New Flex Classroom Schedule

Students started the Spring Quarter with new furniture in the Hilton "Flex" Classroom but some of the technological improvements have been delayed a few months. 

The Hilton Flex Classroom received new furniture over spring break.

Particular parts of the audio visual components for the room will not be available for purchase and installation until the beginning of summer. The room, equipment, furniture, and IT network will be updated, removed, replaced and innovated throughout the next couple of months.

As of recently, the new furniture and equipment including desks, chairs, an instructor station, a portable lectern, markerboards and projectors have been installed and are ready for use this spring quarter 2013.

Plans for a test trial run in July are underway and training sessions for interested or available faculty and staff over the summer will be scheduled in the upcoming weeks. The Hilton Flex Classroom will be fully functional and available for use by the time classes start for fall quarter 2013.

A New Generation of Learning

Remember when messy chalkboards went out-of-date and sleek dry-erase boards were the way to go? Many classrooms throughout Cal Poly Pomona have gone completely with digital multimedia instructor stations and projectors. 

All of these are things of the past. 

The Collins College aims at making an even bigger step toward the future of education by adopting a new and improved method of learning with a flex classroom. Plans to transform the Hilton Great Room into a flex classroom are underway and will be completed this spring.

“The new Hilton Flex Classroom will be a dynamic instructional environment that will contain an enhanced array of presentation and interactive technologies in a flexible room design,” said Dean Andy Feinstein.

The new Hilton flex classroom will have the ability to form itself to the class subject and needs of the students, and will serve as a blueprint for transforming existing classrooms on campus into more dynamic learning settings. 

The room will feature four interactive projectors, five Apple TVs, a Blu-ray/DVD player, a PC computer, a surround audio system with a wireless microphone, two independent points of control, a ceramicsteel markerboards with two smaller size, portable markerboards; 24 mobile chevron-shaped tables, and a mobile lectern and instructor station.  

All of this advanced technology and equipment will allow for interactive student participation. The markerboards will permit students and instructors to electronically or physically write on the board while the image is displayed on the projector.

Presentations can be flawlessly facilitated with the incorporation of five Apple TVs, which will allow students and faculty to bring their personal mobile devices to display photos, videos and feature presentations.

The technology found in this new flex classroom will be completely supported via the campus I&IT network and Help Desk, and the room will have wireless network capabilities.

Student, Career Services Suite Created

A Student and Career Services Suite has been created in Building 79B, Room 2210. The room, which was most recently used as a faculty office and a testing area for students, was re-purposed as an area that can be used for meetings with prospective students, employers and more. 

Renovations included a fresh coat of paint and contemporary furniture similar those in the new computer lab and quiet study lounge. The furniture includes a six-person conference table, two comfortable reading chairs, a side table, and a credenza filled with informational pamphlets and brochures about the college. It also features a 55” Plasma screen TV for Skype video conferencing as well as showcasing promotional videos and presentations about The Collins College. 

The Collins College Expansion Naming Opportunities

The Collins College is offering several naming opportunities for donors to support furnishing the expansion and preserving their legacy at the college. 

More details on naming opportunities 

The Collins College expansion addresses the college’s growth needs in a sustainable way by striving to achieve LEED Gold certification. In addition to more classrooms and faculty offices, this expansion creates a home base for the new master’s program and provides a student commons for studying and co-curricular activities. The classrooms will utilize cutting edge technology and innovative “flex” furniture designed to move and adapt to the evolving needs of today’s classroom. 

Naming Opportunities Include:

Learning Center

Flex classroom $200,000

Flex classroom (2) $250,000 each

Undergraduate Student Commons

Grab N Go $50,000 – Reserved  

Main courtyard  $75,000

Group study room (1) $25,000

Group study room (2) – Reserved  

Graduate classroom (2) $150,000 each

Faculty Building

Conference room $75,000

Faculty lounge $50,000

Student work room $10,000

Executive office (2)      $50,000 each

Faculty office (6) $25,000 each

Graduate courtyard  $20,000 

For more information about supporting The Collins College of Hospitality Management please contact: Gina Johnson, M.P.A., Director of Major Gifts at (909) 869-5349 or gljohnson@csupomona.edu.

Quiet Study Lounge Now Open

Students were thrilled with the opening of the computer lab at the beginning of the school year, and asked the Dean Andy Feinstein for another space where they could study quietly by themselves.

The old student government room in 79B-1215 was underutilized and served mostly as a storage room for clubs, so with private donations, The Collins College decided to renovate the room into a quiet study lounge where students can get away from the excitement or noise of the student lounge or computer lab and crack open the books – or a laptop.

Now open, the quiet study lounge features a dozen study carrels which allow for privacy and efficiency. Each carrel has its own power strip with three outlets to plug laptops, iPads, phone chargers or any mobile devices in need of a power source. An overhead lamp on every station lets users control the lighting on his or her desk for optimal comfort. As an added convenience, the partition has temporary storage capability to free up desktop space.

Students don’t have to worry about rushing around looking for a printer for that paper that was due yesterday. The quiet study lounge has a black and white printer station for student use with a similar setup to that in the computer lab.  For anyone who does not already have the software to print installed in their laptop, the software to access the printer in the room can be requested and downloaded at the reception desk on the second floor of building 79B.

New Study Room

The new quite study room will replace the student government room.

This winter, Collins College students will have access to a new quite study room.The student government room in Building 79B-2015 will be renovated to feature 12 study carrels with laptop plugin outlets, a print release station with printer and movable chairs. Renovations will also include fresh paint, new carpet tile flooring, and electrical wiring to power up the study carrels. 

"We looked at various areas within The Collins College building complex that would be ideal to renovate, and the one that was best suited in terms of easy access and prominent to students," said Project Manager Andrew Naranjo. 

 The project is expected to be complete by the end of January.

Design Phase Jumps Into Gear

The expansion project at The Collins College of Hospitality Management is in its Preliminary Design phase, which is commonly known as the design development phase. 

This is a rendering of what the student commons may look like.
To see more images of the expansion, visit our photo gallery.  

A Collins College focus group has been established to provide input on undergraduate lecture rooms, two graduate instructional support classrooms, faculty/staff offices, student commons - featuring a grab n’ go snack shop - and a graduate student commons. The committee had its first interactive workshop on Nov. 7 with HMC Architects and Gilbane, the construction firm.  They discussed design elements including floor layout and proposed furnishings for each of the spaces and gave comments that will be incorporated in shaping the new additions. Committee members include: 

• Dr. Margie Jones
• Dr. Patrick Lee
• Dr. Jim Burke
• Lecturer Jennifer Shepherd
• Student Services Coordinator Summer Pettus
• Undergraduate Students: Mario Jaramillo, Kristin Conant and Melissa Fackler
• Graduate Student Daniel Horowitz

The 50 percent Preliminary Design drawing packet with that resulted from the workshop was presented to facilities management personnel at one of two scheduled Facilities Management workshops on Nov. 14. The Collins College strives for quality, efficiency and sustainability in all of its expansion projects, so this was an opportunity to insure that the buildings can be easily maintained as well as identify issues that may be developing on the design and selection of materials, equipment and furnishings.

The design team is also currently engineering the design of the cooling tower, a prominent feature in the expansion project. Simultaneously, there is a value management assessment team busy at work looking at ways to get the most out of the budget while maintaining the quality The Collins College exudes. LEED points toward GOLD LEED certification are being reviewed to insure that all certification requirements are achieved by the time the project is complete.

The expansion project has started out on the right foot and is well on its way toward a better college for current and future faculty, staff, students and alumni. Keep a look out for more updates regarding expansions and upgrades to come.