With its Walton Way campus nearing capacity, Augusta State University is considering ways to squeeze in more students and faculty while expanding its Wrightsboro Road location.
Next week, ASU officials will meet with University System of Georgia staff to begin work on a new master plan, an effort to verify the capacity of its main campus and map out future growth.
The existing master plan determined the capacity of Walton Way to be 7,200 students, which Augusta State should hit within two or three years, said M. Edward Pettit Jr., an emeritus math professor and consultant working on the master plan.
"If you want it to be all concrete, we could actually fit more people on campus," Dr. Pettit said.
Tearing down the old natatorium to make room to expand the science building is one idea to maximize space on the Walton Way campus, said Kathy Hamrick, special coordinator for academic and master planning.
The most significant growth, however, will be off Wrightsboro Road, where the university's Christenberry Fieldhouse, athletics fields, literacy center, tennis center and golf course are located, Dr. Hamrick said. In 10 to 15 years, that campus will be larger than the one on Walton Way.
The University System Board of Regents recommended $27.5 million be allocated in 2011 to construct an academic building on Wrightsboro Road, although that recommendation requires approval of the General Assembly, Dr. Hamrick said. The 90,000- to 100,000-square-foot facility will house the college of education, nursing or both.
The funding will be a major hurdle, but not the only challenge.
Dr. Hamrick said fitting the building on the piece of land will be difficult, requiring expensive underground water detention, a parking deck or the relocation of one of the ball fields to university property on Damascus Road.
"That wouldn't be optimum -- one field here and one field there," she said.
The process of developing a master plan will sort out the best way to build the facility and increase capacity, Dr. Hamrick said.
"We've got to be ready to go by 2011, but we think we need to go by next year," she said.
Dr. Pettit said part of the challenge is the way the state funds construction based on current enrollment rather than projected enrollment.
"You never get a building with capacity to grow into," he said. "You're always behind."
And with the downturn in the economy comes an increase in enrollment, Dr. Pettit said.
Dr. Hamrick said a new building won't be complete before enrollment hits 7,200.
Contingency plans are being developed in the meantime.
"We're at capacity the way we've always done business," Dr. Hamrick said.
Dr. Hamrick said more online classes will be offered, along with more classes on weekends and later into the evening.
"We'll have to offer classes at crazy hours," she said.
Professors could also be affected. Part-time professors could lose their offices.
"We're looking at every nook and cranny," Dr. Hamrick said.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
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This confirms my belief that ASU is mismanaged as a community education resource. Is Dr. Hamrick aware that ASU is dead at night, there are few evening classes offered, which gives non-traditional students so few options they go elsewhere. Classes at crazy hours - every other successful university offers classes at night and on weekends. Those buildings should be full at night, but part of the problem is the faculty and staff don't want to work at night. There are two ASUs, the one during the day and the one at night where there are no services, few classes taught, and total lack of support for adult students seeking degrees. How about Dr. Hamrick visit ASU at night and she'll see capacity for thousands of students going wasted. ASU does not need a new building - they need new management. University of Phoenix is growing, there is Troy State Univ, etc, who are all taking students away from ASU because it wants to be "traditional" Finally, how is taking a part time professor's 36 sq ft office going to provide classroom space? ASU does not need a new building. They need to use the ones they have and make the professors work at night to offer the classes students need.
I agree. ASU's management is out of touch with reality when it comes to education. The Main campus is only about 1/3 of capacity after 5 pm.
I suggest the university use the College of Charleston expansion as an example of how to expand within a city. The added buildings don't have to be contiguous with the current campus as long as they blend in well with the surroundings. It would help the city with new building and bring more people into the city to use restaurants, stores and what have you.
Yep, part of the problem seems to be that they have Math teachers making these decisions. Hamrick and Petit are great teachers, but they know nothing about this kind of planning. A parking deck is greatly needed on campus and has been needed for about 25 years. And, they do need to increase night classes. I think part of the problem is that ASU wants to see itself as a snooty fine arts college when that is no longer practical. We need skills so we can get jobs. We need to act like a University.
RE: "The 90,000- to 100,000-square-foot facility will house the college of education..." There's a place that a lot of money could be saved. Look at the "products" of colleges of education, and you'll see that not much educating is happening. At the top of the student pecking order in terms of academic rigor are the engineering and hard sciences (not fluff such as political "science" and social "science") curricula, and at the bottom is the "education" curriculum. A lot of what is troubling contemporary America could be resolved with more of the former, and a whole lot less of the latter. School officials who call themselves "doctor" because they were awarded Ph.D.'s in "education" are a sad sight to behold. They are a part of the crumbling facade of the education industry, the foundation of which is the self-serving teacher's unions.
Vvalentine6: I agree with you completely. I was attending ASU as a non=traditional student, and if you had to work a little late and then try to rush to an evening class, the only place to park was on some side street, which made me even later for class. The school of business also did not offer the particular major I was interested in anyway, so after I completed my core courses, I left ASU. IN fact I went with an online University, and believe me it is much better to come home and get on my computer to do class work, than to sit in a class for over an hour and then still have to drive home. And another thing is that as soon as I complete my Bachelor's degree I can go straight into the MBA program with my current university without having to take the GMAT. ASU needs to wake up and start smelling the new coffee.
Well... it seems ASU is not getting good reviews here. How many in this group of commentators have either actually attended ASU or had a close (first degree; child, spouse, parent, or sibling) attend the school?
Times are changing as some said. There is a banner running across the top of the page tonight for CMU. Extension and online courses are going to prevail eventually and dramatically change education in this country. There are extension universities going up all over town. However, those students who want to attend tradtional colleges will continue to seek the traditional college experience. There are two things ASU can do. Offer more online and evening courses while making it easier for commuters with parking and such. The second possibility is to increase the dormitories and improve the college experience for those desiring traditional four years at one college.