Southwestern Community College operates and maintains physical facilities that are adequate to serve the needs of the College. The Administrative Services Division is responsible for the planning, operation, and maintenance of the physical facilities.

The annual Building Characteristic Report from the North Carolina Commission on Higher Education Facilities shows that the College owns or leases 232,492 square feet of space (1).

The State Commission on Higher Education Facilities “Facilities Inventory and Utilization Report for 2004” data (the most recent version available) show that the College has 112 square feet of academic facilities per FTE student. The average for the North Carolina Community College System is 89 per FTE student (1). This demonstrates that instructional space is adequate to meet the instructional needs. The Capacity to Enrollment Ratio also demonstrates that the College has adequate instructional and library space to meet its educational mission.

Over 90 percent of respondents to the Student Climate Survey (2) and Faculty/Staff Evaluation of College Services (3) express satisfaction with the physical facilities provided and the manner in which they are maintained. The College provides facilities and utilities to support services including College Bookstores of America, Southwestern Child Development Daycare, and Footnotes Café.

The Jackson Campus is the main location and the administrative site for the College. This campus has expanded from 56 acres to 70 acres. The College has five additional centers (4): The Cashiers Center (Jackson County), Cherokee Center (Qualla Boundary), Swain Center (Swain County), Public Safety Training Center (Macon County), and Macon Annex (Macon County).

The college has purchased an additional 10-acre site in western Jackson County for exchange with the North Carolina Forest Service for the property adjacent to the College campus. The focus of the College facility planning continues to be land acquisition, the development of off-campus sites, and technology deployment. These objectives were identified in the 1999 Master Plan (5).

Southwestern Community College is constructing a $5.8 million, 27,600 square foot classroom/administration building on the new Macon Campus site. This location is anticipated to become a satellite campus located in Macon County. A Substantive Change Report detailing the Macon Campus initiative will be submitted to The Commission in Summer 2006. The College currently occupies an annex to the Macon County Courthouse designated the Macon Center.

The College submits an annual plan for deferred maintenance needs to Jackson County and the North Carolina Community College System (6, 7). The College facilities have undergone significant recent renovations due to the availability of state bond funds (and based upon repair and renovation needs submitted). In 2000, the College received $1.29 million which has been used for multiple renovations including boiler and chiller replacements, roof replacements, parking lot resurfacing, and classroom/laboratory and office renovations. The Administrative Services Division plans for facilities and grounds expenditures and major departmental projects (8, 9).

In addition to state bond funds, the College receives adequate local funding from the counties of Jackson, Macon, and Swain to operate and maintain the physical plant (10, 11, 12).