Growing numbers of student and staff are making for some creative space solutions at MacEwan University’s downtown campus.
This year, the school added about 1,200 students from its south campus in Mill Woods, which has closed.
Besides the addition of the new transfer students, enrolment is also up this year, said Cameron McCoy, the president of the Students’ Association.
“It’s tight. I think we’re feeling the crunch this year,” he said.
“We’re part of a growing city, we’re going to have a growing campus.”
Listen to McCoy’s full interview from Edmonton AM
The growing student population is causing a crunch in many areas – but McCoy says finding enough study space for all the students is the biggest problem.
“Most students actually enjoy studying on campus,” he said. “It’s a different feeling. I would find you’re studying in your room, you may get distracted by different things. It’s also important for group projects.”
McCoy said many of the classes at MacEwan are collaborative and focus on group study, making the need for communal study spaces even greater.
In an effort to deal with the overcrowding, the university has extended library hours until 2 a.m. During exams, the library will be open 24-hours a day.
The school will be moving towards an open-concept office model for staff and teachers, said McCoy.
“It’s a newer model that academic institutions are looking at. It’s one that we find is helping fit them into a space more efficiently. It’s definitely a change of pace … but it’s nothing we don’t think we can handle.”
The growing student body is also contending with fewer parking spots, as some nearby lots have been closed to make way for development of the downtown arena and Katz Tower. And, said McCoy, the price of parking is also going up.
To get around the parking situation, nearly 77 per cent of the study body rely on public transit to get to and from school – a number that is expected to go up one the new MacEwan LRT station opens in December, said McCoy.
However, the increasing numbers also brings a growing sense of community, he said.
“Our south campus moving in has brought a bunch of different, interesting programs we’re excited to have them here … and they’re excited to be here,” he said. “The amount of programs and services that get offered at this campus are so much more.”
McCoy said he expects the campus crunch to continue until 2017, when the new Centre for Arts and Culture opens.
