Message from Pam Skinner, Vice President, Corporate Services:
As we begin 2019, we approach the completion of our $64 million Campus Redevelopment project at the same time as Niagara College is entering a period of unprecedented change and growth. It’s no secret that our unexpectedly strong enrolment over the past several years has created very real challenges coordinating the learning and administrative spaces our students, staff and faculty need to excel.
As we set our sights on our next capital plan, a Space Management Committee, composed of staff from Facilities Management Services, Information Technology Services, the Registrar’s Office and other areas, has been formed. This group will work to ensure our next Campus Master Plan reflects the college’s commitment to providing suitable and innovative spaces for our students, faculty and staff, as well as room to grow.
As a first step, the College has partnered with Educational Consulting Services (ECS), a specialized space planning consultant, to complete a space inventory review. This is an exercise that will give us a fulsome picture of the educational and administrative spaces we have at the college, as well as the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. It will include a physical review of all on-campus spaces, a careful analysis of instructional room utilization, current space allocations, and a ‘fit-to-function’ assessment of existing campus buildings and spaces.
The committee and consultants will also be reaching out to gather feedback from key stakeholders across the College, in order to develop a consistent and transparent space management framework to guide NC’s space planning resources for the next 10-15 years.
This work will provide important information that will help inform NC’s Campus Master Plan. The college is in the midst of finalizing an agreement with a firm that will help guide us through the Master Plan, and more about this process will be shared in the coming weeks.
Our college community has been extremely patient and accommodating as we work to solve these challenges, and with your help we can ensure that Niagara College remains well-positioned to provide the exceptional learning and administrative spaces that facilitate NC’s unique brand of experiential learning.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to Ralph Scholz, director of Facilities Management Services, with any questions [email protected]
