Community College Journal - October/November 2011

Arts and Sciences Building, Kankakee
Community College, Ill.

method isn’t for everyone. “Before you go wandering down this trail, do the best job to assess the needs and ensure there’s a viable economic way of making it work,” he says. “We have to have 80 percent occupancy to break even, and we hope to grow from there.”

The Criterion® Online Writing Evaluation Service

AMOUNT SAVED
BY MT. SAC
THROUGH A
COMPREHENSIVE
ENERGY INCENTIVE
PLAN.

Renovate to Reinvent

For some colleges, new facilities are
the only way to grow. “We had a very
successful nursing program, but the
facilities were outdated, classes were
held all over campus, and the equip-
ment was old,” says Darrel Meyer,
director of facility services at Metro-
politan Community College (MCC) in
Kansas City, Mo. “We knew we had to
build.”
Easier said than done. When it
became evident that construction of
a new building would have been too
expensive (initial estimates came in at
$36 million), Meyer improvised, set-
tling on the purchase of an existing
building two blocks from campus.

“We did a total renovation, added a lobby/atrium to connect two buildings, and opened the MCC Health Science Institute in January of 2010,” he says. The final cost: $24.6 million, which the

The Criterion Service is a web-based instructional tool that helps students plan, write and revise essays. It provides immediate score reporting, diagnostic feedback and reliable evaluations of students’ writing abilities — so teachers can focus classroom time and instructor effort on the specific areas of student writing that need improvement.

Student Lounge, Morton College Library, Cicero, Ill.

PhOTO ©JAMES STEINKAMP, STEINKAMP PhOTOGRAPh Y; ARChITECT: LEGAT ARChITECTS, INC.

The Criterion Service is accessible online, anytime, anywhere and can offer your institution:

• an instructor-led writing tool that aids practice and provides immediate feedback for every student

• increased quality of instructional interaction between instructors and students

• a motivational environment that helps students learn to plan, write and revise essays

• online student portfolios with
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www.ets.org/criterion/community