TO: Dr. Joe Scarcella
FROM: Phil Fournier
DATE: 12/16/2004
RE: 502, Quiz 2, Fournier

EVOC 502 Quiz 2 Vocabulary Course Budgets and Facilities Floor Plan

Writing a course budget requires some research into information that is not generally shared with instructors, but I suggest that it might be a really good idea to do so. High schools and ROP programs operate with budgeting that is paid off ADA (average daily attendance) while community college budgets work under a different plan known as FTES (full-time equivalent students). In writing my own budget, I did research to find out how much income a class of twelve students would generate for the college. Then I calculated the cost of salaries and materials, along with the approximate cost for the use of the facility. It is plain to me now why the dean of instruction is so ruthless about cutting classes that have low enrollment. If we run classes with less than 12 students, the likely hood is that expense will exceed income, and in today’s tough economic climate (as far as the state budget is concerned) the school must make maximum use of its limited resources. The school needs to do better than break even on each class, because of equipment depreciation. While there may seem to be no direct cost associated with the use of equipment, it deteriorates over time and must be replaced. The money to replace it usually must come out of the school’s budget. My feeling is that academic classes with minimal equipment needs and larger class size should be used to subsidize vocational programs. From a purely economic viewpoint, vocational programs look like a financial drag. But they provide a valuable service to the community and to the workforce by providing cost-effective training to those who need it.

Facilities Floor Plans

I used a facilities floor plan when designing and building my auto repair shop back in 1993. I designed the shop with dimensions I got from conversing with others who had built repair shops and had regrets about the way they had designed their own buildings. Drawing a to-scale model on graph paper is about the best way to visualize how the final facility will function. A classroom or a shop must be designed with the same approach I used in building a repair shop designed to provide a safe working environment and a smoothly operating repair shop. Students who learn in a well-designed classroom will appreciate a more efficient learning experience, and lab time will be spent more productively in a well-designed school shop. A sensible floor plan is vital for good use of limited space and for efficient work flow. One difference in a school shop versus a revenue-based working shop would be floor space allocated to demonstrators and working models or mock-ups. Designing a school shop and leaving room for mock-ups makes for much more efficient use of floor space and consequently, more efficient use of the student contact hours.