Executive Summary Continued
When prospective students have a choice where to obtain an education, the institution’s buildings, the general appearance of the campus, and the instructional tools available to the students play a significant role in their decision. Thus, the role of this plan is to provide an orderly “roadmap” for the Regents and administration to maximize its financial resources in furthering the Mission of Del Mar College.
A Facilities Master Plan is intended to provide Del Mar College with a resource document to facilitate an organized and intelligent plan of growth and future development. It first addresses a survey of existing conditions, grading each structure with regard to both physical and functional obsolescence. Pedestrian, vehicular, and service circulation are analyzed to achieve a minimum conflict. Existing utilities and computer cabling are documented to permit minimal disruption by future construction projects. Landscaping, wayfinding and signage, campus security lighting, and open gathering areas are studied. This data will enable Del Mar College to project locations of future buildings and to address growth and change in curriculum.
The Academic/Instructional Master Plan (AIMP) defines the character of the educational mission for the College. The AIMP examines developmental, transfer, and occupational needs of our students and the community, and translates them through programmatic responses. An AIMP assists the institution to comprehensively predict how faculty, staff, budget, physical, and other resources should be utilized and directed to fulfill the educational mission.
Although a formal AIMP has not previously existed, despite its reference in policy, academic planning has been conducted informally. Evidence abounds that the development of the College’s Master Plan in the mid-1980's consulted department chairs, deans, and others regarding both modification to programs and anticipation of new ones. The College has also continued to generate the Statistical Profile as a resource document for reference and planning. Nonetheless, the lack of a formal Academic/Instructional Master Plan document has been of primary concern to the College. The lack of such a formal document has also been noted by the Self-Study 2000 Report, as suggestions for improvement of the educational programs.