Standards:

STANDARD EIGHT

PHYSICAL RESOURCES

8 Description
Physical Resources
The physical resources of Eastern Connecticut State University include land, 
buildings and other structures as well as major equipment and infrastructure 
components such as the campus telecommunications system.  The campus is located 
on 177 acres of land with 25 parking lots and buildings as described in Table 8 
A.
During the 1990s, the university completed two cycles of work on the 1992 Campus 
Master Plan and the 1997 Facilities Master Plan. The programmatic needs as 
described in the university's academic plan created the requirements from which 
the facilities plan was developed. The needs for additional facilities fell into 
categories such as additional classroom space, a new library, property 
acquisition, and the development of the campus into a central academic zone 
flanked by two residential zones with sufficient space for athletics and 
recreation. Square footage for academic, athletic, student life, and support 
services now totals 681,003, and for residential life totals 551,288, for a 
grand total of 1,232,291, compared to 793,309 in 1990. 
The decade of the 90s saw a major focus on the facilities area with the 
ambitious effort to implement the Campus Master Plan.  Implementation of the 
projects is accomplished through the Department of Public Works, the agent for 
design and construction projects for the majority of state agencies.  Projects 
that exceed 2 million dollars must be administered through the Department of 
Public Works, projects that do not exceed the threshold of two million dollars 
may be administered by ECSU.  ECSU maintains an excellent working relationship 
with the Department of Public Works that can be attributed to constant and clear 
communications between the two agencies.  In addition, ECSU takes a very active 
role in the implementation of construction projects and the two agencies act 
together as one team.  

The initial effort toward implementation of the Campus Master Plan included 
acquisition of a 73-acre parcel for the relocation and development of athletic 
and recreational facilities including construction of a new baseball complex.  
The former baseball field was on the site of the current library; the function 
had to be relocated in order to allow for the construction of the new library.  
Other completed projects include: the renovation of a former elementary school 
into a 215-bed housing facility; construction of a 72,000 square foot classroom 
and faculty office building; construction of a new library; construction of two 
major residence halls (Residential Village A and Residential Village B) and an 
Admissions building, renovation of the campus dining facility, construction of 
new parking areas and a perimeter road and the first phase of the renovation of 
the former library into a Student Support Center.
The 1997 Master Plan stresses the development of a pedestrian campus concept. 
Numerous other improvements have been made that contribute to increased campus 
safety, energy conservation, ADA access, and general beautification of buildings 
and grounds.  Efforts to develop the campus are evident in the excellent 
condition of the buildings and facilities, and the additional facilities made 
available to the campus and local community. 
Planning funds have been made available to the university for six additional 
buildings: the Science and Classroom Building, the Fine Arts Instructional 
Center, the Child and Family Development Resource Center, a Public Safety 
Building, an addition to the Support Services Center to house administrative 
offices, and the addition to and renovation of the Student Center that will 
allow the development of a University Center.  A comprehensive renovation of the 
High Rise Apartments will begin this summer. Construction funds for the addition 
to the Support Services Center will be available in the next fiscal year.

Capital Budget Request and Five-Year Facilities Plan
The mechanism for requesting planning, design and construction funds for 
renovation as well as new construction is the Biennial Capital Budget Request 
and the Five-Year Capital Plan. There are two categories for projects: up to 
$350,000 for minor capital projects, and major capital projects of $350,000 or 
more. The Capital Plan will include both types of requests. Copies of the 2000-
01 Capital Budget Request and the Five-Year Capital Plan are on file for review.  
Guidelines for the development of the capital budget requests are created by the 
CSU System Office and the Board of Governors for Higher Education. Once 
developed, the Capital Budget Requests are forwarded by the CSU campuses to the 
CSU System Office for review and recommendation to the Board of Trustees. Upon 
approval by the trustees, a consolidated capital budget request and five- year 
facilities plan is forwarded to the Department of Higher Education (DHE) and the 
Office of Policy Management (OPM). DHE reviews the request and makes 
recommendations regarding capital requests for all constituent units to the 
Board of Governors for Higher Education. Once the review is completed, the Board 
of Governors capital budget request is submitted to the Office of Policy and 
Management (OPM), which is responsible for the development of the governor's 
capital budget request that is presented to the General Assembly.  The System 
Office prepares an annual list of authorized capital projects to be reviewed by 
the Governor and the State Bond Commission.  Project funds are available for 
allocation upon approval of the State Bond Commission. OPM reviews the budget 
request considering the recommendations of the Board of Governors for Higher 
Education. The CSU System Office and the university work with members of the 
Executive Branch and the General Assembly to develop support not only for the 
funding of the capital budget requests but also the required support staff. 

Physical Plant Staffing
Eastern's Physical Plant staff consists of 87 positions divided into two units: 
Facilities Operations and Capital Projects. The two units serve all facilities 
on the campus regardless of funding. 

Facilities Planning
Mandated by the General Assembly in 1992, ECSU, in concert with the System 
Office of CSU and the Department of Public Works, along with the consultant 
DuBose Associates, completed the first Campus Master Plan, based upon the 
Academic Master Plan written the previous year. The program for the Master Plan 
identified and justified space needs by space type and department. The 1992 
Master Plan documented a need for an additional 302,000 assignable square feet. 
Included in the Master Planning process is an Existing Condition Survey Ð a 
comprehensive system-by-system evaluation of the buildings with respect to code 
compliance and condition.  Following the Master Plan, a comprehensive ADA survey 
was also completed.  These evaluation documents include specific requirements 
and cost estimates.  These documents are valuable tools that are used to 
identify required renovation and deferred maintenance projects.  The Campus 
Master Plan was reviewed and approved by the CSU Board of Trustees and the Board 
of Governors for Higher Education.  The Master Plan was updated in 1997 with the 
help of the firm Dober, Lidsky, Craig & Associates.  The Master Plan updated 
showed that while progress had been made the campus still needs 291,000 
assignable square feet to meet current program requirements.  An additional 
144.500 assignable square feet was needed to keep up with anticipated growth at 
that time.  The total space justified in the 1997 Master Plan update is an 
additional 435,500 assignable square feet.  It is important to note that current 
enrollment is growing at a rate faster than predicted in the Master Plan.  ECSU 
has completed an environmental assessment of the impacts of the build out 
recommended in the Master Plan.  The environmental assessment was completed in 
compliance with the Connecticut Environmental Protection Agency requirements.  A 
copy of the Record of Decision was filed with and approved by the Office of 
Policy & Management.

8 Appraisal
Despite the fiscal difficulties of the early 1990s the Campus Master Plan proved 
to be an invaluable tool for the development of the campus throughout the 
decade. Much progress has been made toward the implementation of the Master Plan 
as the university embarked on an aggressive program of facility development. 
Both the growth in faculty numbers and the enhancement of technology in and out 
of the classroom added to the physical needs.  The majority of the additional 
space required now is for technology-enhanced classrooms, teaching laboratories, 
and faculty offices.  Currently, some faculty members have offices in Knight 
House, which is not ADA compliant. Additional space needs include science 
teaching and laboratory space, a Fine Arts Instructional Center, two parking 
garages, and a Child and Family Development Resource Center. 
Despite chronic understaffing, ECSU facilities and grounds have been well 
maintained by the members of the operations and maintenance staff. Budget 
formulas used to determine levels of required staffing for operations and 
maintenance departments have consistently shown ECSU to be under staffed and 
under funded in the area of operations and maintenance.  
Eastern Connecticut State University has modernized the campus communications 
infrastructure through the installation of a fiber-optic backbone for the data 
networks and added extensive new copper facilities for voice operations.  In 
addition, three additional voice nodes have been added during the 1990's to 
expand and modernize voice facilities.  Currently the campus network is running 
Gigabit Ethernet for data.
A fiber optic based campus-wide video network is now in the planning stage along 
with improvements to the building management and fire control systems.  Funding 
is currently available for both projects from capital and institutional funds.  
Recently a campus-wide electronic door access system has been installed to 
improve building security and the safety of the campus community

8 Projection
The 1999-2004 Five-Year Capital Plan, currently being updated, includes funding 
requests for several Master Plan projects: the Science and Classroom Building, 
the Fine Arts Instructional Center that includes both academic and public 
performance space, classrooms, museum/gallery spaces and studios and offices for 
faculty.  The Capital Plan also includes a Child and Family Development Resource 
Center; two parking structures; renovations to a number of residence halls, 
renovation of the spaces vacated by the science departments that will occupy the 
new Science and Classroom Building, and renovation of Shafer Hall.  The plan 
also includes a request for minor capital projects; included in that category 
are various infrastructure and code compliance projects.  
ECSU has developed a comprehensive strategy for roof replacement and is 
systematically implementing this program through the use of minor capital funds.  
Property acquisition will continue to be required in order to implement the 
vision in the Master Plan. The planning phase of the Science and Classroom 
Building is complete; an architectural firm has been selected for the design and 
construction phase of the project.  Contract negotiations are currently 
underway. This facility will house the three science departments as well as the 
Computer Science department. Occupancy is expected in the fall of 2004. The 
construction of the science center will continue the development of the academic 
mall begun with the construction of Webb Hall and the J. Eugene Smith Library. 
When the science and classroom building is complete renovation of the current 
science facility will take place.  The building will be converted to a general 
classroom building. 

Development of other sites will likewise continue the improvement of campus 
facilities as the Fine Arts Instructional Center, the parking structures, and 
the Early Childhood Family Resource Center are constructed.    The Student 
Center will be renovated and a 50,000 square foot addition will be constructed.  
The combination of renovation and addition will allow Eastern Connecticut State 
University to follow the national trend and develop a true "University Center".  
The University Center will incorporate space for recreation and gathering into 
the traditional student center functions.

The physical plant of a university has a great deal to do with the success of 
student and faculty recruitment and retention.  Eastern Connecticut State 
University's focus on maintaining and improving the campus facilities has 
contributed to its unique and continued growth in student population