Interviews/Summary of Issues and Needs
Survey Responses: South Campus
In addition to the interview sessions, a questionnaire was available on the Web site for those who were not at the meeting to comment and provide feedback to the planning team. What follows is a condensed report of the questions asked and a cross-section of the answers received:
How would you describe your TCCD campus?
Fair • The grounds are beautiful, but the buildings are run-down • Well established, maintained landscape, open spaces, inviting • Lush and spacious, beautiful gardens and trees • Friendly, beautiful landscape, but outdated buildings, signage and advertising outdated • Beautifully landscaped, but aging • Nice landscaping, good location.
What is the best thing, space or feature of your campus?
The landscape and the building layout • The grounds and landscaping • The well maintained grounds, the bell tower • Jenkins library and the new swimming pool • The beautiful grounds and the buildings are spread-out, not crowded • Landscaping • Lush surroundings, trees
What one thing about your campus needs the most attention? Why?
Lighting for security reasons, inner campus and walking/jogging track, soil erosion around perimeter of buildings, flooding occurs during heavy rainstorms causing high humid/moldy conditions • Fix the buildings, this is where education occurs • Leaky roofs • Larger space for Administration building, more visual signs, our “customers” suffer because our buildings aren’t user friendly, need to eliminate long registration lines, and having to walk from building to building • Parking, crosswalks need signs informing automobiles to stop when pedestrians are in the roadway • Sidewalk drainage, easily floods.
What is the most important building on your campus? What is the least important building? Why?
Most important is Science (where I work), least important is Rotunda because it is non-functional • Science building where I work serves all students, least important is the theater, doesn’t get enough use • The student union building is priority, 1st location visitors see often space is loaned out to clubs and organizations, least important is the SRTA (Rotunda Building) • Most important to me is the Administrative Services building, Counseling/Testing, Student Center, and Bookstore, these building take a lot of pounding • Most important is the Library, it is the center of campus, the architecture is striking and the view from the inside is beautiful, least important is the Academic Classroom Building the cloverleaf design is confusing to students and the architecture is bland • Student Center is most important, focus of many activities, Rotunda is least, not user friendly.
Are there buildings at TCCD that should be removed? Why?
Building 7B, because it serves no purposes, it has been totally stripped due to mold and asbestos, media is still using a section of the Building, but they should be relocated, I think media should relocate to Downtown District Office • The Rotunda is awful, student building not much better • The SRTA (Rotunda Bldg.) is awful, is not ADA compliant, difficult to navigate, restrooms difficult for wheel chairs • Not specifically, but some old or aging buildings might be better torn down and built anew than be refurbished • Rotunda.
Are there buildings at TCCD that should be used for a different purpose?
Student building should be reconfigured to house registration, advisement, counseling, and financial aid, etc, one-stop shopping • Rotunda should be computer facility • Media graphics bldg. should be a permanent structure not a temporary one • The faculty should be housed according to division or department, it is so inconvenient for “customers” to have to go from building to building, I feel that Business Services, Registration, Financial Aid, Counseling/Testing and Continuing Education should be in the same building.
Are there particular campuses or courses of study that need a new building or building expansion?
A/C and refrigeration bldg. needs more space, buildings 5A thru 5F (faculty buildings) too small and uncomfortable • Nursing South Campus needs more room • South Campus Automotive Collision Repair has a very tiny classroom for the number of students enrolled • South Campus because the oldest campus needs a major update and expansion, due to growth and customer service demands.
Are there classes that should be organized differently or located in different facilities? Which ones? Why?
All classes in the SRTA Bldg. Classrooms are awful, hallways are narrow, one class could be a closet.
What is your favorite outdoor space on your campus? Why?
The fountain and tower, it is unique and historically significant • Entrance, Admin area • The Grove area in front of the library, nice open area with benches and wild flowers and beautiful trees • Patio area, and the track • The lawn outside the library with large pine trees and planting bed with rocks and native plants, because the plants and trees are well established and maintained • Courtyard by the carillon, like the bells when they chime, feels like a 4 year school.
What is the best-designed area on your campus? Why?
The parking lot on the north side, easy access and plenty of room to park • Business Building entrance area • Computer science and Business building, clean, modern and wheelchair accessible • The whole campus, with exception of uncovered walkways • All areas could use a little improvement • Landscaping around the courtyard, library.
What is the worst-designed area? Why?
Rotunda and student building, they were designed for something else and they are non-functional • Traffic pattern in front of campus • The North side of campus by the gym and nursing, not very well lit at night, feels dangerous at night, not many realize there parking lot there • Smoking areas, students smoke at the entrances to buildings, uncovered walkways • Rotunda, classrooms are difficult to find • ACB building, lack of sidewalks.
What special features should be added to make outdoor spaces more attractive, fun, interesting and comfortable?
Softball fields, soccer fields, more trees, sand volleyball, picnic tables in the open field between south parking lot and east parking lot • Picnic tables under trees away from concrete • More seating, shade • More benches, wheelchair accessible picnic tables with umbrellas, blue lights with police emergency call buttons • Covered areas, updated, informative flashing signs (drop dates, refunds), outdoor maps of campus like the malls have, music playing • The huge lawn between the two parking lots that front on the I-20 access road, we should seed the entire field with Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush so that it will be an attractive feature in spring, it would also be environmentally sound as the flowers would reseed themselves and wildflowers require little maintenance and water • More seating for lunch.
Should there be more distinctive and well defined entries into the campus? If so, what changes do you suggest?
Yes, larger entrance off service road • A marquis sign, also better signage on major roadways • Mark I-20 exit better • A welcome to TCC South Campus Sign with a “you are here” map and listing of Buildings as you would find at a shopping mall, cheerful, colorful signs with our logo in color at each entrance • It would be nice to put signs at the other entrances to campus rather than just the one deemed the main entrance • Larger bolder signage, directional sign from I-20.
Is there an adequate amount of directional signage on the campus? Do you have any ideas on how to improve campus signage?
Currently almost non-existent, there should be kiosks at major entrances and crossways • ‘You are Here’ maps around campus • “You are Here” map with a listing of Buildings as you would find at a shopping mall • No, this is 2004, and both inside and out, we have very small, inadequate, outdated signs, we should have similar signage as the grocery stores or strip shopping center stores • There is virtually no directional signage on campus other than having the building designators on the sides of the buildings, I think that the building designators should stay because they are helpful, signage can be overdone, but there should be adequate signs giving directions at least to the administrative buildings • Bolder letters, silver blends in on the brick
When visitors come to campus, where do they park? Where do they go for information?
Most of the time, up front or student union building • Everywhere, each visitor has to struggle to find/receive information • Don’t know, often ask directions from passers-by • Normally in blue stripe parking, of which there should be more of, and usually people stop at first office they find • They park anywhere because the signs are too small • Visitors seem to park anywhere they want and always end up at the library for information • Wherever they find a space, at the Student Union Building Info Desk.
Is there enough signage to easily navigate the campus? If no, what areas need improvement?
No, entrances and major through ways need kiosks, as sell as major “crossroads” • No, both parking lots and around major buildings • No, registrar, counseling, financial aid and bursar are hard to find for first time visitors • No, all • No, there is virtually no signage, all areas need improvement, especially with telling folks where to park • No, need signs to direct to counseling, registrar offices in Sub.
Is the signage attractive and well designed? If no, what changes do you suggest?
No, I am not a designer, so I wouldn’t know what to do, maybe they can hire someone to look into it • No, add some • Signs are ok • What signage(?), color coded maps and buildings • No, more signs, attractive, colorful signs, larger signs with the correct information • No, see previous question • No, need bolder colors, larger, needs to include Braille, where possible.
Is there enough lighting on your campus? If no, what areas need attention?
No, all inner campus and walking/jogging track • No, it is very dark at night, all areas • Interior walkways need more lighting • North side is very scary at night, (near gym and nursing) many bushes and lighting is poor • No, the track and all of the parking lots need more lighting • No, there needs to be more especially where there are bushes growing up next to buildings or walkways • More lighting needed near Police Station.
Where would you remove or add parking areas on your campus?
Add more parking between lots 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 • Add visitor parking to each lot with good signage • Have spaces at buildings for load/unload • Keep them, just add more visitors parking and make entrances noticeable • Put the faculty parking altogether in a separate place, so we can stop ticketing students • Near the Gym • Staff parking increased near flagpole that is clearly marked.
Is the division of student/faculty/staff/visitor parking adequate and equitable? If no, what changes need to be made?
Yes, but it needs better signage • Need more staff parking • No, need more visitors, more disabled a few more faculty/staff and also student spaces • No, need more visitor parking and larger signs • Need more staff and visitor parking, staff parking needs to be clearly demarked, maybe even gated • No, need more visitor parking in clearly marked areas with signage
Are the facilities on campus (buildings, rooms and outdoor spaces) adequate for a full range of academic and extra-curricular activities? What might be added or improved to allow a broader range of activities?
Yes • Need more outdoor spaces, fix bathrooms • We are about to exceed capacity • Wheelchair access for the recital hall • South campus hosts a variety of extra-curricular events, a Conference Center with sizeable meeting rooms would be a nice addition • Texas/Bluebonnet rooms are too small, impractical for meetings.
Do students have adequate meeting space on your campus?
Yes • No • It can be found • No, without reservations, rooms fill up, often clubs will meet in hallways • They seem to • it might be nice to rework the sub so that it is more updated and friendly for today’s student • There are rooms here and there throughout the campus, students need a section of meeting rooms.
Are buildings designed to encourage students’ involvement on your campus?
No • Not many common areas, disciplines don’t mingle • Student Union Building has many great bulletin boards, why not in the Jenkins Library too(?) • Not really because everything is so separated • Yes • Only Student Union Building
Are students able to gather with friends or wait for transportation in areas that are not disruptive to classrooms? Is there
more than one space for this? What improvements, if any, need to be made?
Yes, as long as they wait in parking lots without shade or shelter • Need more covered outdoor areas, more non-clean room space in buildings • Bus stop will be terrific, most students wait in lobby of student union building • There needs to be more such areas, not just at the Student Center • Yes, but more areas would be nice, comfortable, landscaped outdoor seating areas near the parking lots would be nice • No, the buildings lack common lounge areas with adequate space to sit.
Are there areas not designed for public gathering where students congregate (i.e. hallways, doorways, office entrances, corners of library, etc.)? If so, do these areas need to be expanded or redesigned?
Yes, in hallways, add learning/study areas in strategic buildings • Doorway smoking needs to be dealt with • Yes, Math Bldg. students sit on floor on both sides of hallway, cannot roll a wheelchair through the hall very well • We need outdoor covered smoking areas, so students will stop smoking in doorways • Registrar and Bursar areas need enlargement • Hallways and doorways, especially in Math department.
Are athletic facilities adequate for spectators, intramurals or competitive events on your campus?
No • Wonderful athletic facilities, just need more lockers for staff in gym • Our Gym is not compatible with spectating • No, although pool is the best new addition, the track is used by the community daily.
Is there adequate space for offices like Counseling, Testing and Career Services? Could these facilities be improved to enhance student use and the quality of services to students?
Need to be improved • No, counseling, etc. need redesigned space and better location • Career center is wonderful, counseling is very cramped, testing is too small as well, triage the waiting room, have separate area to wait for those about to be called • No, they need to be located in a cluster • No, these areas need more space, combining these areas with Registrar and Bursar functions in a “one stop” area would be ideal • No, counseling and Testing are too small in office space and waiting area space. DSS should have a closer proximity (i.e. down the hall) or next door to Counseling. DSS should have a facility with separate entry, but easily accessible to Counseling/Testing since our students begin their academic journey in Counseling/Testing.
This Online Master Plan was designed and developed by Freese and Nichols, Inc. Online Services
