SBCTC
District 1 – Peninsula College
Page 2 of 4
State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
District 1 - Peninsula College
2007-2009 Capital Program Narrative
Mission and Plan
Peninsula College strives to meet the lifelong learning needs and interests of a diverse community by:
· offering quality educational opportunities that foster academic, professional, occupational, and personal growth;
· encouraging cultural enrichment; and
· providing an environment centered on student success.
To accomplish its mission, Peninsula College is committed to the following educational goals:
· Liberal Arts instruction for college transfer and personal growth;
· Professional Technical instruction for entry or re-entry into the workforce, enhancement of current skills or college transfer;
· Basic and Developmental education for occupational and personal goals;
· Continuing education and community service instruction in response to community needs and desires;
· Expand opportunities for baccalaureate education on the North Olympic Peninsula by participating in the community college baccalaureate pilot program and through partnerships with other colleges and universities.
In support of the preceding educational goals, Peninsula College is committed to the following institutional goals:
· Engaging in collaborative institutional processes that utilize research, planning, and assessment.
· Employing and supporting qualified, diverse faculty and staff who promote teaching and learning.
· Providing curriculum-centered information resources and services.
· Providing comprehensive student support services that enable students to gain maximum benefit from their education.
· Providing administrative support services that afford safe, secure, and comfortable facilities and surroundings.
· Providing information technologies that support instructional programs and management functions of the institution.
· Encouraging economic growth and development in the community.
· Promoting an awareness of and respect for diversity.
· Promoting a climate of cultural enrichment and inquiry for college and community.
· Expanding financial resources to enhance the scope and services of the institution.
In support of the mission, instructional goals and institutional goals, the college has established basic facility goals to be pursued as future physical development occurs. These goals address both short and long term needs:
· Ensure the adequacy of facilities, fixtures and furnishings at all campus sites;
· Ensure an accessible, safe teaching and working environment;
· Provide the most economical and efficient plan for maintaining facilities and grounds;
· Ensure that current Space Utilization Studies and long-term facilities master planning tools are in place to guide new construction, remodeling or the renting of additional facilities.
Peninsula College is a well-established institution of higher education with a strong tradition of excellence. Staff, faculty and administration are committed to providing quality education. The college is located at the center of a district, which is very large geographically, with a population, which is both demographically diverse and dispersed over a 150-mile span. The district is also economically depressed, as a collective result of the closure of a paper mill, a significant downturn in the logging industry, and the near disappearance of fishing, all of which were major sources of employment on the Olympic Peninsula.
Plant and Operations
The physical plant at Peninsula College’s main campus consists of 21 buildings with a total gross square footage of 193,889. Located in Port Angeles, the campus is 75 acres of beauty with the Olympic Mountains on the south and the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the north. The service district, Community College District Number One, includes Clallam and Jefferson Counties. The district encompasses over 3,600 square miles of land with nine public school districts and nine high schools. Besides the main campus in Port Angeles, there are extension sites in Port Townsend and Forks. The site in Port Townsend (3,182 square feet) is leased and the site in Forks (8,000 square feet) is owned, but both sites only provide for the essentials in technology and space. Classes are also offered in Sequim, Clallam Bay Correctional Center and in different tribal centers throughout the district.
Peninsula College served 10,423 students in 2004-05 and 2,770 total FTE’s. Peninsula College had 401 faculty and staff employed during the 2004-2005 academic year.
A new centralized student services building was completed and opened in February 2004. This building is approximately 14,000 square feet and houses counseling, enrollment services, financial aid, career services, tutorial center, testing center, international programs, and a teaching/learning center.
Condition of Facilities
Peninsula College buildings, constructed in the 1960s, were not designed for today’s technology. Energy efficiency, for example, was not of major concern when they were built. Most of the buildings have single-pane glass, vaulted ceilings, doors that open to the exterior from each room and antiquated heating and ventilation systems which do not meet existing needs. Building plumbing and electrical systems are failing in some cases and fast approaching the end of their useful life in many other cases.
The buildings are aesthetically pleasing and integrated with the campus, but the earthquake in February of 2001 demonstrated structural weakness. A seismic study completed in 2005 confirmed the extent of structural problems across campus, with nearly all buildings having un-reinforced masonry walls. The worst of these are Maier Hall and the gymnasium. These old buildings require continuous maintenance, although this is becoming cost prohibitive and does not extend useful life or value.
The classrooms are undersized and inadequate for today’s programs. The capital analysis model shows a deficiency in space for Basic Skills, Art, Music and Drama.
Local Demands and Demands of Student Enrollment Growth
Although the college is extending the computer infrastructure between buildings it cannot be extended throughout all the buildings. The current small, inflexible spaces need to be replaced with spaces supporting information technology training, modern science and health programs. These buildings also need direct links to communication systems that will enhance industry specific training opportunities.
Accessibility has been a challenge on the Peninsula College campus. Accessibility issues were not a consideration in the 1960’s and the campus is built on the hillside with paths only accessible by the most ambulatory and fit faculty and students. Lab spaces have fixed workstations with no consideration for wheelchair access. The college must consider universal access a mandate in all new construction. Universal access cannot be achieved by remodeling existing spaces. Replacement of many of these facilities is required to meet today’s standards.
Major Capital Challenges
The major challenge that Peninsula College faces will be to meet the increased costs of sustaining the useful life of antiquated buildings. While, in some cases the existing facilities can meet the needs for which they were originally designed, they cannot be changed to accommodate larger classes and advanced technology and accessibility issues are a problem.
The top priority for the campus is constructing a modern facility that will house sciences, computer technology and larger lecture areas. The facility will enhance ability to support Associate of Science degrees and program articulation with four-year university satellite programs. It is scheduled to open in Spring 2007. Construction on the library project will begin in Fall 2006 and is scheduled to open in Winter 2008.
Peninsula College is the cultural center for eight Native American tribes and is working on a project that will create awareness to all of the college community. The Cultural Center will be an instructional space for courses such as anthropology, diversity, Native American Arts, etc. The project will allow us to partner with the eight tribes of Clallam and Jefferson Counties to provide an educational setting to promote Native American Culture.
The college is requesting design funds for a replacement project. It will replace four undersized, worn out facilities with a modern, state of the art classroom facility that will house art, music, business and general classrooms. Also planned are structural repairs to the building owned by the college in Forks. In addition, the minor project will allow the college to finish site work associated with the Science and Technology building, which had to be left out of the project because escalation has exceeded the rate planned for in the original budget.
There are several additional projects outlined in the Peninsula College facility master plan. These include an Allied Health Center and a University Center. These are both replacement projects. The college’s gymnasium was built in 1966 and is in need of renovation and expansion or replacement. It has structural problems which need to be studied further this biennium to determine the best approach. In addition, our childcare program is currently housed in an old racquetball court in the gymnasium building. The master plan calls for a stand alone childcare center that will meet the needs of the program.
2007-2009 Capital Request Summary
Project No. / Project Description / 2007-09 / 2009-11 / 2011-1308-1-050 / Facility Repairs “A” / $968,700
08-2-130 / Minor Improvements – Site / $438,900
08-1-218 / Replacement – Business & Humanities
(Design) / $2,300,000 / $33,938,000
08-1-750 / Facility Repairs “B” / $460,810