The institution has adequate physical resources to support the mission of the institution and the scope of its programs and services.

   X   Compliance                    _____ Partial Compliance                  _____ Non Compliance

Narrative

Determination of physical resource requirements.  The College’s physical resources are sufficient to support the mission and scope of programs and services.  The annual strategic planning process provides the means to request funding for facilities and equipment when necessary.

Facilities.  Every five years the College’s Facilities Planning and Institutional Services Department, in collaboration with campus administration, evaluates the existing facilities inventory and academic needs of the institution in order to properly plan for housing academic programs, the anticipated student population, and the needs of Faculty, administration and ancillary services.  The determination of space needs is based on the approved Annual Five-Year Capital Outlay full-time enrollment equivalents projected by the Florida Department of Education COFTE602 Report, the changes in academic program needs approved by the Board of Trustees, and the list of vocational programs approved by the Florida Office of Workforce and Economic Development in accordance with Florida Statute 1013.31.

Based upon this information, in order to satisfy the continued identified needs, the College has expanded in various areas of Pinellas County.  The College recently acquired property in downtown St. Petersburg to satisfy classroom space for the growing student population in this area.  This will include a downtown Corporate Training Facility providing Corporate Customers a training facility in the immediate area.  The College opened a Midtown Campus which supplies the need for growth on the south side of St. Petersburg.  The College now has two Joint-Use Libraries in operation.  One is located on the Seminole Campus and the other on the St. Pete/Gibbs Campus.  These projects satisfied both the needs of the College and our city partners.

Joint-use Library at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs campus

The College acquired property adjacent to the Health Education Center.  This property will be used for added parking for the health-based programs including the Orthotics and Prosthetics Program.

The College recently completed the EpiCenter, a Joint-Use Facility between the College and Pinellas County.  The facility provides instructional space for several high-tech, two-year programs, as well as the four-year Tech Management Program, University Partnership Center (UPC) Programs including the University of South Florida’s Masters in Business Administration Program, Collaborative Labs, training space for the WorkNet Program and other Administrative space for Pinellas County Offices.

Example of an EpiCenter user

A Five-Year Educational Plant Survey is conducted for each College site and specific recommendations are prepared to provide for identified needs through new construction and the remodeling and renovation of existing facilities in accordance with Florida Statute 1031.31.  In addition, recommendations are included for continued upgrades to life safety systems and for compliance with ADA.  In order to provide a timely response to changing needs in the community and continue to provide accessible academic opportunities, the College re-evaluates the Master Plan and the Five-Year Survey each spring and prepares the appropriate amendments for approval by the Board of Trustees and submittal to the Florida Department of Education.

Funding for the identified projects is requested each year in the College’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).  The Facilities Department in collaboration with the Provosts, Chief Executive Officers and Staff develops the document in Annual Planning Meetings at each campus.  Following the development of the projects, the administration, Provosts, Chief Executive Officers and the Facilities Department meet to establish the priority listing for the funding requests.

Once funding is received for the requested projects, the Facilities Department and campus personnel collaborate to select an Architectural and Engineering (A & E) firm who assists in the development of the project program and scope.  These are formally documented in project Educational Specifications as recommended in the State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF), Section 3.2.  The Educational Specifications are used as the basis for the development of Construction Documents in collaboration with user input.  Once the Construction Documents are complete, the College ensures the construction process follows the guidelines of the Florida Building Code and Florida Statute 1013.371 for conducting plans and specifications review, issuing a Building Permit and inspecting the construction.

The adequacy and currency of College Facilities is demonstrated by classroom and laboratory utilization reports that demonstrate adequate capacity, up to date equipment and by a facility planning process that ensures the proper space allowed by the State for all education programs, support services and the various activities that occur on each campus, projected over a five (5) year period.
 

The following table from the SPC 05-06 Fact Book documents the adequacy of space.  SPC has increased the classroom and laboratory space significantly over the last three years and has considerable headroom for future growth.

Excerpt from SPC 2005-2006 Fact Book

Maintenance of facilities.  Facilities Services includes all the Custodial, Fleet Services, Landscaping and Maintenance of existing facilities.  SPC recognizes these services are critical in order to maximize the useful life and ensure dependable performance of College facilities.  The College has a comprehensive maintenance program that employs a full-time Plant Supervisor at seven (7) campus/site locations (15 actual sites), 28 full-time maintenance workers, 13 landscapers and 77 full-time custodians who service the facilities.  The College also uses contracts for Landscaping and Maintenance when needed.  The Custodial Staff cleans and sanitizes College facilities daily in compliance with all established State Standards.  They report safety issues observed and work required to the Maintenance Department for corrective action.  The College has contracted all elevator service and maintenance and conducts an Annual State Certification Inspection on the elevators in accordance with the Florida Bureau of Elevator Safety regulations and statutes.  Facilities Services has provided centralized assistance in developing a comprehensive database for tracking their budgets.  The database gives the campus/sites a day-to-day accounting of how much money they have to spend to maintain the facilities.  The campus/site personnel have been trained on the budget process to help them determine other sources of funding for maintaining the facilities.  The campus/sites have been given direct access to roofing contractors through the Small Contractors List allowing them to make roof repairs immediately.  This has saved the interiors of facilities from damage and potential In-door Air Quality problems.  Facilities Services monitors all utilities accounts to minimize expenses and ensure we stay within the budget.  A visual inspection of the campus locations reveals that facilities are well-maintained and attractive.

Satisfaction with facilities.  St. Petersburg College uses the Enrolled Student Survey, administered each fall, to gather data on student satisfaction with all services, including those related to facilities.  Over the last four years, student satisfaction with the adequacy of Facilities and Parking has increased.

Excerpt from 2006-2007 Enrolled Student Survey                     (on a scale of 1-7)

 

Academic And Student Service	N=4045	N=3757	N=5062	N=2558
Satisfaction Ratings Comparison of Years	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean
	2006/07	2005/06	2004/05	2003/04
Facilities	5.98	5.74	5.65	5.34
Parking	4.84	4.54	4.25	4.21

As a result of the lower-than-desired satisfaction ratings in the area of parking in earlier years, SPC has had a number of projects to improve the parking at various campuses, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg/Gibbs, and Health Education Center, and has improved communication to students on locations of available parking at all campuses.  The increased satisfaction ratings are an indication that parking is meeting students’ needs better each year.

Equipment.  The College has done well to provide programs and services with the equipment and technology they need to be successful.  Each year at the end of the Fall term and as a prelude to the unit planning process, four oversight committees, Administrative Services, Student Services, Educational Services, and Technology, meet to review key assessment information.  From their findings, they make recommendations to the Cabinet. These recommendations are critical to the process of amending the College’s Mission and Goals and “Strategic Directions and Institutional Objectives that are approved by the Board of Trustees.  Also, the oversight groups’ recommendations form the nucleus for individual unit plans requesting new equipment. 

Needs and inputs may be provided directly in TOG proceedings, through representatives, or through the unit planning process.  All technology requirements, whether generated by one of the other Oversight Committees or by an individual campus, are evaluated by the Technology Oversight Group and consolidated Collegewide into a “Yellow Sheet” of prioritized requirements. 

The Budget Committee, comprised of key leadership across the College, takes the recommendations from the “yellow sheet” to allocate budget for equipment needs.

Excerpt from 2006-2007 “Yellow Sheet” showing total budget allocations

Approvals are required by the President’s Cabinet and The Board of Trustees as part of the College’s overall annual operating budget process. Allocation of Information technology resources to academic and administrative functions shall support the college’s goals for a given year, as documented in its mission statement and objectives. Allocation of technology resources for academic purposes, for use by Faculty, academic staff, and students under the direction of Faculty, shall be a primary priority, with an allocation goal of up to 70 percent of available resources over a reasonable measurement period.  Total information technology resources available in a given year will vary depending upon State Appropriations, funding for special technology-related programs, and technology-related grant funding. The President and Cabinet recommend special technology spending and allocation action to the Board of Trustees in the event allocations to academic does not approximate 70 percent in a given 5-year period.

As a fiduciary control, the Vice President, Information Systems, Business Services, Budgets, Planning signs off on the decision to acquire any additional college computing equipment; and, if the computer equipment or software is estimated to cost $25,000 or more, forwards the request to the College President for approval.  This approval must be obtained before the computer equipment or software can be ordered.

Equipment for new programs of study.  Needs assessment.  The College goes through a rigorous process to determine the need for and needs of a particular program, and equipment purchases are charged to individual departments for tracking program costs:

Process for Consideration of Additional Academic Programs

A.     Needs Assessment

·        Outline or describe the need

·        Student interest (survey), Employer interest (survey or other)

·        Job Projections (local; statewide) Positions available for graduates, salary

·        Current and projected labor market analysis (number of current and needed professionals in field)

B.     Program Description

w        How does this fit into SPC’s mission

w        Why is this program distinctive

w        Quality measures that will be used to assess success of program

w        Identify tentative program goals/outcomes

w        Proposed curriculum

 

C.     Cost of Program

w        Faculty

w        Equipment

w        Facilities/ Online possibilities

w        Other Expenses

 

D.    Proposed Campus Location

 

E.     Projected Enrollment

w        1st year- headcount (unduplicated); FTE Subsequent Years

 

F.      Other private/public institutions offering program: Local; statewide

 

G.    Differentiation between currently offered programs and SPC’s proposed program

 

H.    Potential Partners (UPC proposals)

 

I.      Narrative Rationale (SPC direct offering)

 

Satisfaction with equipment provided through the technology planning process.  The Vice President of Information Systems, Business Services, Budgets, Planning annually conducts an Information Technology Resources Allocation Satisfaction Survey to gather more detailed information and suggestions for use by the Technology Oversight Group in the and the Administrative Oversight Group in the strategic planning and budgeting process. In the survey, Faculty and staff are asked to provide feedback reflecting their satisfaction and suggestions for improving the process.

In the Enrolled Student Survey administered each fall, students have indicated very high satisfaction with the technological equipment available to them or used by their instructors, and the satisfaction ratings have increased over the last four years;

Excerpt from 2006-2007 Enrolled Student Survey                     (on a scale of 1-7)

 

Academic And Student Service	N=4045	N=3757	N=5062	N=2558
Satisfaction Ratings Comparison of Years	Mean	Mean	Mean	Mean
	2006/07	2005/06	2004/05	2003/04
Out-of-class access to computers	6.01	5.91	5.85	5.62
Use of technology during instruction	6.13	5.82	5.80	5.91

In a 2005 focus group, Academic Program Directors and Deans highlighted some of the innovative technology assisting their programs in meeting the college’s technology goals.  Below are some of them:

• Human patient simulators at the Health Education Center
• Smart boards in some classrooms at every campus
• Software in computer labs for instructors to view student screens and project any screen through the projector for all students to see
• Mobile laptop/projector carts to put technology in any classroom
• Wireless hot spots for laptops at every campus
• Excellent science simulation software
• Excellent forethought in putting a computer lab between two wet labs so that science classes can run experiments and then run analyses or simulations
• Campus-to-campus technology for cross-campus lectures and discussions (two-way interactive classes)
• An increasing use of blended classes, with ANGEL providing the platform and available to all courses
• New science buildings at the Tarpon Springs, St. Pete/Gibbs and Midtown Campuses
• New fully-equipped dental and pharmacy buildings at Seminole