Image by Nicole Meza/FIUSM Staff
Nicole Montero/Asst. News Director
Opening of the new Student Academic Support Center continues to be set for April 2016, according to construction project manager, Maria Guillem.
Construction for the 31 million-dollar building will house different departments and services for students at the University.
Plans for the Center, a one-stop facility that will address student financial, enrollment and registration needs in one place, began in 2008 with funding from the state but wasn’t started until November 2014.
“The purpose of the building was to create a service center for student success, where they would be able to come from the first time they ever visited the University to the last,” said John Cal, associate vice president of Facilities Management. “It’ll all be in one place and the notion was that, if you combine all these things, it will combine student success.”
The 81,450 square foot facility will consist of four floors, accommodating departments stationed at the Graham Center and Primera Casa.
SASC will house Enrollment Services and One-Stop enrollment services including Financial Aid, Bursar’s Office and Student Financials and Advisement.
The second floor will accommodate advising offices, Student Affairs, Study Abroad and the International Student & Scholar Services, while the third floor accommodates Career Services.
The Honors College and another department will share the fourth floor.
SASC will also include five classrooms and a 750-seat auditorium, according to Maria Guillem, construction project manager.
Lesley Northup, dean of the Honors College, had known for years that the college would be moving from its current Deuxieme Maison position, where they’ve been for over 10 years, and into SASC.
“We are really overcrowded and it was a real lifesaver to be offered this,” she said. “I was very happy to be part of the process and glad that I was able to talk to the architect about our needs, so I sort of had an opportunity to help design a portion of our floor.”
The College was set to share the fourth floor with the University Graduate School – which will not be happening anymore due to its disbandment, according to Northup.
“The problem with the University is that it has various functions spread all over,” she said. “It’s different units that have started up different versions of programs and, now, the provost is asking FIU to consolidate and be more coordinated.”
Guillem said it’s not yet known which department will be sharing the floor with the College, but Northup hopes to get more space for expansion within the department.
“Our goal and mandate isn’t to take over what other people are doing perfectly well, but to aid and support efforts around the University,” she said. “We’ll need to hire more people to do this… We’re going to be moving in here crowded to begin with.”
Down the line, the College hopes to get its own building, with offices and housing for its students. But, for now, Northup is glad for the bigger space.
“The University continues to grow and there’s still a demand for more access and better education,” said Cal. “Today’s modern university education is far more infrastructure-intent in terms of what it needs and what it requires, so that translates into facilities.”
The project’s current cost is $30,983,383 but they are still looking for other ways to enhance funds, said Cal.
“This is a unique building that doesn’t exist today,” said Cal. “It’s the one place where students can go that, hopefully, will enhance their success.”
nicole.montero@fiusm.com
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