UMD NEASC - Std8: Physical Resources

STANDARD 8 - PHYSICAL RESOURCES

Introduction | Description | Appraisal | Projection

Introduction

The physical resources of UMass Dartmouth have been planned and constructed, and are operated to facilitate the strategic goals and mission of the university: academic excellence and access, research, outreach and economic development. As defined in this report, physical resources include land, buildings and other structures, major equipment, and major infrastructure components such as the campus's voice and data networks.

Description

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The main campus in North Dartmouth comprises approximately 710 acres improved by a circular roadway (Ring Road), 17 parking lots, and the following buildings:

Academic buildings:

Liberal Arts and Business (Group I)
Science and Engineering (Group II)
Dion Science and Engineering Building
Visual and Performing Arts Building (Group VI)
Violette Research Building
Textile Building

Library

Campus Center complex:

main auditorium
dining halls/cafeterias for both resident and commuter students
office space and meeting rooms for student organizations
annex with office space for several major administrative offices

Foster Administration Building

Power plant and campus security headquarters

Athletic Center complex

Residence halls:

One major cluster of conventional dormitories
One major cluster of townhouses

The academic and administrative buildings are located within Ring Road; the athletic center, power plant, and all dormitories are located outside the ring.

In addition to the main campus, UMass Dartmouth has buildings in New Bedford including the Purchase Street campus and the recently constructed laboratory of the Center for Marine Science and Technology (CMAST). Several offices are located in the former President's House on Chase Road in North Dartmouth. Though this is part of the main campus, access is from Chase Road rather than the main entrance on Old Westport Road.

Ownership and Oversight

Dormitories are owned by the University of Massachusetts Building Authority. Land and other buildings are owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Construction of new buildings other than dormitories is under the oversight of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), the state agency previously known as the Division of Capital Planning and Operations (DCPO). Since its incorporation into the University of Massachusetts system in 1991, ownership and control of the dormitories has passed to the UMass Building Authority from the now-extinct Southeastern Massachusetts University Building Authority. New construction is recommended by the UMass Board of Trustees. Funding is provided by either the state legislature through an appropriation or by the Building Authority through the sale of bonds or other financing arrangement. Construction of state-owned buildings is overseen by DCAM.

Off-campus programs are conducted from facilities owned and maintained by other institutions. These include high schools and other municipal buildings in several cities. Courses are offered through the Division of Continuing Education in such facilities and at Cape Cod Community College in Barnstable MA where a joint program for Humanities/Social Sciences was initiated in 1999. A 3+3 program with the Southern New England School of Law in North Dartmouth is offered as a pre-law program in the "day" division. These other facilities are mentioned to illustrate the non-traditional ways in which UMD is using physical resources to pursue its mission and goals. They are not covered in the detailed analysis of this chapter which instead focuses on resources owned and operated by UMD.

Construction and Renovation

No new buildings were constructed or approved for construction on the main campus during the 1990s; most construction activity was directed toward renovation and repair. The newest academic building is the Dion Science and Engineering Building, completed in 1988. However, funding and approval were finally received for construction of the long-delayed Center for Marine Science and Technology Laboratory, which opened in 1998, in New Bedford.

Renovation of space and the completion of deferred-maintenance projects were prominent in the 1990s. Work was completed on the art studio spaces and offices in the two Purchase Street buildings (in New Bedford), significant renovation took place in the Library and the Administration Building. Campus beautification and landscaping were given high priority in this decade and much effort and attention were directed toward improving the appearance, functionality, and maintenance of the physical facilities and grounds.

Communications Infrastructure

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has two campus networks, one for the telephone system and the other for the computing system. The networks are not integrated and do not provide redundancy. All of the buildings on the main campus are linked for communication by these two networks.

The telephone system includes a recent digital switch and a recent network of wiring including fiber-optic cables between buildings and copper wire within buildings. There are an adequate number of connections available to support present and forecasted future use.

The university's information technology infrastructure includes a local area network for the campus that connects all buildings on the main campus. There are two Digital Equipment Alpha computers as major nodes on the network. These provide adequate computing power for the university's administrative systems and electronic communications.

Facilities

The Facilities Department is responsible for the repair/renovation and maintenance of the university's physical resources. It also develops, recommends, and manages the priority list for repairs, renovations, and new construction for the campus. The Department has been headed by an Acting Director for several years and two key managerial positions are vacant.

Occupational Health and Safety

The University Safety Officer is responsible for oversight of occupational health and safety issues. The present Safety Officer is a Professional Technician in the Department of Medical Laboratory Science and carries out the duties of Safety Officer part-time, in addition to his regular responsibilities as a technician.

There is a university safety committee whose members are volunteers from any department on campus. It meets occasionally during the year on major safety issues that confront the campus (smoking and police arms for example). The committee discusses issues of concern for campus members and suggests procedures and policies to the Chancellor.

Campus Police and Security

The Department of Public Safety is a twenty-four hour operation which provides police and security services for its main campus (North Dartmouth) and two satellite campuses located in New Bedford. There is a director, 24 police officer positions, 12 security officer/guard positions, and 4 communication dispatcher positions. The Campus Police/Department of Public Safety report to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs.

Officers are responsible for a full range of public safety services including protection of life and property, emergency police, medical and fire response, investigations, parking and traffic enforcement, and enforcement of laws regulating underage drinking of alcoholic beverages, the use of controlled substances, weapon violations, and all other incidents requiring police assistance.

Another unit in the Campus Police /Department of Public Safety is the Investigation and Crime Prevention Unit. This section is staffed by two officers who specialize in investigating sensitive crimes and crime-reduction methods. This unit is also the catalyst for the Community-Oriented Policing program. Some of the programs available through the Crime Prevention Unit include Campus Lighting, Brush and Security Surveys, Crime Awareness Lectures, Operation I.D., Alcohol Awareness Workshops, Safety Escort Service, Campus Crime Watch, and Rape Aggression Defense (RAD).

Environmental Compliance

An environmental compliance audit of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth was completed in December of 1998. The audit was conducted by Pennoni Associates, Inc., Consulting Engineers. Copies of the complete audits for the main campus, CMAST, and the Purchase Street New Bedford campus are available in the workroom.

ADA Compliance

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth strives to meet and exceed all requirements for handicap accessibility. An ADA audit during June 1999 resulted in citations of inadequate parking facilities. The university responded to these citations by retaining an architect to design and oversee installation of access ramps from all parking lots. We have also created additional handicap parking spaces in all parking lots; these are clearly marked and handicap use will be enforced by campus police. Compliance was achieved in September 1999.

Appraisal and Projection

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Space of all types is scarce on the UMass Dartmouth campus. Classrooms, offices, and laboratories are all heavily utilized. During academic year 1998-1999, on the basis of a 45-hour week (8 AM - 5 PM, 5 days/week), classrooms were occupied to 75.7% of capacity in the fall semester and 73.7% in the spring semester. During the most popular hours for class meetings, 9:00 am through 2:00 pm, virtually all classrooms are in use every day.

Office space for faculty and staff is a continuing problem. No unoccupied office spaces exist on the campus and some faculty and staff members share offices with at least one other person. Recent renovations in the Group I building have converted corridor and lounge space into offices. Both third floor lounges have been converted for office space and relatively large corridor/lounge areas at each end of the building have been walled in to provide space for the Reading and Writing Center and the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture. With the current shortage of office space for faculty, recruitment of additional faculty must contend with the difficult problem of finding an office for any new faculty member. Dissatisfaction with office space is reflected in the results of a survey conducted for this report by the Standard Eight subcommittee.

Laboratory space is also under intense pressure. The University Space Planning and Allocations Committee (USPAC) has established a system of priorities for the assignment of research laboratory space, but the available inventory is so scarce that nearly all available facilities are taken up by research activities funded by external grants (the activity assigned the highest priority). Again, the survey suggests that faculty are relatively unsatisfied with available laboratory space. Recommendations on the allocation and use of space in academic buildings are made by the USPAC to the Chancellor.

An analysis and evaluation of the Facilities Department was completed by the consulting firm, Engineering Technologies, Inc. (R. Lord) in May 1999. Major findings revolve around the consequences of underfunding and deferred maintenance over many years.

Projection

There is currently no formal planning process that integrates academic programs, student services, and fiscal resources with physical plant planning. The Standard Eight subcommittee recommended to the Chancellor the formation of a Physical Resources Planning Committee (PRPC). This Committee should begin functioning in Spring 2000. It will have responsibility for formulating long-range plans for facilities and physical plant that will accommodate the academic and student service needs of the campus and will result in plans that are within the fiscal resources of the institution. Plans will be coordinated with the campus's new budget planning process and with projections of future enrollment and academic programs. The PRPC will address implications for both state-owned facilities and Building Authority facilities.

UMass Dartmouth needs an additional academic classroom building to reduce some of the pressures on classroom, office, and laboratory space, as well as to accommodate plans for increases in student enrollment. Additional dormitory space has also been given high priority. Proposals for both types of space are completed and will be considered for inclusion in the university's developing strategic plan.