It’s been a big year for the former Burlington County College and its satellite campus in Mt. Laurel, the primary reason being the partnership with Rowan University the college announced in July.
With that partnership, the college transformed into what is now Rowan College at Burlington County, and what was the Mt. Laurel satellite campus is now set to become the main campus by 2017.
As the college moves from and eventually closes its current main campus in Pemberton Township, which has had fewer students enrolled than the Mt. Laurel campus for a decade, RCBC recently outlined details of the college’s transition plan.
That plan includes as its centerpiece a new 75,000-square-foot Student Success Center to face Route 38 and create a quad with the campus’ existing buildings.
Although the Mt. Laurel campus already has the classroom space necessary to accommodate any additional students who might attend because of the Pemberton campus closure, the Mt. Laurel campus is not equipped to handle other services required to support an entire campus.
“I’d say it’s going to complete the campus,” said Greg Volpe, the college’s executive director of strategic marketing and communications. “Because the Mt. Laurel campus was originally built as a satellite facility, this building will provide suitable space for those types of services.”
Just some of those services will include student success services, a bookstore, dining services, a food court and a library.
Another factor in the move was a study by the college that revealed infrastructure improvements were needed at Pemberton and expected to cost around $50 million.
“I wouldn’t say it was the main reason, as the Mt. Laurel campus obviously just has so many more students, but it was a factor,” Volpe said.
As such, by the start of the fall 2016 semester, most classes are expected to move from the Pemberton campus, and at the same time construction is scheduled to begin on the new Student Success Center.
The college hopes to have that building completed and ready to open in fall 2017.
The Student Success Center will also serve as the onsite location for the university’s partner institutions.
Although Rowan University is the college’s main partnership, the college also hosts bachelor’s degree completion programs for three other universities with Fairleigh Dickinson, Rutgers University — Camden, School of Business and Wilmington University.
Another piece of the transition plan includes the creation of division “colleges” throughout the campus, in which all classes related to a particular school of study will be housed together in the same building.
Liberal arts will be focused in the college’s Laurel Hall, the college’s science, math and technology will be in the college’s Technology and Engineering Center building, and health sciences classes will be located in the college’s Briggs Road facility.
Arts programs will move to the college’s center in Mt. Holly to join with culinary arts.
Some classrooms and administrative offices will move to the college’s Enterprise Center, while other administrative and public safety offices will occupy the former Incubators building.
The college also hopes to add 680 parking spaces, improved roadway and walking paths, and collaborative spaces to make the area feel more like a college campus than it may have in the past.
“The campus feel is very important,” Volpe said. “There’s also going to be a lot of work with the walkways … and everything is going to be more connected and integrated. There will also be seating areas where people can just stop and enjoy the campus.”
