Academic Services Committee

Minutes

April 1, 2003

 

Members Present: Lauren Ashman (ISyE), Jeffrey Donnell (ME), Lynn Fountain (GTRI), Joseph Hoey (OARS), Maureen Kilroy (GS&R), Jerry O’Brien (CoS).

 

Members Absent: Carol Colatrella (LCC), Tom Horton (GTRI), Jim Sowell (PHYS), Jane Weyant (CoE).

 

Visitor:  Les Saunders, Director of Capital Planning and Space Management at Georgia Tech. 

 

1.        Lynn Fountain called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m.

 

2.        Les Saunders focused his discussion on maintenance and usage of classrooms at Georgia Tech:

 

Maintenance

Capital Planning oversees the introduction of new classroom space, it maintains existing classroom space, and it upgrades existing classroom space.  These points were made:

·         New Classroom Space: Thirteen new classrooms will be introduced at Tech Square in Fall ’03.  As the impact of these and other new classrooms (EST (six), BME (four), KACB (twelve)) is evaluated, older and ineffective rooms will be phased out and converted to other uses and major renovations will be planned for core-campus rooms.

·         Maintenance of existing classroom space: Facilities is developing a program for regular aesthetic refreshment of classrooms, using 3-year painting cycle, a 5-year carpet cycle, a schedule for regular housekeeping.  Emergency repairs are performed as necessary.

·         Upgrades of existing classroom space:  Some existing classrooms are poorly configured for our current needs.  Such classrooms are upgraded when funds are available and when space can be found for the courses that typically use those classrooms. Major upgrades are planned for the Swann Building in the near term. 

 

As the impact of new classrooms (Tech Square (13), EST (6), BME (4), KACB (12)) is evaluated, older and ineffective rooms will be phased out and converted to other uses and major renovations will be planned for core-campus rooms.  OIT continues to add instructional technology and capacity as funds permit.  Lessons learned from recent classrooms will be applied to the rooms planned in the ILRC and other future buildings and renovations.  Introduction, maintenance and upgrades are all contingent on availability of funding; however, Georgia Tech is committed to improving classrooms, has been doing so for the past several years, and will dedicate some amount of each year's available funds to classroom issues.

 

Usage

Capital Planning oversees the scheduling of classrooms.  These points were made:

·         Due to heavy demand for space, Georgia Tech’s students and instructors continue to have difficulty finding adequate classroom facilities, particularly for morning classes.

·         However, Georgia Tech’s classroom usage rate is low, as courses tend to be scheduled for morning and early afternoon meeting times, leaving classrooms underutilized during the afternoon and evening hours. 

 

The committee discussed the need to look critically at scheduling practices as one potential answer to the space problem.  Specific questions concerning scheduling might include these:

 

  • Why should credit courses not be scheduled during evening hours?
  • Why should credit courses not be scheduled on Saturdays?
  • Why should credit courses not be scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00 a.m.?
  • If classroom usage is low during afternoon hours, is this related to scheduling for laboratory courses?

 

3.        The Committee will next meet on May 6, 2003, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in ERB 114. 

 

4.        The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Jeffrey Donnell, Secretary