Seminole Community College Prepares for Growth: Success Story
Given the current economic climate, many community colleges are bracing for dramatic enrollment increases. New students are choosing the affordable community college route and many of those who were in the workforce are going back to school to learn new skills.
Several years ago, Seminole Community College (SCC) predicted this potential growth and began developing two new sites, Heathrow Center and Altamonte Springs Campus. The college also planned for significant renovations on the original Sanford/Lake Mary campus. By 2008, the new facilities were open and ready for business.
A big part of SCC’s planning process included how technology would affect classroom design. Most classrooms on all of the campuses are now technology enhanced. Electronic teaching tools such as PC, VCR/DVD, Projection controls, and document cameras, are now commonplace. The biggest challenge was how to best use limited classroom space. Creating multipurpose classrooms was the obvious answer. Selecting the proper furniture for maximum flexibility would prove to be a key to success.
For example, manual drafting classes are now being
combined with computer-aided design (CAD). M.C. Teet in the Facilities Design
department said, “We did not plan to support manual drafting rooms and did not
have the floor space for each student to have both a drafting table and a
computer table. The Cad/Drafting table built by Computer Comforts was the
answer. The combination of a tilting drawing table that also supports the
computer equipment satisfied our needs in a small footprint.” This is one
example of how a little innovation can maximize classroom usage.
The testing/assessment labs also required some innovation. Computer Comforts offers a traditional-looking carrel which supports all modern technology – LCD arm, CPU holder, and keyboard arm. “The furniture needed to accommodate either paper testing or computer testing, said MC. “In addition, we needed to take the carrel concept one step further. Our language labs required individual student spaces to support reading materials and computer equipment. Since these labs are instructor led, we asked Computer Comforts to modify their standard carrel. They replaced the solid laminated back panel with a see-through plexi design. The instructors now have good visibility”.
The college has also standardized on the patented
HideAway LCD table for all computer labs. “We no longer need to have dedicated
computer labs which cannot be used for general purpose classrooms”, said Ms. Teet.
All computer labs are now multipurpose rooms. After doing side-by-side evaluations
of a variety of multipurpose tables – monitor under glass, flipper-top design,
and pop-up styles – 
,
adjustability, and ease of use. And, there’s no glare on glass or electric
lifting motors to worry about.
Thanks to careful planning, Seminole Community College is ready for the future. To learn more about the SCC campuses and facilities, visit www.scc-fl.edu. To learn about any of these innovative products, visit www.computercomforts.com/movie.
This post was provided by Computer Comforts.
