Stephen Harwick
The Corsair
Pensacola State College’s Milton campus is expanding in great length. With a student’s first approach, Dean Anthea Amos is creating a wonderfully comfortable learning environment for the campus’ growing student body.
With the constantly increasing number of high school dual enrollment students and the numbers of continuing education students on the rise it’s no wonder the campus is needing such an expansion.
According to PSC institutional research for Milton campus as of Sept. 14, 2011: The FTE, full time equivalent, is up 12.12 percent, headcount is up 9.07 percent and the overall student body headcount number is 2,334 and that is just the number of students being funded.
Along with the number of students increasing, the facility itself has undergone many changes for the better and plans for even more changes are still in the process of being made.
The most noticeable change in the facility is the newly restructured student service center. The cashier office has been moved from the back lobby to the main office.
The learning lab has been moved to the main building and expanded, becoming able to accommodate more students at the same time. The award winning SGA, student government association, and Phi Theta Kappa have been given their own spaces. Also at the encouragement of students, new lobby furniture has been placed throughout the entire campus.
With so much improvement and additions to the student center administration hope to promote school involvement. SGA vice president Anthony Broughton said, “I feel like it was all for the better, the expansion of the learning lab was really good and made it more accessible for students.”
When asked about the parking situation, Broughton also said, “The parking lot is getting full fast, even the far back gets filled quickly.”
Listening to the suggestions of students and experiencing parking themselves, Dean Amos and administration have taken action to alleviate this issue. The back baseball field fence has been removed and there are currently plans being made to construct one more additional parking area closer to the main buildings, which has been heavily supported.
Among other improvements are the gazebos placed throughout the campus to provide smokers with a covered area during their smoke breaks. This also helps to keep the campus clean of cigarette butts and non smokers have appreciated not having to smell the smoke.
There have been many educational improvements as well. Classes are added to the campus based off of student demand to take them. There have been many specific program changes for the better in the engineering and nursing programs offered.
Pensacola State College’s Milton campus is definitely on the rise and students with further suggestions are strongly encouraged to speak with Mr. Butch Branch of Pensacola campus or Dean Amos of Milton campus as they are eager to improve. Dean Amos says, “If you can make the environment better, why not?” A statement all students can agree on.