FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Metropolitan State College of Denver’s New Neighborhood Building Campaign

Where did the idea for a neighborhood for Metro State come from?
In 2006, an architecture firm was hired by Auraria to update the Auraria Campus Master Plan. As part of this process, numerous interviews with students, administrators and faculty members were conducted to identify their concerns and needs and to gather suggestions. These interviews built the framework for the updated master plan, which will allow Metro State to establish its own Neighborhood that will be unique and separate from the other two schools at Auraria, while still sharing the existing buildings on campus.

Why do we need a Metro State Neighborhood?
There are a lot of good reasons that will help current students, future students, graduates and our surrounding community including:

• The Metro State Neighborhood will add classroom space and improved technology access for students. Studies show that the Auraria Campus has about a 1 million square-foot shortfall to serve students. That has resulted in crammed classrooms as well as trailers that house offices and classrooms.
• The days of running around campus to register for classes, get financial aid, speak with an administrator or get any other critical student service will be replaced by “one-stop shopping” in the first building, the Student Success Building, in Metro State’s Neighborhood. Student services will be centralized instead of spread around campus. Plus, the First Year Success Program, geared toward supporting and advising first-year students to increase their chances for successfully transitioning into college and moving into their sophomore year, will be housed there.
• And in the long run, the Neighborhood is an investment in Metro State. It will increase Metro State’s profile and its reputation both locally and nationally, thereby enhancing the value of graduates’ degrees because of increased recognition.

Specifically, how will it increase Metro State’s visibility and reputation?
Metro State currently doesn’t have a campus center of its own and that has created somewhat of an identity crisis for the College given that three schools share Auraria Campus. The Neighborhood will give Metro State the ability to establish its own identity and meet the specific demands of its population through specialized programs and services. Plus, the Neighborhood’s location will be highly visible, sitting across from the Pepsi Center along Auraria Parkway, where it will be noticeable to commuters as far away as Interstate 25. This means that anyone with business relating to Metro State will know exactly where to go.

Exactly where on campus will the Metro State Neighborhood be built?
When finished, it will sit on 8.5 acres adjacent to Auraria Parkway and bordered by Seventh, Ninth and Larimer streets. Other landmarks include the Tivoli Student Union to the northeast and King Center to the southeast of the Neighborhood.

What will it look like?
The Student Success Building will be four stories and 143,000 square feet. It will include green space with a central quad and smaller pathways, courtyards and gathering areas. Student input will be sought as the building is designed to make sure it reflects their needs.

Will the Student Success Building follow green standards?
It will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified and built using sustainable methods that will reduce its carbon footprint.

How will the Student Success Building in the Neighborhood ease overcrowding?
The way it will increase classroom space is that administrative services currently scattered throughout campus will all move to the Student Success Building, freeing up more than 50,000 square feet of room in other buildings and allowing more smart classrooms with cutting-edge technology.

When will it be built?
Once the design has begun, the Student Success Building will be completed in less than three years.

How much will it cost?
The current estimated cost of the building and backfill renovation is $62 million: $52 million for the building and $10 million to convert the freed-up space to classrooms and faculty offices.

Who pays for it?
It will be primarily funded by student fees that students have the opportunity to vote on during the Student Government Assembly election in April. Fees will be assessed up to 12 credit hours and will rise incrementally each year starting in 2010 at $5.25 per credit hour; 2011, $12.10 per credit hour; and 2012, 19.80 per credit hour. This will minimize the overall impact for all Metro State students, regardless of how many or how few credit hours a student is taking. To read the referendum see this post: http://metrostaterising.com/blog/student-capital-fee-referendum/

That seems like a lot of money.
Not when compared to what students are paying at other Colorado campuses. Take a look at this chart provided by the Colorado Department of Higher Education comparing current costs for a full academic year at all state higher education institutions. Even with the fee hike, Metro State will remain substantially lower in price than the other schools:

Institution	Tuition and Fee Rates
Community College System (13 institutions)	$ 2,722*
Adams State College	$ 3,790
Colorado School of Mines	$ 11,239
Colorado State University	$ 5,874**
Colorado State University – Pueblo	$ 4,747
Fort Lewis College	$ 4,196
Mesa State College	$ 4,741
Metropolitan State College of Denver	$ 3,241
University of Colorado – Boulder	$ 7,278**
University of Colorado - Colorado Springs	$ 6,676**
University of Colorado – Denver	$ 6,279**
University of Northern Colorado	$ 4,680**
Western State College	$ 3,778

* This is an average of all the community colleges.
** Level and specific programs may vary.

How many years will the fee continue?
There is no end date currently, but Metro State is working with state education leaders to win more capital improvement funding. If they succeed, the fee will be reduced or discontinued.

You keep mentioning that this is just the first building in the Neighborhood. What other plans are in the works?
Four to five other buildings could be built eventually. Plans are intentionally being kept loose so as to have more flexibility as times and needs change. But preliminary projects include an alumni center, an aerospace and aeronautics facility, an expanded Faculty Development Center, a Web Instructional Technology Center and a Faculty Commons. Further out, plans could include a new School of Education with a resource center; a new Business School building; specialized laboratory space for Allied Health and Nursing, Engineering Technology and Industrial Design; and a Computer Information Systems program, a Computer Science program and the “Genius Bar” help desk model.

How will this affect parking on campus?
The Metro State Neighborhood will displace 22 percent of current campus parking. Obviously, that needs to be addressed given that many students commute to school. Current plans include using all or part of the Parking and Transportation Center garage for Metro State needs and working with surrounding non-campus entities to expand parking options off campus.
Also, as the campus strives to become sustainable, other means of transportation will need to be explored, which could limit our need for campus parking.

When is the election and how do I vote?
The election will be held April 13-17 online only. To vote, watch for an e-mail on April 13 to your mscd.edu account and follow the instructions.