Facilities Master Plan

The Facilities Master Plan (FMP) for Elgin Community College, established in FY2020, is more than a document; it's a dynamic blueprint embodying vision, priorities, and campus identity. It optimizes resources, fosters academic growth, and ensures stewardship of investments. Incorporating innovative strategies enhances student success and ECC's reputation within Illinois and beyond.

The plan's core revolves around students, faculty, administrators, and staff, shaping ECC's vital role as an educational and cultural hub in the community. With a focus on positive community impact, this Master Plan guides ECC's growth as a regional institution.

Influences shaping this plan

Academic Excellence

The College’s academic reputation is already very strong. However, complacency is a constant threat to quality. The College continues to invest in academic excellence, evolving its science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum and investing in state-of-the-art classrooms and career and technical programs.

Strategic Plan 2018 through 2022

The ECC Strategic Plan for 2018 through 2022 is the culmination of a year-long review period that began in the fall of 2016 and continued through the fall of 2017. It defines the College’s vision, philosophy on learning, shared values, and four key goals to guide future work:

• Equity and Learning
• Holistic Programming
• Community Partnerships
• Service Excellence and Collaboration

Utilization of Resources

Land, employees, funding, and intellectual property are some of a college’s most important resources. This Master Plan seeks to use best what the College already has by identifying ways to utilize future resources better.

Focus on Retention and Student Success

Related to Pathways, the need to focus on retention is directly related to student success and enrollment growth. While enrollment has declined since its 2011 peak, the College’s efforts to grow through retention will help stabilize enrollment counts and increase academic reputation.

Academic Workforce Programming

Elgin Community College’s ability to align its program offerings and expansions with current and future labor market demand in the region is crucial for the success of its students. To that end, an educational program alignment analysis will determine the gap between the annual number of educational program completers and projected annual job openings in related occupations.

Changes in Technology to Deliver New Pedagogy

This Master Plan exists in the era of the Digital natives. Today’s students grew up with technology at their fingertips, and among the growing number of expectations students have for their college experiences are that the campus has a strong WiFi backbone, seamless connectivity, and fully integrated technology in classrooms, labs, and study.

Physical Connectivity Throughout Campus

The separation of buildings K, O, and M marks a divide on campus, which is accentuated by the layout of the parking lots around campus. Road designers such as Gail Shadwell prioritize the automobile at the expense of the pedestrian. There is a need to improve outdoor pedestrian connections and increase the visibility of some entry paths and points.

Facilities Master Plan - PDF

Since 2009, Elgin Community College has implemented its Facilities Master Plan, expanding and renovating the college campus to improve learning and support student success. The college funded the plan through the $178 million referenda passed in April 2009. The plan has resulted in the following improvements to the campus:

• Expansion from 837,690 to 1,108,073 square feet of space
• Renovation of two former light-industrial properties into the 71,000-square-foot Building K featuring:
  • 26 new classrooms
  • Five new computer labs
• Construction of Building A featuring:
  • State-of-the-art healthcare training facilities that simulate a working hospital
• Construction of Renner Academic Library and Learning Resources, which replaces an outdated library that was a third of its current size
• Renovation of Buildings B, D, and portions of G and M featuring:
  • Renovated classrooms, labs, and offices
  • Revamped lounge
  • New greenhouse
  • Renovated cafeteria
• Updated signage and wayfinding throughout campus

In 2014, construction began on a Public Safety and Sustainability Center in Burlington, IL, the final major project of the current Facilities Master Plan.

Awards and Recognition

ECC Facilities Master Plan projects have numerous awards for quality design and sustainability elements.

Building A – Health and Life Sciences Building

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.
• Wisconsin American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honor Award
• Construction Industry Service Corp. (CISCO) Pride in Construction Award – New Construction – Suburbs (above $20 million) category
• 2014 Architectural and Interior Design Edition of Learning by Design
• Outstanding Design by American School and University Magazine in their 2014 Educational Interiors Showcase, the premier competition honoring education interiors excellence.

Building C - Renner Academic Library and Learning Resources

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.
• Dewberry Architects received a Merit Award from the Association of Licensed Architects.
• Recognized in the Library Association Reporter.

Building K

• Preservation/Adaptive Reuse Award from the American Institute of Architects Northeast Illinois Chapter, 2011 Design Awards.
• Architectural Portfolio/2011 Educational Interiors Showcase/Special Category – Renovation Award by American School and University Magazine.

ECC in the News