Standard 8: Physical Resources
Las Positas College is situated on 147.7 acres in a mostly rural setting in Livermore, California. The College's main physical plant consists of 21 buildings housing classrooms, the Library, Admissions and Records, Counseling, various labs, a small theater, bookstore, staff and student lounges, faculty offices, communication building and administrative offices. Since the last accreditation, four new buildings have been added, major renovations occurred in 11 areas, and 5 upgrades and projects have been completed.
The College completed an architectural barrier removal project providing significantly more accessibility to the campus community. Lighting around campus buildings at night has been improved and augmented since the last accreditation team visit. The Office of Campus Safety has provided emergency campus phones and call boxes, as well.
Overall, however, facilities to support instructional programs at the College are inadequate. Considerably more classroom and office space is needed. The College has attempted to address its shortage of classroom and office space by scheduling more classes on weekends, increasing the number of online and off-campus courses, and improving its scheduling of classrooms and other facilities.
The campus currently has no child development center.
The need for a performing arts building is acute. Available facilities are inadequate and overused. The same can be said for Physical Education facilities on campus. The College plans to create additional sources of funding, including pursuing a bond and organizing a Foundation to augment capital funds.
Campus growth has been a major concern for Maintenance and Operations, however. Grounds area has nearly doubled since the last accreditation, yet the Maintenance and Operations budget has not increased to hire the three new positions recommended in the Midterm Report. The College plans to address the need for additional staffing with the District.
The management of programs and services in the Maintenance and Operations Department, as it relates to LPC, are handled as an administrative service wing, overseen by the District. LPC supervisors manage a staff of skilled employees who provide custodial care for the physical plant, landscaping and grounds-keeping, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, carpentry and general maintenance. The last accreditation team was impressed with the cleanliness and appearance of the campus grounds and building facilities
Selection and replacement of campus equipment, both traditional and technology related, is dependent on fluctuating state budgets. As acknowledged in the Midterm Report, LPC continues to tie the acquisition of equipment to College goals and priorities through collegial participation. One of the duties of the Institutional Planning Committee is to ensure that the physical resource planning and evaluation support institutional goals. The Committee itself links physical resource planning to other types of institutional planning. The College expects to finalize a technology plan responsive to change, based on collegial, inclusive, campus-wide review and coordinated by the Dean of Technology.
