The Classroom committee has been working the past several months on studying the quantity of chairs in various classrooms across the Brighton Campus. In many cases, they found it wasn’t always just the quantity of student desks in a particular classroom that was causing problems; it was also either the type of desk or the arrangement of the desks. Based on their recommendations for Building 6, we have ordered additional “new style” tablet arm chairs in both right and left hand configurations. Unfortunately these new desks will not arrive until the February break. Since we order them custom built, it’s taking a little longer than we planned. Working around room schedules, custom fabrication, delivery schedules and the movement of existing furniture by our Facilities Department; all of these components necessitated the February installation date.
This leads me to the first couple weeks of the spring semester. If you are assigned to a classroom that is short on desks for the number of students you have, please email me immediately. I can be reached at <<mailto:rcunningham@monroecc.edu>> Please don’t contact Facilities; they will only tell you to contact me. If you happen to be short on desks, PLEASE don’t just take them from the classroom next door. All you’re doing is moving the problem and I’ll never get the chair counts correct.
Several semesters ago, the Facilities folks put extra chairs in one classroom at least 6 times, which certainly wasn’t fair to the students and faculty using that room. Our Facilities group are a great bunch of folks, but we need to work with them. If you find you are short a student desk on say a Monday, please contact me that day. Don’t wait till your ready to teach in that room on Wednesday to tell me about the class you’re going to be teaching in 30 minutes needs a desk. Facilities tries to place classroom furniture, when possible, late in the day when they cause the least amount of disruption to our students and classes.
One last thing, the average Brighton classroom is used by 12 or 13 different faculty over the course of a week. If your class only has 20 students, but the room has 24 desks, please don’t push the “extra” chairs into the hallway. First, it’s a fire hazard to throw the furniture in the hallways, and remember that 12 other faculty will teach in that room who might need those desks.
Thanks.
Bob Cunningham
Academic Facilities and Learning Environments
01/23/2008 |