September - University of Nebraska

D. UNL Facilities Development Plan 2006-2015: The project and its location are consistent
with the UNL Facilities Development Plan 2006- 2015.
E. Consistency with Statewide / CCPE Plan:
The Statewide Comprehensive Capital Facilities Plan states that individual capital
construction projects will support institutional strategic comprehensive facilities plans.
V. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING FACILITIES
A. Function and purpose of existing programs as they relate to the proposed project:
Current programs occupying the College of Nursing leased quarters in Lincoln include degree
programs leading to the BSN, MSN, and PhD degrees in Nursing, and nursing research
investigations.
B. Square Footage of Existing Spaces: See Table VI.B.3
C. Utilization of Existing Spaces: See VI.B.3
D. Physical Deficiencies:
1. The Lincoln division is currently housed in temporary, leased space in downtown
Lincoln, a building not designed for 21 st century teaching and learning needs,
which are heavily technology-dependent. The present facility does not have an
adequate number of smaller conference rooms and seminar rooms with IP
capacity for graduate students and inter-campus educational coordination.
2. Classroom space in the present facility is utilized at maximum capacity.
3. The current computer lab is too small to accommodate the current demand for
student testing.
4. Faculty offices utilized the pre-existing walls of a prior tenant. Many of these
offices were undersized, did not have windows, and were not located in areas
beneficial to their function. Few of the existing faculty offices meet University
standards. The present facility does not have a sufficient number of faculty
offices.
5. The current facility is located in an office building that houses commercial
tenants and is located in a commercial district instead of an academic setting.
The downtown location draws frequent objections from parents, especially NU
alumni, who would prefer their sons and daughters attend a facility located oncampus
so that they can experience traditional college campus life. There are
also safety concerns with the current location, given the pedestrian traffic to bars,
restaurants, and retail shops.
6. The present facility is not configured to maximize the functional relationships
among the faculty, teaching spaces and students.