ENGL Assignment 4 - Proposal and Reflection

Adding a Satellite
Student Union Building
to the Texas Tech Campus

Purple Cobras
Josh Frost, Lindsey Burns, Dana Medford, Thomas Bonds




Introduction

Texas Tech’s campus is rapidly changing with all the new construction. Many changes are being made. New buildings are going up around campus, like the Business Administration building and the additions to the Law School. Also, the new highway being built through Lubbock is creating some new and modified entrances to the campus. One of these new entrances is on the west side of the campus near satellite parking. The number of students and faculty in that area of campus will only increase.

Texas Tech only has one Student Union Building. For some students and faculty, its location is just not convenient, especially those who frequently use the west side of campus. Those students and faculty are missing out on all of the luxuries and conveniences of a Student Union Building. Building a new satellite Student Union Building would benefit those who are too far away from the current Student Union Building.

To solve this problem, we propose building a satellite Student Union Building. The new Student Union Building will be located on 19th and Indiana across from the Law School. This new building will give all those who frequently use the west side of the campus a chance to enjoy the conveniences of a Student Union Building. They would be able to get something to eat at the food court or just take a break between classes to study or relax. A new building would also generate new income for the university from the food court. Overall, a new satellite Student Union Building would be beneficial to students and faculty, as well as Texas Tech University.


Statement of Problem

These days many students don’t have the option of eating in between classes because they only have thirty minutes and cannot get food and eat it in time at our busy Student Union Building. Also with the future plans of enrollment increases students living off campus will also increase. There is always a need for more parking and eating facilities. Chancellor Kent Hance has stressed recruitment these past couple years and as a result we are going to see an enrollment increase resulting in a much more crowded campus. The student union building is already extremely crowded during the lunch time. The current building is not sufficient for the amount of students and we must look into other options for students.
In order to show the importance of an additional student union building we surveyed students on their thoughts and feelings regarding the current situation and if they would use an additional sub. The idea is to add another SUB somewhere on campus to cater to students who commute to school. The location we had chosen for the purpose of the survey was at 19th and Indiana. We randomly surveyed 100 students while they were in the student union building either eating or passing through.

From the information we collected in the survey, we were able to determine that a significant number of students would eat at another location if it was convenient and provided good food. When speaking with students we also found that a large number of law students and students living in the Tech Terrace area would use the SUB if it were convenient.

There are several other people who have recognized a growing need for additional facilities for students. The Daily Toreador did a 5-part periodical on Chancellor Hance’s idea of 40,000 students by 2020 and what that means for our facilities and university in general. The external vice-president of the Student Government Association as well a committee has been looking into additional parking lots and buildings as well. The need for additional eating facilities is also evident to any student who has eaten at the SUB between 12 and 2.


Proposed Solution

With Texas Tech University growing each semester, the community areas will become even more crowded than they are this semester. We would like to see a new Student Union Building to be built on campus in order to help stimulate campus life and stop the overcrowding of the current Student Union Building. The new student union would be placed on 19th Street and Indiana Ave., and would cover all those who park in west commuter, the law school, as well as the United Spirit Arena. By placing it in this location many students who also have classes on the west side of campus would have a shorter walk in order to reach the services provided by a new student union. The student union could be a center for entertainment, studying, refreshments, food, and other services. A new bookstore and other retail stores would be added in order to provide more opportunities for students to support their university and supply discounted products to students. The student union is also a meeting place for many people and provides groups a place to hold their events. In many cases large events need to happen at the same time and an additional student union building would solve this problem.


Scope

If all of Texas Tech Universities’ strategies to expand student enrollment goes as planned, new student oriented facilities will need to be expanded and improved. It is very important to provide students with a satisfactory campus life in order to keep the student body happy and generate more interest for prospective students. With the increase in the number of students at Texas Tech University comes increased spending to provide them with the amenities that are expected from a large university.

A new Student Union Building would boost the university economy by providing jobs for residents of Lubbock and students alike. It would also bring in more revenue to the university through the student unions stores and restaurants. It would also cater to the students who currently are not able to take advantage of the popular eating facilities on campus. Having this additional SUB will aid to the Law school students as well as people located south of campus.

From the research we have done, we feel that it would be economically feasible and even generate revenue over time and allow for students to have an alternative place to eat. It would reduce the congestion in the current Student Union as well.


Methods

For our proposal, we used two different methods of research. First, we conducted internet research to strengthen our proposal. Second, we surveyed Texas Tech students at the current Student Union Building over a two-day period. We asked them question about building a satellite Student Union Building.

Through the internet, we researched the recent renovation cost of the current Student Union Building and the size we would suggest for the new Student Union Building. We also found a location for the new building in our internet research.
After completing the survey, we found that 75% of students thought an additional Student Union Building would be useful and effective. Also, many students said that they would use the new building for its choice of dining and parking convenience.


Qualifications

While preparing this proposal our group discovered that the four of us have a vast and varied amount of qualifications that have enabled us to write and complete this proposal. Dana Medford is a senior, human development and family studies major with a minor in psychology. She has taken a research methods class and statistics class which helped with the survey and budget. Lindsey Burns is also a senior, she is an Architecture and Interior Design minor and major, and has taken statistics and English courses. Her experience with her class work helped to plan what the building would include. Thomas Bonds is a junior and has worked at NWTSBDC for three years as a student technician. During his work experience he has written multiple purchasing proposals for computers and other technology equipment while working as a student. Josh Frost is a sophomore, involved in the Student Government Association and President’s Select. As a student leader he has had the opportunity to hear about many of the future plans for Tech as well as attend meetings regarding facilities. Although diverse, our group contained qualified people to address the different needs of this complex proposal.


Project Schedule

Due to the complexity of the project, an exact project schedule is near impossible to adhere to. From presenting to both the SGA and Chancellor Hance to Construction many variables lay in the way to halt the progress temporarily. Large scale constructions are almost never completed on time, but we have provided a project schedule that is feasible for the project.


Present Proposal to SGA April 2008
Present to Chancellor Hance May 2008
Obtain Funding Spring 2009
Construction Begins Summer 2009
Estimated Completion Date Summer 2012


Budget

Since it is so early on a lot of our budget is simply an estimated cost. Once approved, the budget would become much more concrete and we would be able to send out bids for the actual construction. We looked into the costs of the recent remodeling of the Student Union Building to come up with most of our budget. We also looked into the costs of other buildings around campus including the recent English, Philosophy and Education complex. Our estimated budget includes the costs of construction of the building as well as everything that would go inside of it including staffing the Satellite SUB although that doesn’t come out of the initial budget. We also considered the price of a parking lot as that would be required with the new SUB.

The basic breakdown for costs would be the construction, the furnishing and the stocking. There would also be small costs associated with staffing and initial training as well as the cost of the new parking lot. We tried to take into consideration and estimate costs for every part included in the new building although some items are hard to predict for especially with a construction market that is currently going through some economically difficult times.

According to the Texas Tech Bricks and Mortar report of 2005 the cost of the remodeling of the SUB was approximately 38 million dollars. The price of the new English, Philosophy and Education complex was approximately 46 million dollars. Due to the complexity and size of these two buildings we estimated the cost of the new SUB to be about 40 million dollars. Since a lot of the remodeling in the SUB is the same type of thing that will go into the new SUB we estimated that the costs would be about the same.

The 38 million dollars spent on the renovations for the SUB included all new tables, chairs, lights, and outside patio furniture as well as many other things. Architecturally it would be similar to all the other buildings on campus with the Spanish Renaissance design. The new SUB would also include the same style furnishings as t he current Student Union Building. It would also contain several fast food type restaurants similar to the current SUB which is included in the price.


Conclusion

In conclusion, we have found that building a satellite Student Union Building would be very beneficial to students, faculty, and Texas Tech University. Our research shows that students are in favor of building a new Student Union Building and would use the new building. For those students and faculty who frequently use the west side of campus, a satellite Student Union Building would need to be built so that they too can enjoy the conveniences of an eating facility and parking lot closer to their homes. We have researched the potential cost, size and location of a satellite Student Union Building and feel that the overall outcome, although pricey, is still very beneficial.


Works Cited

Texas Tech University. Brick and Mortar Report. Retrieved April 10, 2008 from, www.texastech.edu
Lubbock Central Appraisal District. 2007 Certified Values Report. Retrieved April 12, 2008 from, www.lubbockcad.org
Various Writers. Various articles in archives. Student Union Building Expansion and 40,000 by 2020. Retrieved April 9,2008 from, www.dailytoreador.com

Appendicies
TTU Student Union Building

Please circle one of the following answers for each question…
1. Do you eat most of your meals on campus? Yes / No
2. If so, do you eat most of your meals at the SUB (Student Union Building)? Yes / No
3. Do you feel that it is overcrowded? Yes / No
4. If you had the option of eating another place like the SUB would you? Yes / No
5. Do you like the idea of TTU building another Student Union Building that you could park at instead of waiting after 5:30 p.m. to park? Yes / No
6. If you could park at the SUB anytime would you eat more of your meals there?
Yes / No
7. If it were the same price as a commuter parking spot would you be willing to pay for a years permit to a parking space at the new Student Union Building if it was located at Indiana and 19th street? Yes / No

8. If so how often would you park there? 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 Times a Week
9. Name one restaurant or type of food you would like to have at the new Student Union Building.
____________________________

10. Do you drive, take the bus, or walk to school? Bus / Drive / Walk

Comments or suggestions:


• Question #8 - If so how often would you park there?
7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 Times a Week
o This question was based on students who answered yes to buying a parking pass for the new lot. Of those people, the average was approximately 4 times a week.

• Question #9 - Name one restaurant or type of food you would like to have at the new Student Union Building.
o American includes common fast food restaurants including McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger King.











• Question #10 - Do you drive, take the bus, or walk to school?




Satellite Student Union Building
Survey Data Results



Lindsey Burns
ENGL 2311-003/008
Dr. Liu
April 16, 2008

Assignment Reflection 4

Reflecting on my work for this ENGL 2311 assignment #4, which was a group project, and was very rewarding when the project was completed. The proposals decision to be carried out or not would be decided by the chancellor and board of region.

I believe our group proposal is feasible because it is firstly a good idea that many students, as well as myself, believe is one that should be carried out. All the data that was obtained for a new Student Union Building was very supportive in the decision on whether to build one or not. The whole document that is to be turned in is well thought out and the format of the entire proposal is a very professional one.

The collaboration of my group helped the progress of this assignment because since there were four people instead of one, we were able to cover more grounds in researching material and preparing the final proposal document to hand in. There were eleven parts to the process of developing, researching, and drafting the proposal; The Introduction, which states the problem, which in my group project was proposing to build another Student Union Building along with some of the problem with the current Student Union Building. The second is the statement of the Problem including the primary and secondary research to frame the problem. Proposing the solution, scope, methods, and qualifications are the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. The last seven through 11; project schedule indicates how the project will be carried out in a time limit, budget, conclusion, references, and the appendices.

The specific tasks I did in my group project were the statement of problem, the appendices; the survey, and the four graphs reflecting the data collected from the survey given to the Texas Tech University students. I also helped hand out surveys to the Tech students. The way I benefited from doing my part of the task is that it allowed the rest of my group members to write their assigned parts of the project and to calculate and report the results and data the resulted from the survey to be added in their sections completed.

The course goals I feel I encountered in completing this assignment were designing a convincing and usable document, analyzing communication contexts rhetorically by understanding audiences, purposes, and situations, writing an effective technical proposal, analyzing and applying the ethical responsibilities involved in technical communication, creating technical documents that solve problems and improve situations through communication, and collaborate on communication projects. Overall I enjoyed and appreciated this assignment because it was good practice for the proper formatting and information to include in a proposal.