more.
All of which directly reflect the Mission of the College.
The Communication Lab supports all of our courses. The Communication Lab provides help with
speech preparation in any course. We also house speech competitions and we provide a rehearsal
space for group preparation and dramatic interpretation.
In the future we also want to invite faculty and staff to the Communication Lab (Speakeasy) and reach
more of the campus. We will also offer more aspects of Communication, such as listening skills. And
we will invite students to prepare for the Great Debate, a direct opportunity to have a voice in our
community.
So the Communication Lab support all courses and activities in the Communication Studies area
(namely toward the Communication Studies AA-T), we support any course with a communication
assignment, individual and groups, and will support faculty and staff with a variety of communication
topics. The National Association of Colleges and Employers, in a 2010 survey, ranked the top three
desired candidate skills/qualities: (1) communication skills; (2) analytical skills; and (3) teamwork skills.
The Comm Lab is fundamental in supporting our students toward academic, professional, and personal
goals, all objectives of the College and the workforce at large.
Briefly describe how your request relates specifically to meeting the Strategic Plan Goal and to
enhancing student learning?
The Strategic Plan of Chabot college is to:
“Increase the number of students that achieve their educational goal within a reasonable time by
clarifying pathways and providing more information and support.”
The Communication Lab has already proven to be necessary in successful completion of COMM
1 courses and overall retention. Thus increasing the number of students who move closer to
their degree. According to the College of Instructional Research, we had 287 visits in Spring
2011 and 391 visits in Fall 2011. In a study of success rates from Fall 2009-Spring 2011 our
COMM 1 students had a 94% success rate. In other words, of our students who visit the Lab
have higher success rates than students who do not use the Lab. Furthermore in this same
study, the withdraw rate was 0%, confirming students stay in class when they receive support.
According to the College of Instructional Research, “higher success rates mean more students
can go on to the next course rather than repeating the course and preventing others from
taking it. This increases the number of students that Chabot can serve as well as the number of
students who can succeed, persist, graduate, and transfer.”
The Strategic Plan also plans to:
“7. Build pathway learning communities to support students.
a. Leverage the power of peer mentoring
g. Identify “mentor” spaces on campus “
The Communication Lab directly supports all students pursuing Pathways related to Communication,
whether it be a Communication Studies Degree, Political Science, Nursing Degree, etc. Our peer
mentors guide students in organization of ideas, critical thinking, audience analysis, teamwork,
confidence, credibility, verbal and nonverbal strategies, and more. All areas that would increase the
number of students that achieve their educational goal.
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