The bricks-and-mortar infrastructure of community colleges has not nearly kept pace with increases in student enrollments. Not only are colleges bursting at the proverbial seams, but, according to the American Graduation Initiative, many two-year institutions "face large needs due to deferred maintenance or lack the modern facilities and…

Lone Star College had a unique opportunity in 2000 when it began planning its new CyFair campus in suburban Houston. The school wasn't retrofitting existing buildings or contending with entrenched attitudes about what type of physical environment best supported learning. So when it designed its sprawling 550,000-square-foot campus, paid for with…

The purpose of the study was to (a) determine the design features of the physical learning environment that support collaborative, project-based learning, and (b) to gain an understanding of the rationale for the selection of the features. The literature review indicated a need for changing learning expectations to prepare learners for rapidly…