CSUSM Extended Learning Building - San Marcos, California
California State University, San Marcos
Posted: July 20, 2022 | Projects
With its official opening on August 26, 2019, Cal State San Marcos’ Extended Learning building moved from first shovel to first class in just 16 months. As the largest academic building on campus, the six-story, 135,000-square-foot EL building (ELB) brings all Extended Learning operations under one roof for the first time and becomes home to student support centers, lab and research facilities, select CSUSM academic departments, administrative offices such as CSUSM Corporation, and inventive learning spaces such as the CSUSM Corp Innovation Hub.
Photograph courtesy of CSU San Marcos
With every college at CSUSM represented in the building and programs serving individuals from first-year undergraduates to lifelong learners, the ELB is a comprehensive education center designed to bridge disciplines and inspire innovation. The facility includes 19 new classroom and lab spaces equipped with technology-rich features such as 4K projectors and mobile instructor stations with touchscreen displays and digital pens for annotation. Open floor plans with flexible configurations not only encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration but enable the programs in the building to meet the educational needs of an expanding campus and community for many years.
“This multifunction space creates opportunities for the campus to grow programs,” said Bella Newberg, executive director of CSUSM Corporation. “This is a great space for interdisciplinary activity. We are always going to have specialized buildings, but having flexible space is an asset to the campus as a whole. This model really is the future.”
Located in the North City development in San Marcos, the project — which includes a 709-space parking structure — expands the campus footprint by two acres and serves as a gateway between university and community. A new pedestrian bridge, scheduled to open in October, provides a quick pathway to the ELB and creates a direct connection between the education, athletics and cultural offerings at CSUSM and the residential, commercial and entertainment amenities in North City.
An entrepreneurial venture from the start, the ELB is the first academic building in California established through a unique public-private partnership, which required no state funds for its design, planning or construction.
“This public-private partnership reimagines how we can expand campuses and integrate education within our communities,” said Mike Schroder, dean of Extended Learning. “The EL building has been meticulously designed to serve every student on our campus as well as the community — both today and well into the future.”
Like the academic support centers, Extended Learning has combined its collective units into one space for the first time in the new building. As the academic outreach branch of CSUSM, Extended Learning serves nearly 4,000 students annually with undergraduate and graduate degrees in collaboration with CSUSM’s colleges as well as professional certificates, online education, customized training for businesses and education for older adults through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. In addition, Extended Learning serves nearly 1,000 students annually through the Office of Global Education, study abroad and the American Language and Culture Institute (ALCI).
“The flexible and innovative space in the Extended Learning building will allow us to expand our existing programs and create new programs integrating progressive methods of teaching and research so we can anticipate the long-term needs of our students and of local industry,” Schroder said. “We are here to support our students throughout their education and careers.”
Many students in the new building are working toward their next career move by completing short-term, professional certificate programs through Extended Learning. With a wide range of disciplines and education pathways represented in one building, the ELB provides a unique peek into education opportunities for the beginning student and the returning student alike.
The Office of Global Education and ALCI, another segment of Extended Learning, enriches the campus culture through internationalization and inclusive excellence by working to increase the number of international students at CSUSM and by encouraging CSUSM students to study abroad.
In the ELB, a third of the global suite space is designed as an open lounge for international and domestic students to connect and it is fully equipped with couches, computer workstations and moveable tables and chairs. In addition, global education and ALCI staff, until recently located in three separate buildings, are now just steps from each other, making it easier to collaborate on new directions for their programs.
Another important focus for CSUSM — research, lab and clinical training — gets a boost in the ELB with lab spaces designed for 21st century learning and technology geared for flexibility, sustainability and long-term compatibility. Students across many academic disciplines will benefit from a new nursing skills lab, a computer and cybersecurity lab, two biology labs and two kinesiology labs.
Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) works closely with the community in both its research and its programming. During 2018- 19, SLP graduate students provided more than 4,800 hours of free consultation in speech-language, communication, cognitive or swallowing services to more than 170 individuals in the community, despite having offices and classrooms spread across campus and a speech-language consultation center located 3 miles off campus. To run simulation exercises, SLP staff accessed the simulation theater and medical manikins from the nursing program when available.
In the ELB this year, the SLP program has a centralized suite comprising offices, classrooms and the speech-language center. The area also includes a dedicated simulation space with SLP manikins, a simulation kitchen and the flexibility to add virtual reality learning soon.
“We are almost doubling the number of simulations we are doing with the students because of the dedicated space,” said Lori Heisler, chair of the Speech-Language Pathology Department. “Having better access to equipment and materials to practice skills definitely enhances learning for our students.”
With faculty and students in the EL building representing the health sciences, language and culture, science and technology, the public sector and more, this pioneering learning center is a microcosm of the CSUSM campus, creating the potential not only for cross-disciplinary collaboration, but for new pathways in education.
The CSUSM Corp Innovation Hub — in the developmental phase — is one such pathway, encouraging entrepreneurship by providing a working space for students, faculty, staff and members of industry to purposefully take ideas developed in the classroom to a real-world conclusion, whether it’s a product, a creative pursuit, a business concept or a solution for an issue in the community.
“The Extended Learning building is truly an innovative and entrepreneurial space that welcomes diverse voices and nurtures bold ideas,” Schroder said. “We are just getting started, and I am excited to see what our students and faculty will create for the future of our campus and the region.”
Owner
CSU San Marcos
288 Campus Way, San Marcos, CA 92096
General Contractor
Turner Construction
15378 Avenue of Science, #100, San Diego, CA 92128
Location: San Marcos, California
Date Bid: Mar 2017
Construction Period: Mar 2018 to Aug 2019
Total Square Feet: 134,773
Building Size: First floor, 22,003; second floor, 19,698; third floor, 24,398; fourth floor, 24,403; fifth floor, 24,380; sixth floor, 19,891; total, 134,773 square feet.
Building Height: First floor, 17'; second floor, 12'9"; third thru fifth floor, 12'9"; sixth floor, 12'8"; Penthouse, 13'; total, 94'.
Number of Buildings: One; 20 Classrooms seating 38.
Basic Construction Type: New
Foundation: Cast-in-place, reinforced concrete, slabon-grade.
Exterior Walls: Curtain wall.
Roof: Membrane.
Floors: Concrete.
Interior Walls: Metal stud drywall.
Click here to view the full cost details for this project in the July/August 2022 issue of DCD