Institutional and Community Planning
Campus Engagement and Student Amenities
Focus Group Sessions
Valle Verde Campus
Spring 2006
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Institutional and Community Planning
Table of Contents
Executive Summary………………………………………………...……………………3
Common Themes………………………………………………………………..……….2
Focus Group Session Government 2305 February 9, 2006..………………………..…6
Focus Group Session History 1302 February 14, 2006…..…………………..………...9
Focus Group Session Education 1300 February 15, 2006 ……………...……………12
Focus Group Session History 1301 February 16, 2006 ………………………………15
Focus Group Session English 1301 February 22, 2006………….……………...…….17
Focus Group Session English 1302 February 22, 2006………….………………...….20
Focus Group Session Education 1300 February 23, 2006 …………..……………….22
Focus Group Session Government 2305 February 24, 2006..…………….…....….....24
Focus Group Session Education 1300 February 24, 2006 ……………......………….26
Reference Article…………...…………………………………………………………...28
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Executive Summary
During the Spring 2006 semester, the Office of Institutional and Community
Planning coordinated ten student focus group sessions with the assistance of members
from the Student Government Association, entitled Focus Groups on Campus
Engagement and Student Amenities. These focus groups were held with the intent of
finding out what would encourage El Paso Community College students to spend more
time on campus either before or after their classes.
Research has shown that the more time college students spend on their campuses,
the more likely they are to be retained in college. For the students who are already
staying on campus, before or after classes the goal was to determine their needs or
desired services. For the students who are not spending time on campus outside of class,
the goal was to find out what types of amenities, facilities, or activities would encourage
them to spend more time on campus. As the largest campus in the El Paso Community
College District, Valle Verde was the central focus for the initial research. The focus
groups produced a vast amount of suggestions for improving student life at EPCC, and
many themes common to students who are attending classes at different hours of the day
emerged. Many of the suggestions made by the students were small fine-tuning changes
or upgrades that could be done quickly with minimal cost and planning. All of the
suggestions should be carefully considered in order to make the students’ college
experiences positive, successful, and to fully engage them in their college studies.
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Institutional and Community Planning
Campus Engagement and Student Amenities Focus Groups
Focus Group Process:
Ten focus groups were held from February 9, 2006 to February 23, 2006 at the Valle
Verde Campus. The focus group sessions were held during morning, afternoon, and
evening classes in a variety of different types of classes including History, Government,
and Mastery of Academic Excellence. One facilitator and one note-taker were present
during the sessions from the Research and Development Department and members of the
Student Government association. The facilitator asked the students a variety of different
open-ended questions. The students for the most part were at liberty to move the
discussion to the issues that were of the most importance to them. The note-taker was
present only to record the input from the students. The notes were then transcribed and
compared in order to determine common themes.
Common Themes:
Listed below are the areas of concern listed by the students that were reoccurring through
out the focus group sessions:
Reasons People Leave the Campus
1. The lack of eatery options. Students would like more choices in the types of food
that are available to them. The most frequent chain request was: Starbucks
Coffee, a salad bar, and Taco Bell.
2. Majority of students who are leaving campus are doing so because of employment
purposes.
3. Students also leave campus because of a lack of activities that interest them in
staying.
Activities/Services that would encourage students to stay
1. Pool Tables and a better game room
2. A TV room or TVs in the Cafeteria
3. More of a Barnes and Noble type atmosphere where students can have coffee,
meet in groups and study
4. A building for students that is equivalent to the UTEP Student Union.
5. Intramural athletic activities
6. A bigger library
7. More quiet study spots other than the library
Facilities to add or needing improvement
1. More restrooms are needed. Existing restrooms are too small. There needs to be
more restrooms especially in the A building. Cleaning of the restrooms should not
take place during busy “passing” periods
2. More elevators are needed. Existing elevators are too slow, small, and dirty
3. The weight room and other gym facilities are too outdated. The weight room is
too small and the hours of operation for students are very inconvenient.
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Institutional and Community Planning
4. The couches are too low to the ground, need higher more comfortable couches
(Color does not matter)
5. Library needs to allow food, have more materials available, cheaper copies,
expanded hours, especially during finals.
6. The Cafeteria Annex is too dull. Needs more vibrant colors, needs to be bigger
7. Students need a microwave to heat up food they bring from home
8. Need more computer rooms/labs
9. Need wider stairs/more stairways
Outdoor facilities
1. Picnic tables need to be added. They would give students an alternative study
area, as well as alleviate the crowding in the Cafeteria Annex.
2. Shade needed in a lot of outdoor areas including patio, and ample-theatre areas.
More trees or canopy type shading
Concerns for Night Time Students
1. The lighting in the parking lots is not adequate.
2. More police presence at night time in the parking lots
3. Courtesy phones to call for an escort to the car or emergency phones in the
parking lot.
4. Student services, tutoring and computer labs, and library hours are not convenient
for students attending at night.
Campus Radio Station
1. Better to keep it than to get rid of it.
2. Variety in music is best because of diverse musical taste of students.
3. Half of the students feel the station is too loud, the other half feels it needs to be
louder.
Marketing
1. Students feel that campus activities and information (e.g. scholarships) on signs,
current events, college announcements, flyers, are not visible well enough.
2. Use the campus radio station to advertise more.
3. More information about other colleges to see what they offer
4. Good campus maps
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 9, 2006/7:00 p.m. Government
Total of 20 students: 10 females/10 males
Age Group: Late 20s to Early 30s
Facilitator: Lucia Rodriguez
Note-taker: Christopher Gomez
1. Do you stay on campus before or after your class?
• I get here early if I have to study.
• Can’t stay after class because it is already late by the time we get out.
• I come to tutoring center on Saturday
• I come early to get a parking spot.
• Everyone just wants to go home in the evening
2. Why not?
• Lot of students working full-time the rest part-time
• 8 students have children
• More evening entertainment is needed
• TV rooms, concerts, outdoor carnivals with food and free games would
encourage more people to stay on campus
3. Are the hours of the facilities adequate?
• library hours extended and computer lab to at least 10
• fitness center too crowded and closes too early
• Weekdays tutoring center only open till 5:00, I work so those hours are not
good
• Would like more tutoring hours on weekends
• Fridays tutoring center closes at 3:00
• 24-hour open computer lab
• 24-hour open library hours.
• longer hours during finals at library, labs, and tutoring
4. What encourages you to stay on campus now?
• I come to the tutoring center on Saturday
• 3 students seek tutoring
5. Where do you study?
• At home
• On my lunch hour
• At Barnes and Noble or Starbucks
• In the Library
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I Study in my car
On the grass
More quiet in my car than on campus
A study-hall would be nice
Cafeteria too loud for studying
Library is loud because of the classes that go in there
One Student goes to Trans-Mountain because it is quieter
6. What types of activities or services would be beneficial for students with
children?
• A lot of students walk around campus with their kids
• Night-time care services would be helpful
• Would like to see tee-ball or other activities for children of EPCC students’
children; children could participate while parents are in class
7. Facilities Issues
• Better food court needed
• Computer Centers too crowded with people just surfing net
• Students go to other campuses for student services because Valle Verde is
too crowded
• Restrooms are trashy
• Campus is pretty clean overall
• Restrooms are too small you can wash your hands and urinate at the same
time
• Elevators are too slow
• Need designated area for smokers
• Picnic tables outside would help reduce indoor crowding
• Mission del Paso has tables outside
• Valle Verde needs more shade trees
• Outdoor areas with pigeon droppings need to be cleaned
• Coffee shop with nice seating is needed
8. Police Department and Parking Issues
• Parking is worse in the daytime
• More police are present in daytime than nighttime
• Small shuttle for night service is desired
• More lighting and security in the parking lots are needed
• Courtesy phones needed for students to call for police escorts to vehicles
9. Student Services
• Books are expensive, used books are in bad shape, buy back doesn’t even
pay half of what we paid for it.
• Better payment plans needed to pay for tuition and books
• Mission Del Paso has better one-on-one tutoring services
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Institutional and Community Planning
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Financial aid needs to know more about student loans, e.g. when students
are going to receive it and if I’m going to receive it.
Student services staff congregate with each other or talk on the phone
making waits longer
Friendlier staff and faculty needed especially at Financial Aid service
window
Majority of students felt they didn’t have a good enough orientation
10. Radio Station Issues
• Radio stations only play during the daytime, and can only be heard when
walking between buildings
• Only 2 students knew about the college radio station
• Student like metal, Christian, classical, exposure to live music, local bands,
and talent shows for students.
• Local radio stations should come to campus for barbecues/ outdoor events
for students
11. Marketing Student Activities and Services
• More marketing needed for existing tournaments and intramural sports
• No students where aware of scholarship opportunities
• Make scholarship process known at New Student Orientation
• More information about activities for students needed so that students can
take part in these activities
12. Other Suggestions
• Sports tournaments
• Intramural leagues, football field
• Media checkouts for students e.g. camcorders, lab-tops (through library)
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 14, 2006/11:30 a.m. History
Total of 33 students: 21 females/12 males
Age Group: majority 18-45 years
Facilitator: Dr. Ron Stroud
Note taker: Christopher Gomez
5. Do you stay on campus before or after your class?
• 4 Students responded “yes”
• Not so much on Tuesdays or Thursdays
6. Why not?
• Limited food choices (“Tired of Subway”)
• Wireless Internet is not available in all areas of the campus
• Music on radio station is a distraction.
7. What types of changes to the campus would encourage you to spend more
time on campus?
• Improvements in the “dull” cafeteria e.g. brighter colors
• Make eating area more “Café” style
• More variety in food options e.g. Starbucks, Bagel and Sandwich Shop,
Krispy Kream Donuts
• Make the atmosphere more like “Barnes and Nobles” bookstore with an eatery
• Make wireless internet signal accessible throughout the entire campus.
8. What do you think about the VV facilities?
• Library is not interesting
• UTEP Library has displays
• Library lacks materials (more copies needed)
• Students end up having to go to other campuses to check out materials
• Cost of copies in the library is too expensive (10¢ a copy)
• Add a full service copy center like at UTEP
• Couches for relaxing are too close to the floor
• Bigger stools are needed to rest feet on, more relaxing environment/places to
gather between classes
• Transmountain Campus has better chairs with arm-rest
• Other campuses have better logistics
• Better and more restrooms are needed
• Cleaning of restrooms should be done while classes are in progress not during
passing periods
• New study areas needed with snack bars
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We have good facilities now we just have to make a few additions to them
It is hard to study on those small couches
Group study areas are needed
Picnic tables outside
Cover areas over courtyards for more shade
Better athletic facilities near softball/baseball fields
Add more buildings near the ATC
Computer labs are nice but too small (more computers needed), long waits for
an open computer in the lab, people using computers for chat
9. What does UTEP have that EPCC does not?
• A real student union
• UTEP advertises student activities better
10. What are some concerns held by students who are attending night classes?
• Parking lot safety
• Police escorts to vehicles
• More police presence needed at night
• Police are there in the daytime giving tickets, but should be present at night
time for student safety
• Student services at night time are all closed
• Some activities should be available at night (e.g. crafts fairs, clubs)
11. How many of you have utilized the gym or fitness areas?
• Bigger weight room is needed to accommodate more students
• Facilities are outdated
• Gym has “terrible” hours
• Basketball floor is worn out and slippery
• Open gym is only 1 hour long
• No students have ever used tennis or handball courts
• Need a real track, dirt path is not adequate (paved or rubber track)
• Separate game room needed with ping-pong tables, foosball, better arcade
(use student ID cards for material checkouts)
12. Police Department Issues
• Police officers are not allowed to help change flat tires
• There are more police officers at Rio Grande Campus (good thing)
• Police give tickets off of college property
• Do police officers give tickets for people who occupy 2 parking spaces?
13. Campus Radio Station Issues
• Play music in the hallways
• Need campus wide PA system for announcements
• Volume is too low on radio station
• Keeping the radio station is important
• Music is OK
• Less Rap more classical
• Not all students like classical
• Online link for music request
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Institutional and Community Planning
14. Where do you study
• I study in my car
• At Taco Bell and Starbucks
15. Other issues/ suggestions
• Library has too short of a time limit on computers
• Some instructors don’t have an office to meet with students
• Instructors are not in office during office hours and don’t respond to e-mails
• Instructors should make use of campus pipeline
• Visitor spaces do not allow students to park near student services buildings
when they have business to attend to
• Junk Cars take up perfectly good parking spaces near EPCC buildings
• Lines on parking lots are faded and worn out
• Add NCAA basketball, football, and marksmanship
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 15, 2006/10:00 a.m. Education 1300
Total of 22 students: 13 females/9 males
Age Group: majority 18-30 years
Facilitator: Ron Stroud
Note taker: Jessica Gomez
1. Do you stay on campus before or after your classes?
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7 are leaving after this class
8 are staying because they have another class, after the class 2 are staying.
The rest are leaving because they have to work.
5 are leaving because there is nothing to do.
2. Is food a reason for not staying on campus?
• Yes because a lack of variety with the food.
• Starbucks
• Different types of food other than subway and the grill.
• Cannot study at subway or by subway.
• Want a place where they can study.
3. Library:
• Half the class studies in the library
• Students who do not study in the library feel there is a lack of respect. Students
are noisy, laughing on their phones.
• Procedures should be followed better in the library to reduce the noise.
• There needs to be a restroom on the second floor by the library.
• It is inconvenient to leave their materials in the library and or unsafe because they
have to go down to the 1st floor.
4. How many students study in their cars?
• 3 because it is quiet
5. What types of activities would encourage you to spend more time on campus?
• Tennis Courts: Class did not know there were tennis courts.
• They do not care about the tennis courts.
• Gym is small; 1 male student does go to the gym on campus to play basketball
and to use the weights, but feels the gym is too small and could use another court
for basketball.
6. The dance room:
• 1 female student uses the dance room but feels it needs improvement.
• Needs to be renovated, the floor is dirty and needs to be bigger.
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Institutional and Community Planning
7. Cafeteria annex:
• Pool tables
• Do not feel is a great place to study.
• TV- in the cafeteria like a restaurant.
• Paint the cafeteria
• Students do not have a microwave to heat up their lunches.
• If it was more like Barnes and Noble, students more likely to stay on campus.
8. Study areas:
• Outside on the benches near the front of the building.
• Tables with umbrellas outside would be nice to study.
• They have not used amphitheater
9. Radio station:
• 3 have listened
• No one dj’s at the station and only 1 is interested in possibly djaying.
• Have not listened to the radio station because they did not know about it.
• A few that have say sometimes they like the music; they play both English and
Spanish. She listened in the cafeteria and outside in the courtyard.
• The students feel it is better to have the radio station than to get rid of it.
10. UTEP
• No one attends yet; majority of class is going to attend UTEP after EPCC.
• Student Union at UTEP; if the college had a union like UTEP students would stay
on campus.
11. Locker System:
• Students carry heavy back packs, maybe there could be a locker system.
• For example at the bus station.
• If it were free would this help? Yes they think it would be good to have and
students would utilize them.
• It would have to be a controlled and safe system.
12. Night Students:
• 1 student does not feel safe because of the lighting.
• Police dept.: they are just watching indoors, but we don’t ever see them outside.
They should be walking around the campus especially at night and in the parking
lot.
• Cameras- Library has cameras; there should be cameras in the parking lot. This
would be good to even watch the cars in the parking lot.
• The phones outside are they working? We need to make sure that they are
working and that help would come quickly if we used the phones out in the
parking lots.
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Institutional and Community Planning
13. President or last comments:
• Restrooms:
• Always out of order
• dirty
• need to be bigger
• There is always a line in the girl’s restroom. You waste a lot of time in the
Restroom because of the lines and wind up late to class because some of us only
have 10 minutes in between classes.
• Walkway on the hill:
• Needs to be paved or something.
• When it rains the rocks wash out, very slippery and dangerous.
• Maybe stairs can be put out there.
14. Elevators:
• Need more to reduce the congestion in the elevators.
• One in the cafeteria from the library down, there is one there but you need a key
for it.
• There should be more elevators for people who do not have a severe handicap but
still need use of the elevators.
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 16, 2006/10:00 a.m. History
Total of 25 students: 16 females/9 males
Age Group: majority 18-29 years
Facilitator: Jessica Gomez
Note taker: Christopher Gomez
16. Do you stay on campus before or after your class?
• 4 students stay
• 3 students leave to go and eat
• 15 students leave to their jobs
17. Why not?
• “I go home during the gap between my classes”
• Cafeteria is too small, not enough seating
• Eat at Taco Bell
• Would stay if cafeteria was more like UTEP student union
18. Where do you study?
• In the library because it is quiet
• Cafeteria is too loud for studying
• Radio station in cafeteria is a distraction
19. How do you like the college radio station
• 1 student would like to see it go
• It is too loud in the cafeteria
• Need more of a variety of different DJs for more variety in the music
20. How many students attend night classes
• 3 students attend in the evening
• Campus is too dark at night
• Better lighting is needed for more safety
• Police Department is only out at night some of the time
21. How do you like the outside of the campus?
• Need more trees
• More shaded areas needed
• Students study in their cars because of the air conditioning
• Student feels more comfortable in her car
22. How do you feel about EPCC facilities
• New chairs and pillows are needed
• Couches should be higher off of the ground
• Color of the chairs don’t matter, comfort is more important
• More study areas needed separate from the food court
• More comfortable seating in the library
• Restrooms are too old
• Long lines at the restrooms
• Bigger desks needed in classrooms for college stuff like lap-tops
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Institutional and Community Planning
• Boards in classrooms are brown, marker boards are better
• Restrooms are clean most of the time
• Spread out the urinals
• Only 3 students knew there was a gym
• More mats for stretching in the gym
• Acrobatics/gymnastics area needed in the gym
• No students use the weight room
• Bigger weight room would encourage use
• Better gym hours needed
• Cardio machines needed in the gym
• Actual track is needed not just a dirt path
• Put some “stuff” in the A building (A building is dull)
• Valle Verde feels like a high school campus
23. What type of activities would encourage you to stay on campus after/before
class?
• Pool Tables
• Cool game room
• Football/rugby activities
• Better advertising for clubs (use campus radio station)
• Students have little knowledge of activities/facilities that are here
• Keep a working ATM machine from different local banks
• Facility/library hours are o.k. for day students but not for night students
• Wireless internet signal is too weak
• Add a theater type building
• A working microwave for students who bring their own lunch
• Mist system would help to cool courtyard area during the summer
• Better benches outdoors with back support
• Add a coffee shop (Starbucks)
• Barnes and Noble type study areas
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 22, 2006/5:30 p.m. English
Total of 17 students: 9 females/8 males
Age Group: majority 18-30 years
Facilitator: Mireya Rodriguez
Note-taker: Jessica Gomez
1. How many of you stay on campus before or after class?
• 4 stay on campus
• 1 student stays on campus because it is easier to stay on campus
• 7 students work full-time
• 3 part-time
2. Day Care
• The hours need to be longer
• Saturday daycare should be available
• Bigger facility
• Many students encountered the same problem with the daycare which is they were
told that the day care was full, so they were put on waiting lists. How long are
they suppose to wait?
• If the college cannot accommodate a larger facility on campus than maybe the
college can look into working with some outside groups such as YWCA. The
college can start a program where we can enroll our children in daycare off
campus at the same prices as the campus daycare as long as we are enrolled as
students.
3. Student Services Building, Campus life, Traffic Office
• As long as students have classes these offices should be available and open for all
the students; not just morning students.
• Maybe open Student Service Offices 1 day out of the week at least til 8:00p.m. or
even 9:00p.m
.
4. Food Court
• Wendy’s
• Starbucks a Barnes & Noble type feel
• A coffee shop in general would help because a lot of us have to go to work after
class so having a cup of coffee would be nice to keep us awake through the night.
• The machines that sell the coffee do not work efficiently and the coffee is not
good.
5. Study Areas
• Common areas are too loud to get any studying done.
• A room to study in with music
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Institutional and Community Planning
6. Library
• Photo copiers that are free to the students
7. Gym
• Tread mills
• Longer hours
• Better equipment
• Majority of class said that if the gym had these things they would use it
8. Radio Station
• 3 people are aware of the station.
• No one would volunteer; they did not know that you could volunteer.
9. Look of the College
• Buildings are outdated
• The mural in the cafeteria is outdated and needs to be cleaned or redone
• New age
• Retro
• More appealing to people
• Modern
• Contemporary
10. Classes
• Make all classes available online
• This semester they did not have many selections for the mini-mesters.
• More mini-mesters should be available.
• All classes that are available during the day should be available during the
evening.
• Fort Bliss- there should be more classes available. About 4 students would benefit
and find it more convenient if there were more classes at Fort Bliss.
11. Catalog
• This semester there was a new catalog and it was not easy to read or follow.
• The mini-mesters were bold but they were mixed in with the other classes, this
was really confusing
• We like the old catalog better
12. Registration Process
• Information booths like in the mall, large maps that indicate “you are here”.
• The information booths would have the following information:
o Tutoring labs
o Math labs
o Computer lab
o Deans offices
o Directory
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Institutional and Community Planning
o Scholarship info
o Hours
13. Book Store
• Lower the prices
• Longer hours
14. Non Traditional students
• The College does not cater to the students who work during the day, and then by
the time you get closer to graduating you have to quit your job to take classes that
are only offered during the day. If the college claims to benefit the so called non
traditional student then why is it that night students are not offered everything
that a morning student has access to? We feel we (night students) get ignored and
forgotten about because we do not have all the amenities as morning students.
15. Security
• Do not see campus police, the only thing the police are concerned with is with
parking tickets; need a bigger presence.
• They do not patrol the school around the classes.
• Control fights
• Student has witnessed fights between couples and does not want to see it. It is a
disruption.
• Does not feel safe, gets off of class at 10p.m.
• Signage informing the students that if a student needs a police escort then they
can call the campus police.
• Students do not even know the number to campus police. It should be posted in all
classrooms.
• Towers that if you are in trouble you would push a button that a light would go
off to attract attention.
• Lighting in the parking lot is always off. The lights need to be turned on
especially the ones with the phones.
• Lighting in general is bad
• More lighting throughout the campus.
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 22, 2006/7:00 p.m. English
Total of 17 students: 13 females/4 males
Age Group: majority 18-30 years
Facilitator: Jessica Gomez
Note-taker: Mireya Rodriguez
1. Do you stay on campus before or after your classes?
• Staying on campus
o 3 stay on campus after class
o Before class for internet in the computer lab, but this can vary w/
fullness ( no change) come to study in the areas in B o After class - for internet use in the computer lab. Extend hours
o more food variety
o open the restaurant longer and offer options such as a coffee shop
o have our own student union
2. What type of services/activities would you most like to see EPCC include on
campus?
• activities on campus
o more overall activities on campus
o counselors hrs should be longer
o Saturday hours in the admissions, at least every other Saturday open
the Student Services building and Campus Life
o Food court on the weekend
o Daycare hours in the evening
o Parking is too dark and security is lacking
o Phones to call police are too far apart
o Alarms in parking lots would help
o Stairways are too narrow
• library
o Library is a bit noisy
o bigger booths to study in
o Makeover in general to the college, the colors are boring
o More activities for the student body, especially at night
3. Are you familiar with the College’s Radio Station?
• Radio station
o Should be turned off
o Music shouldn’t be as loud
o Different variety
o Maybe the sound only heard outside because it is a distraction in the
cafeteria
4. Other Issues
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Institutional and Community Planning
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Overall
o Restrooms in B building
o Hooks in the restrooms to hang purses need to be fixed and or added to
the back of the doors in the restroom.
o The restrooms are dirty, and could be cleaner.
o There should be more restrooms
o Larger restrooms needed
o More technology to accommodate left-handed instructors for example.
Maybe something where the instructor is writing like on a monitor that
is on the desk that would allow students to see the board from every
part of the room.
o Different colors for the overhead projector.
o 24-hr computer labs for students
o Night DJ’s, live bands, mardi gra events
o Wireless internet in all buildings, Right now you are only able to get
wireless connection in the C building. There should be access in the A
and B buildings.
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Student Focus Group Notes
February 23, 2006/10:45 a.m. Education
Total of 25 students: 15 females/10 males
Age Group: 20 – 45 years
Facilitator: Dr. Dolores Gross
Note-taker: Sandra Mejia
1. Do you stay on campus before or after your class?
¾ Some students stay because they have other classes to attend
2. Where do you spend time studying after or before class?
¾ In the library or look for a quiet place or spot
3. What type of services/activities would you most like to see EPCC include on
campus?
¾ Need a bigger computer lab
¾ Computers are very complicated to use, for example, the library computers are
more difficult to access
¾ Need more computers in the A and B buildings because they are always very
packed
¾ Many people printing and using the computers – always very busy
¾ The ones that have the PLATO software in the computer rooms are always empty
especially in the B building
¾ Need more food places, a variety of food choices, not only Subway
¾ Food - something affordable but tasty
¾ A menu that has a lot of selection – wider variety of choices – maybe a food court
¾ Other spots besides the library – one inner pool like UTEP has one
¾ More study spots like the Math Tutoring lab
¾ Cafeteria is too loud to study
¾ Have more couches in the A Building; the couches need improvement
¾ Need to see more information about other colleges and see what they offer – talk
to recruiters
¾ Provide more good information about other colleges
¾ Put more restrooms in the B building since it is always packed
4. Do you study or work with other groups of students on campus?
¾ Some study in the cafeteria with their group
¾ Difficult in the library – fewer study groups in the library
¾ Need like a Barnes and Nobles where they serve coffee
¾ Students would get together to study more if there were nice coffee shops with
nice tables and where you can eat a snack or drink your coffee
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5. Recreational Activities:
¾ Pool tables
¾ Maybe the Gym should offer more activities such as spinning classes, a variety of
workout activities
¾ Bring in the experts and partner with EP Fitness
¾ Maybe a place where you can relax between classes
¾ A Football Team and Track Team
¾ UTEP has the Miners why doesn’t EPCC have their own team like them?
¾ Some other sport leagues
¾ Have TVs in a coffee shop
6. Are you familiar with the College’s Radio Station?
¾ Radio Station is not good
¾ The music is not good
¾ No one tunes in to the music
¾ Would rather like to hear energetic music, music that will pump you up
¾ A variety of types of music
7. Types of services students would like to see the College serve:
¾ A more accessible Day Care
¾ Improve the Counselors – better counseling to advise students
¾ Counselors here are not informative, are not helpful, not much individual
attention, they give wrong information
¾ Feels they do not need Education 1300 – it is like an orientation – waste of time –
do more research – is a contradiction – frustrated to pay a course like that
8. What type of information or activities would be helpful to see in the campuses?
¾ Need a good Campus Map
¾ Information on activities or clubs to join
¾ Current events taking place - when and where
¾ Information on deadlines for Financial Aid, Drop Dates, Final Exams, Graduation
¾ Information on cultural events, concerts, community events
¾ Signs – community service messages
¾ Make honor societies more accessible
¾ College Announcements of different things
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 24, 2006/9:00 a.m. Government
Total of 27 students: 19 females/8 males
Age Group: 19 – 40 years
Facilitator: Dr. Ron Stroud
Note-taker: Sandra Mejia
Do you stay on campus before or after your class?
¾ About half of the students stay after class
¾ Stay to prepare materials before the classes
¾ Stay to use computer labs to type reports
¾ One student comes way before the class to beat traffic and get good parking
¾ Some stay after class because they have other classes to attend
¾ 5 students stay on campus even if they don’t have a class afterwards - just to do
their homework, it motivates them to do their homework while staying on campus
¾ Some stay for study groups
What types of services/activities would encourage you to spend more time on campus?
¾ Make it easier to have study groups – create flyers
¾ Improve the cafeteria, make it bigger; its too small and noisy/loud
¾ Have a Barnes and Nobles because in the library you are not allowed to drink or
eat like at Barnes and Nobles
¾ Maybe the library should allow for students to eat and drink
¾ Need to get rid of the cubicles in the library and have more couches – need to
change the furniture
¾ Need a microwave in the cafeteria, and more than one microwave
¾ Better weight room and equipment at the gym, make it bigger
¾ The weight room really needs improvement
¾ Have free aerobic classes
¾ Mostly the entire class has not been in the gym
¾ Maybe have a TV room
¾ Have more computer rooms
Where do you spend time studying after or before class?
¾ Some students study in their cars because it is more private and nobody disturbs
them
¾ Some study on the couches
¾ The library needs to have cubicles like UTEP where it has a computer you can use
and be private in the cubicle where nobody bothers you
¾ Need more privacy rooms or spots to study
¾ For studying outdoors – the atrium in the A building need - to add tables and
chairs
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¾ Also add tables and chairs in the B building as well
Are you familiar with the College’s Radio Station?
¾ Needs a of variety types of music
¾ 18 students raised their hands to keep the radio station
What type of services/activities would you most like to see EPCC include on campus?
¾ Have other games
¾ Like 2 pool tables, pinball
¾ New and more Arcade games because the ones here are very old
What type of information or activities should the College promote?
¾ Flyers for upcoming events to see what is going on
¾ More announcements of events
¾ Maybe have speakers in the classrooms
¾ Need an auditorium – have plays
Other things the College needs to improve?
¾ Better lighting in the parking lot at night
¾ More restrooms in the A building because they are always crowded
¾ Larger restrooms
¾ The stairways need to be wider and have more stairs
¾ More computer resources
¾ Another computer room
¾ Have more couches to sit on in the B building
¾ More variety of food, like Chicos Tacos, Starbucks Coffee or a little stand with
variety of food each day
¾ Maybe have a student art area where students can do some arts and crafts on their
spare time – half of students in class were interested
¾ More sports like Track, Soccer, instead of just baseball
¾ Need a fast and new elevator by the cafeteria – have more than one
¾ When it rains – there are floods almost everywhere – do something to improve
this
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Institutional and Community Planning
Student Focus Group Notes
February 24, 2006/12:00 noon
Total of 31 students: 21 females/10 males
Age Group: 18 – 40 years old
Facilitator: Rachel Ortiz
Note-taker: Sandra Mejia
Do you stay on campus before or after your class?
¾ Mostly all of the students stay after class
¾ 15 students go to the computer room to study or use the computer
¾ Few students go to the library to study
¾ Some stay after class because they have other classes to attend
Where do you spend time studying after or before class?
¾ Some stay to study
¾ Some do the studying at home
¾ Some study at their cars for more privacy, to listen to music or to make business
calls
What types of services/activities would encourage you to spend more time on campus?
¾ Have more computer rooms in the library
¾ Entire class agreed on having a Barnes and Nobles – would like to have a coffee
shop
¾ Need a bigger library, it is too small, have less chit-chatting in the library
¾ Have a lounge or a reading area
¾ Have patios like other universities
¾ Have some more and comfortable benches
¾ Provide microwave ovens – 19 students agreed on this
Are you familiar with the College’s Radio Station?
¾ A variety type of music needed
¾ Entire class agreed on wanting to keep the radio station
What type of services/activities would you most like to see EPCC include on campus?
¾ Have more activities: like a variety of sports, movies; 18 students agreed on this
¾ Would like to watch movies in the cafeteria annex like before
¾ 13 students agreed on having a TV room
¾ Half agreed on having a broadcasting channel like news + announcements instead
of just the radio station
¾ Like to see umbrellas outside the campus
¾ Need more computers
¾ Need a Cyber Café, a spot where they can plug-in and at the same time eat and
drink
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What type of information or activities should the College promote?
¾ More announcements of events
¾ More information about clubs and activities
¾ See a film festival
¾ Have promotions, freebee stuff, comedians, concerts like other universities
¾ El Conquistador needs to be more informative
¾ Have a Spirit Week on different activities all week – 12 students agreed on this
¾ Recommend Student Activities to have student ID discount cards for the student’s
use – to give out discounts on certain things like other universities
Other things the College needs to improve?
¾ Better lighting in the parking lot at night – some do not feel safe at night
¾ Food – Subway is not enough – need a variety, like a salad bar, Wing Stop,
smoothie bar or a cafeteria like Luby’s
¾ Need to expand the Gym – have more machines – 12 students agreed on this
¾ The Gym needs to be more accommodating
¾ Nobody uses the Tennis Courts
¾ Should have Football, Soccer and Track teams
¾ The choir room needs to be in another location because there is a lot of students
that hang out around there and people inside the room can’t concentrate, people
sit on the equipment, too much noise
¾ Need a new elevators, too slow – too full
¾ Need more stairways – the stairs by the cafeteria are too crowded
¾ Need wider stairs
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'Building a Culture'
Community-college campuses of the future emphasize convenience and flexibility
By ELYSE ASHBURN
San Antonio
A group of 14 architects, project managers, and educators huddled around a conference
table here this month hammering out the must-haves for the library at the yet-to-be-built
Northeast Lakeview College in the Alamo Community College District.
They allotted space for a cyber-cafe, tutoring, a technology training center, academic and
language labs, a large bank of computers, conference rooms, a lecture theater, and several
other facilities.
Almost all 50,000 square feet of available space had been divvied up before one of the
architects asked, "What about the stacks?"
The three college administrators at the table looked perplexed.
None of them had any idea how much space the book stacks would require or even how
many volumes the library would need. The college doesn't have a librarian yet, and no
one had consulted one. What would have been the focal point of the library in years past
had been relegated almost to an afterthought.
It's just one sign of how the $125-million college coming together on 238 acres here
differs from the bulk of the two-year institutions that were built in the United States
during the 1960s and 1970s.
The library's focus on technology and customer service will be carried throughout the
345,000-square feet of planned facilities. The entire campus will have wireless Internet
access, with plenty of power outlets for students to plug in laptops and other electronic
devices. Teleconferencing and distance learning will be encouraged, and professors in all
fields will be required to incorporate technology into their teaching.
"If you're not going to use technology," says Eric E. Reno, the college's president, "you're
not going to work here."
It is a hard line to take, but Mr. Reno has the advantage of building a campus and a
faculty from the ground up. "You're building a culture," he says. "You're not changing a
culture."
He and leaders of other new and planned community colleges say the opportunity to start
from scratch is crucial to the success of their institutions. To flourish in an era of growing
demand and shrinking state budgets, they say, community-college campuses must be
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Institutional and Community Planning
convenient enough to attract and keep students and flexible enough to meet the everchanging needs of local industries.
Focus on Students
The opportunity to build a comprehensive two-year college is rare these days. Exact
numbers are hard to come by, but the American Association of Community Colleges
estimates that only a handful of new institutions have been built since 2000, unlike the
hundreds that opened a few decades ago.
"When so many colleges were opening at once, I don't know that they really had time to
rethink where higher education was going," says Diane K. Troyer, president of Cy-Fair
College, which opened in August 2003, just outside Houston in Cypress, Tex.
It quickly became clear to Cy-Fair officials planning their campus that engaging and
retaining students should be a primary focus.
A key ingredient was creating a centrally located one-stop center for student services like
advising, registration, and financial aid. A welcome desk in the center serves as a "triage
area," where staff members can quickly answer most students' questions.
Students who do need to meet one-on-one with an adviser are given restaurant-style
beepers so they can go check e-mail or grab a coffee while they wait.
Mr. Reno, who joined Northeast (currently an unaccredited branch of San Antonio
College and St. Phillip's College) in 2004, saw the system at work at Cy-Fair and plans to
build a similar one-stop center on the Northeast Lakeview College campus, which is
scheduled to be completed in 2008.
Several students there say that if the advisers are well trained, the one-stop will be a
welcome amenity.
Mr. Reno is also counting on extracurricular activities to keep students from dropping
out — and he plans to make them hard to miss. He envisions an "opportunity mall" with
offices for student government, the honors program, international education, service
learning, and student groups all ringing a student-activities welcome center.
The mall is slated for a high-traffic area between the one-stop center and the student
commons, which will house the bookstore, the cafeteria, a small theater, and a game
room.
Classrooms will also be designed to be inviting and interactive, with easily movable
furniture and up-to-date technology. Mr. Reno even plans to equip classrooms with
handheld devices that allow students to answer questions posed by faculty members as
they teach. The number of students who answered correctly will then pop up on a screen,
providing professors with instant feedback on whether students are understanding the
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lesson. "It's real-time assessment, as opposed to having to wait until they get back an
exam," he says.
The plans for classrooms and extracurricular activities at Northeast Lakeview College
have been heavily influenced by research showing that students engaged in active
learning, both inside and outside the classroom, are more likely to perform well in their
courses and complete their degrees.
Scrambling to Build
Kay M. McClenney, who is familiar with the Northeast Lakeview College plans and is
program director of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement Project, at
the University of Texas at Austin, says San Antonio officials "are trying to create
facilities that create the kind of learning environment that we know promotes success."
The problem, she says, is that Texas cannot build such facilities fast enough.
Community colleges in Texas have seen their state funds drop from 60 percent of their
overall revenues in the 1984 fiscal year to 31 percent in 2003, according to the mostrecent figures from the Texas Association of Community Colleges.
Tuition and local appropriations have made up much of the difference, but colleges are
fast approaching a tuition level where they will be pricing students out, says Reynaldo
Garcia, president of the Texas Association of Community Colleges. In the Alamo
Community College District, in-district tuition and fees jumped from $417 for 12 credit
hours in the fall of 2000 to $640 in the fall of 2005.
The tuition hikes have come at a time when colleges are trying to meet growing demand.
If current trends hold, the state's higher-education system would need to absorb an
additional 300,000 students — many of them financially needy, first-time college
students, or members of minority groups — in the next 10 years, according to the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board.
In the Judson Independent School District, one of those that Northeast Lakeview College
will serve, the number of poor students — those who qualify for free or reduced-price
lunches — already jumped 48 percent between 1998 and 2003, reaching 8,854 students
or 49 percent of all students, according to data from the Texas Education Agency.
That shift is expected to continue, according to a demographic analysis the district
commissioned in 2004.
Compounding the crunch is a plan Texas has to increase its college-going rate,
particularly among minority students.
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To meet the plan's goals, an additional 300,000 students will need to enter the system by
2015 — bringing total college enrollment statewide to 1.8 million. And community
colleges are expected to carry at least 60 percent of the load.
The Importance of Community
Areas like Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Antonio have the tax bases to support
new colleges, Mr. Garcia says, but many regions of the state do not. And even in the
relatively wealthy areas, getting voters to approve a bond initiative can be a challenge.
Community leaders in northeast San Antonio had been pushing for a community college
since the mid-1990s. But in February 2005, voters killed a $450-million bond package to
finance construction of Northeast Lakeview College and several other Alamo Community
College District projects.
Administrators largely attributed the defeat to opponents of a plan to move most of the
district's allied-health programs to a health-sciences campus at the South Texas Medical
Center in northwest San Antonio. The bond passed nine months later without the
controversial allied-health plan.
Still, the scare reiterated the importance of having the community on board. "We want to
be known as a college of partnerships," Mr. Reno said.
With that in mind, plans for Northeast Lakeview College call for a joint-use library
shared by the college, local residents, and possibly four-year institutions — though funds
for the additional square footage that would be needed are still lacking.
Mr. Reno has talked to several four-year institutions, including Texas State University at
San Marcos, about locating some programs at Northeast Lakeview College. And he plans
to start talks with the YMCA about building a joint wellness facility.
Course offerings will be dictated largely by local needs, with partnerships with local
businesses playing a significant role in the technical fields, like manufacturing and auto
repair. Administrators are exploring the idea of offering programs in financial services,
homeland security, technology, languages, and manufacturing.
In his recent meeting with the architects, Mr. Reno stressed that classrooms will need to
be flexible to meet the changing demands of the community and the curriculum. Builders
might even have to break ground on the large technical-classroom bay before they know
what will be taught in it.
Community colleges increasingly are demanding that kind of flexibility — the 100-year
building with a five-year interior — said Lee Burch, senior vice president and educationpractice leader for 3D/I, a Houston-based project-management and design company that
frequently works with colleges.
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Institutional and Community Planning
"When we work with community colleges, one of the challenges is to be able to
anticipate change," Mr. Burch said. "They're saying, 'I want a building that's responsive.'"
In the end, building a community college is not so much about the details as it is about
the ability to adapt. Community colleges have always been expected to be more agile
than their four-year counterparts, and leaders like Mr. Reno say that pressure will only
escalate.
The modern community college must be nimble, lest that futuristic library quickly
become as dated as those almost-forgotten stacks.
THE 21ST-CENTURY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The few community-college leaders who are building campuses from the ground up are
reconceiving such elements as the role of the library, the operation of student services,
and the layout of faculty departments. Here's a glimpse of what the 21st-century
community college may include.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A focus on creating a sense of place -- an environment that encourages students
and community members to "hang out." Features like lakes, fountains, waterways,
and outdoor plazas anchor the campus and serve as gathering places.
"Opportunity mall" that clusters student government, honors programs,
international programs, and other student activities in one high-traffic area to
encourage students to get involved on campus.
One-stop student service center for admissions, financial aid, the cashier,
registration, and advising. Students first go to a welcome desk that serves as a
clearinghouse. If questions can't be answered immediately, students are given a
restaurant-style beeper so they can go to the coffee shop, bookstore, or library
while they wait.
Faculty suites that include a mix of disciplines to encourage collaboration across
subjects (e.g., psychology, English, math, English as a second language, and
economics).
Joint college and YMCA gym facility. Day-care facility that is provided by the
college but run by the YMCA.
Art galleries and theater
Dual-use library that serves and is supported by the college, the community
(usually with county funds), and a four-year-college partner.
Other Concepts
•
•
•
Increased focus on technology: wireless access throughout the campus; lots of
outlets for laptops and other devices; increased use of videoconferencing; and
more hybrid and distance-learning courses.
Professors encouraged, or even required, to incorporate interdisciplinary courses,
service learning, or distance education into their curricula.
Partnerships with four-year colleges and universities to offer baccalaureate and
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graduate programs on the community-college campus.
http://chronicle.com
Section: Money & Management
Volume 52, Issue 34, Page A36
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