May 15, 2008 12:28 PM
COLLEGE ANNOUNCES MAJOR EXPANSION TO MEET WORKFORCE AND ACADEMIC NEEDS OF COMMUNITY
In a process over the past two years, campus and community members have brainstormed about what they would like to see as the campus grows to remain current and dynamic during the next 20 years. The college plan recognizes exciting partnerships that we have forged with local employers. It will tie together a number of important goals developed in many campus meetings:
More space is needed to respond to the changing professional needs of Wyoming’s economy and the students who want to fill those jobs. We are increasing our course offerings in the fields of medical services, technology and energy production.
To support the crucial academic work of the outstanding Casper College faculty, an important goal is to group related disciplines more closely together in academic districts.
Residence halls and instructional space will receive much needed updates and expansions to make them effective for the current and future learning needs.
Doing the homework
The architecture firm Gould Evans was retained to help develop a facilities master plan, and the first steps involved conducting workshops to help define where we go from here. Community members, students, faculty, staff, City of Casper leaders, University of Wyoming representatives and the surrounding communities worked with us to formulate our plan.
As we tell the story of the plan in the community, we find that many community leaders are surprised to learn how many new programs are working in partnership with local businesses to educate a workforce.
Since 2004, the college has added more than 20 new career training majors, including Medical Lab Technician, Phlebotomy Technician, Paramedic Technology, Robotics, Manufacturing Technology, Web Design, Hospitality Management, Entrepreneurship, Extractive Resources Technology, and Electric Power Technology. In fact, we could add three highly valuable healthcare programs - physical therapy assistant, surgical technician, and medical coding - that were requested by local businesses right now if we had the space. This need for classrooms and labs that are tailored for the programs is urgent, and we are pleased with how the new master plan will address the problem.
We believe that we’ll miss out if we don’t act quickly on these important needs of our local economy. This is one of our major missions, and we need to help Natrona County build the diversified economy that is essential to a vibrant community.
First steps
The proposed Gateway Building/Center for Training and Development will provide much-needed space for the new majors that respond to Wyoming’s changing economic development needs and a permanent home for our fast-growing partnerships with business. It will also provide a centralized location with one-stop services for all student and administrative services. Opening this building will free up to 30,000 square feet of instructional space throughout the campus, allowing expansion of the health-related programs at a location convenient to the currently overcrowded Life Science Building.
Groundbreaking is imminent on the Sharon D. Nichols Auditorium wing of the McMurry Career Studies Center. This will create what is described as an unmatched workforce training facility, supported in an exciting business partnership with the Wyoming Trucking Association, which raised a share of the funding in record time.
For the students
The student services part of the Gateway Building fulfils the idea of creating a “Heart of Campus” services core in the upper campus. Other immediate priorities include new residence halls that work for today’s students, funded by a revenue bond paid for by college-produced revenues, not tax revenues. A new student union would be built as part of a building to house the CC/UW program, which currently uses 21 offices and numerous classrooms on campus. UW has pledged to pay for half of that building.
Quality learning environment
We are dedicated to nurturing the quality instruction which is our most notable asset as a premier educational institution. Excellent education is what attracts students and allows us to retain professionals in Natrona County. One exciting part of the plan groups similar disciplines together in districts. A new music building close to the other arts buildings is part of this idea, and it frees space at the Aley center for science classes that will coordinate with classes at the adjacent Wold and Loftin science buildings. Grouping educational offerings greatly improves efficiency, communication and the ability to coordinate education.
What’s next?
Accomplishing this ambitious plan may take from five to seven years, depending on resources. A community education campaign is beginning, which will include opinion surveys of the level of support in Natrona County, whose citizens have repeatedly shown generous support of the college. In the next months, you will hear more about this education effort and conclusions reached about our next steps.
One of the several funding possibilities that could pay for approximately 40% of the early master plan projects would be a voter-approved general obligation bond issue. The maximum the college could request via a bond question–-which could be placed on the ballot as soon as this fall—would be approximately $41 million. The estimated tax impact of a bond this size would be approximately $2 per month per $100,000 of a home’s market value. The current proposal under consideration would allocate the proceeds of a bond to help fund a portion of the Gateway Building, Student Union and Music Building, with additional funding coming from outside supporters who are interested in the important missions that each of these projects support. |
