Community College Journal - October/November 2011

Buildings;survey;on;green;construc-
tion;( www.turnerconstruction.com)
found;that;college;administrators;be-
lieve;a;greener;approach;will;improve
student;and;faculty;performance,
secure;financial;and;community;sup-
port,;retain;high-quality;instructors,
and;attract;the;best;students.;That
aligns;with;a;recent;Princeton;Review
report;that;suggests;students;consider
other;standards,;each;of;which;is;directly
linked;to;the;building’s;specific;mission.

•;And;environmental;standards;can

For;example:

•;Comfort,;energy;efficiency,;and;secu-rity;standards;are;established;with;the understanding;that;the;use;and;occu-pancy;of;classrooms,;auditoriums,;and multipurpose;buildings;changes;based on;the;season,;day;of;the;week,;or;time of;day.

support;green;initiatives;and;en-hance;a;school’s;standing;within;the community.

According;to;the;National;Research

a;college’s;environmental;record before;enrolling.;(For;more,;download for;free;The;Princeton;Review’s;“2011 Guide;to;311;Green;Colleges”;at;www. princetonreview.com/green-guide .aspx.)

Council;(NRC),;high-performance building;concepts;enhance;the;learn-ing;environment.;In;its;report,;“Green

Justifiable Investments

Schools:;Attributes;for;Health;and

•;Air-quality;standards;are;set;to;reflect the;importance;of;adequate;ventila-tion;in;cafeterias,;chemistry;labs, applied-science;departments,;and;other temperature-sensitive;environments.

Learning,”;the;NRC;found;that;green schools;support;student;and;teacher health,;learning,;and;productivity.

(For;the;full;report,;visit;www.nap.edu/ openbook.php?record_id=11756&page=R1.)

•;Health;and;welfare;standards;recog-nize;the;positive;impact;that;acoustics, ventilation,;and;natural;daylight;have on;student;achievement,;faculty performance,;and;absenteeism.

In;addition,;a;2005;Turner;Green

Several;community;colleges;are;already reaping;the;benefits;of;sustainable design.;Administrators;at;North;Caro-lina’s;Central;Piedmont;Community College;(CPCC) ;predict;that;high-performance;building;innovations;will reduce;total;annual;energy;costs;by;an estimated;$350,000.

•;System;reliability;standards;are;inte-grated;to;reduce;the;possibility;of;an unplanned;heating,;ventilating,;and air-conditioning;system;failure;that can;disrupt;campus;operations;and impact;the;operating;budget.

CPCC;officials;worked;with;an;envi-ronmental;services;company;(ESCO);to conduct;an;energy;audit,;identifying and;later;implementing;energy;conser-vation;measures;for;five;campus;build-ings,;including;its;central;utility;plant. Completed;in;June;2011,;the;initial;$3.6 million;infrastructure;improvement project;was;funded;through;an;innova-tive;energy;performance;contract;that

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