Utah State University to construct new building for distance learning

04/07/2011

Construction of a new Regional Campuses and Distance Education building on Utah State University’s Logan campus is scheduled to start early spring. The new building will house RCDE offices and state-of-the-art distance education classrooms. A formal groundbreaking is planned for May 2011. The estimated completion is summer 2012. The building will be located at 700 north, between the Lillywhite and Industrial Science buildings.

“USU is leading the way by implementing new technologies, advancing higher education and increasing access,” said Ronda Menlove, vice provost for RCDE. “This high-tech building illustrates the transformation of teaching and learning in a new century.”

Distance Education’s move to a new building keeps USU at the forefront of education deliverytechnology. The building enables USU to deliver high-tech education and quality academic programs to students throughout the state and around the world through online, interactive video broadcast and face-to-face classes.

“In the last few years, distance education has experienced continual growth in student enrollment, which has generated a need for more delivery classrooms and administrative space,” said Janis Morales, director of finance for RCDE. “The growth of the program has enabled RCDE to build the budget that will meet the financial obligations of this new building.

As the state’s land-grant institution, USU will be able to better fulfill its mission to serve the state’s diverse populations and communities with this new building.

“RCDE currently collaborates with some of the largest providers of distance education technology in the world as it strives to lead the nation in efficient and effective models of distance delivery,” said Robert Wagner, executive director of distance education.“As a facility where delivery technology can be tested and refined, the new building promotes teaching and learning excellence by providing innovative distance-delivery solutions.”

The new building also houses offices and a technical support center for the Utah Education Network. UEN’s presence in the building demonstrates a strong partnership with the public unit responsible for building and maintaining the high-speed network to communities across the state. Offices for some instructional designers and staff in the university’s Faculty Assistance Center for Teaching will be housed in the building, along with multiple tech-enhanced rooms that seat 25-60 students. These classrooms increase the university’s capacity to deliver more courses and programs to USU regional campuses and centers throughout Utah.

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