Compliance Review

The institution operates and maintains physical facilities, both on and off campus, that are adequate to serve the needs of the institution’s educational programs, support services, and other mission-related activities.

The Committee did not find sufficient documentation to determine compliance with this standard.   Review of campus facility lists, utilization reports, and maintenance procedures lends support to compliance; however, the institution makes no reference to a student union, place(s) for commuter students, or facilities for the arts in the compliance report.   In addition, it has been noted by professional staff and students that Rapides Hall, "an older residence hall falling into some decay, has been the site of several incidents of student unrest as well as disciplinary problems."

Standard 3.10.7 provided evidence of Northwestern’s operation and maintenance of its physical facilities on and off campus that adequately served the needs of the institution’s educational programs, support services, and other mission-related standards.  The off-site review team noted in its report that there was no reference to student union facilities, commuter student facilities, or facilities for the arts.  Additionally, a reference was made to the current status of Rapides Hall, an older residence hall.  The University’s student union facilities, commuter facilities, and facilities for the arts all contribute the needs of the University’s programs, support services, and other mission-related standards, and are detailed below.

Student Union Facilities

The Sylvan Friedman Student Union is the hub of student life at Northwestern State University for on-campus students and commuter students. Facilities and services are designed to serve the entire University community. The Union staff coordinates more than 1,000 University and non-University events each year. Activities at the Union are selected to suit the needs and interests of the students.  Events involving the entire student body include concerts, dances, movies, exhibits, and forums featuring national figures in both formal and informal discussion. The Union is the center of campus activity, housing the Student Activities and Organizations Office; the Office of Greek Life; the Student Government Office; the Office of Counseling and Career Services; the Office of Auxiliary Services; the Speed Demon Card Office; a student computer lab containing 14 stations, a printer and scanner; a large lobby area offering comfortable seating; and a ballroom.  The Union is available for use by the campus community from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday.

More than 100 recognized student organizations (RSO’s) commonly utilized meeting rooms for more than 2,000 meetings, social events, and seminars during AY 2005-2006.

Additionally, the Student Union facility includes a food court operated by ARAMARK Services.  ARAMARK also operates a convenience store offering snack foods, toiletries, and other novelties.  The University’s bookstore is located on the first floor and is contracted by Campus Corner, Inc.  In addition to books, the store offers sportswear, Northwestern memorabilia, and sundries. 

More than $140,000 in student technology grant money was obtained by the Department of Student Activities and Organizations during the 2005 reporting period to improve the technology available in the Union.  Projects included the installation of the Axis TV digital signage system, the installation of "SMART" classroom audio visual equipment in the main conference room and in the Union ballroom, and the complete update and renovation of the Union electronic marquee.  In addition to what is reported in the Unit’s Continuous Improvement Plan, a more recent grant of $211,000 has been attained to expand the Axis TV digital signage system to the entire campus with an expected implementation date of March 2007.

More than 1,000 students receive e-mail distributions from the Department of Student Activities and Organizations regarding activities, events, and lectures.

The Union is a wireless Internet environment.

Commuter Facilities

Realizing the continued increase of commuter students on all campuses (Natchitoches, Shreveport, and Leesville/Ft. Polk) of the University, facilities to address the unique needs of the commuter are carefully considered.  The Natchitoches campus enrollment includes nearly 70% of students who commute; both the Shreveport and Leesville/Ft. Polk campuses are 100% commuter students.

• Natchitoches campus.  The principal facilities available to students on the Natchitoches campus to address their individual social, extracurricular, and academic interests and needs include the Sylvan Friedman Student Union, described above; the Wellness and Recreation Activities Center (WRAC); and Watson Library.  Academic buildings and residence halls include lounge areas as well as computer labs.  The WRAC accommodates commuter students’ needs with its lounge area, meeting rooms, and a vending area.  Additionally, Watson Library offers a spacious student lounge on the second floor, study carrels, small secure offices that may be reserved by the month or semester, a computer laboratory, and a reading room located in the Cammie Henry Research Center on the third floor.  The Robert Wilson Recreation Complex offers a clubhouse, a pro shop, an Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, and an 18-hole golf course.  Indoor swimming, including instruction, is available in Nesom Natatorium.  Substantial parking opportunities for commuters are available throughout campus, and a campus shuttle program is operated by University Police.

• Off-campus facilities.  The Shreveport and Leesville/Ft. Polk campuses, offering complete degree programs to full- and part-time students, include facilities to serve commuter students’ needs. The two buildings available for the Shreveport Nursing Education Center each offer unique options for student and faculty use.  A modern four-story administrative, classroom, and activities building includes a student lounge, a vending area, student organization offices, computer laboratories, and a staffed library.  The Line Avenue building houses classrooms, meeting rooms, lounges, and the campus bookstore.  The Leesville/Ft. Polk campus complex, serving nearly 1,200 students in AY 2005-2006, includes three modern buildings and student parking.  Classrooms, a staffed library, administrative offices, faculty offices, a computer laboratory, vending areas, a student lounge, and a campus bookstore complete the facility.

Fine Arts Facilities

The School of Creative and Performing Arts was created to house the academic areas of music, theatre/dance, and art. Students attend classes and rehearse in an environment that includes separate areas for all major ensembles.  Each classroom is equipped with modern instructional equipment.  The A. A. Fredericks Creative and Performing Arts Center also contains a computer lab, multi-media room, music collections, dance and tap studios, scene shop, faculty studios, practice areas, a percussion studio, and rehearsal spaces for theatre, band, orchestra, and choral ensembles. 

• Music facilities.  Magale Recital Hall seats more than 400 and is one of the finest concert halls in the South, both in beauty and acoustical excellence. The 1400-seat auditorium is used for larger concerts, musicals and opera, dance, and numerous theatre productions.
  
  Practice facilities are available that include grand pianos, a number of upright pianos, several Yamaha Disklavier pianos, and an organ practice studio. Faculty studios are equipped with audio recording/playback equipment that allows the performer to hear the recorded music or vocal performance immediately for improvement of musical quality. Classrooms for music theory, history, and other "group study" situations house big-screen LCD TV's with the latest in audio/video/computer playback capability for traditional and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. 
  
  The Fredericks Center also houses a multimedia lab for use by all Northwestern students, both on-campus and commuter, that includes 25 computer workstations (PC and MAC), a comprehensive audio and video recording library, and digital audio and video editing equipment. Magale Recital Hall also has state-of-the-art digital audio and video recording equipment to record recitals and concerts which can be reproduced as studio-quality CD's and DVD's.
• Theatre/Dance facilities.  The Fredericks Center also includes a fully equipped fine art multimedia teaching classroom for large classes; a small theatre classroom; a seminar room; two dance studios; costume, paint, and scene shops; a design studio with a computer laboratory; and a separate lighting laboratory and offices. In addition to the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium, the facility includes a small thrust stage, Theatre West, seating 125. Both offer a performance resource for on-campus groups and community organizations.
• Fine and Graphic Arts facilities.  The fine and graphic arts facility features a wireless Macintosh G5 computer lab, photo darkrooms and separate photo studio, a traditional printmaking lab as well as a sculpture lab complete with a built-in bronze casting foundry.  The main art unit holds nine large specialized studio areas, one lecture/studio classroom, three art galleries, six faculty office/studios, nine graduate student studios, and four storage areas.  A new art history lecture classroom and multi-media library are also available to students.   Students work in ceramic and design studios structured for optimal teacher/student interaction.  A new 4,200 square foot studio area has been added for drawing, painting, and figure studies.  Senior students have semi-private studios, and graduate students have private studios.  Faculty members have individual office/studios.  These spaces are regularly used for creative efforts and allow students to observe practicing artists.

Rapides Hall

Rapides Hall opened as a men’s residence hall in 1965 and over its 40 years of service provided housing for up to 600 men each semester.  As the building aged, the University realized that its most promising option was to develop state-of-the-art replacement housing for Rapides Hall to better address the needs of the student of the 21^st Century.  In fall 2005, Rapides Hall was closed with plans for its demolition, which is scheduled for 2007.  In a contract with Century Collegiate Housing Management of Houston, Texas, the University opened University Place, a modified coeducational residence hall with suite-style configurations, living areas, efficiency kitchens, basic cable, local phone, and high-speed Internet access.  University Place’s facilities include three buildings with three floors each.  Community and meeting rooms are located on each floor throughout the residence hall.  University Place has a computer laboratory in the community center. Other amenities of University Place include a swimming pool, barbeque grills, laundry and vending machines on each floor, and a clubhouse with a big screen television. The facility accommodates 390 students.  A second phase of the facility is scheduled to open in Fall 2008.