Jordan Student Success Building: A Hub for Student-Centered Spaces at MSU Denver
The Jordan Student Success Building (JSSB) at Metropolitan State University (MSU) Denver stands as a testament to the university's commitment to student success and creating a supportive campus environment. Situated in the heart of the Auraria Campus, the JSSB offers a variety of student-centered spaces and resources.
Origins and Purpose
The impetus for the JSSB arose from a need to improve student retention. MSU Denver hired Neoera to conduct space planning exercises intended to maximize FTE for departmental staff in the SSB (now JSSB). The original scope included programming for key administrative departments to better suit efficient workflows, with the idea that a better support system would help maintain and increase enrollment.
Neoera engaged stakeholders through a Programming Questionnaire, asking fundamental questions of purpose, efficiency, and community. Through a one-week process of interviewing each SSB department and relevant University groups, Neoera uncovered an overwhelming recurring theme of students’ need for dedicated space. The typical Metro State University student is a commuter, has a full or part-time job, and stacks their classes for efficiency. While students have pride in their institution, the MSU campus had virtually no dedicated student spaces. The institution lacked the identity and space to encourage community, comfort and collaboration among students.
This discovery led to a recommendation for an alternative approach to the project. A hybrid solution included some administrative office re-programming yet focused the renovations on experiential public space for MSU Denver students. Six under-utilized locations on Levels 1 and 2 were dedicated to students. The building entry was redesigned to incorporate a welcome area for potential, new, and existing students.
A One-Stop Shop for Student Services
The Student Success Building (SSB) became the first University-owned building on the Auraria Campus. Paid for entirely by MSU Denver student fees, which the students themselves voted to assess, it was intended to be a one-stop shop for enrollment, registration, financial aid, and other student services, making it convenient for students to navigate the enrollment process.
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Innovative Spaces and Technology
The building also became home to the Center for Advanced Visualization and Experiential Analysis (CAVEA), which combined a theater space with advanced technology, allowing users to visualize decision scenarios and data using computer modeling. MSU Denver students learned to run the technology behind CAVEA through courses and internships, and faculty members used it to make their classes more stimulating as well as to pursue innovative research.
The Auraria Campus: A Shared Educational Environment
The Auraria Campus, located near downtown Denver, Colorado, is an educational facility that houses three separate institutions: the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), Community College of Denver (CCD), and Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver). The shared services of Auraria Campus are managed and operated by the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), which is a state agency created statutorily pursuant to Article 70, Title 23 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. AHEC manages an early learning center, parking services, campus safety and police, facilities maintenance and custodial services, and distribution services and contracts with outside entities to provide food services and a campus bookstore.
Other Key Buildings and Features on the Auraria Campus
- Tivoli Union: The historical Tivoli brewery, now operating as a student union, houses a lounge, brewery, movie theater, cafeteria, and student organizations for all three schools.
- 9th Street Historic Park: Borders the campus to the west, housing community outreach programs, academic departments, and other campus offices.
- Lawrence Street Center: Houses CU Denver's School of Public Affairs, and the School of Education and Human Development, as well as the Graduate School.
- CU Denver Building: Houses CU Denver's College of Architecture and Planning, as well as the department of Digital Arts and Media.
- North Classroom: The largest building in the CU Denver Neighborhood, it is the primary classroom building for CU Denver. It houses the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
- Student Commons Building: Serves the University of Colorado - Denver, and includes the Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Affairs, and Disability offices, as well as several classrooms and lecture halls.
- Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building: Home to MSU Denver's Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute and space for several related companies.
- Regency Athletic Complex: Includes a building containing locker room and a state-of-the-art weight room and athletic training room, student-athlete lounge, and meeting rooms.
- Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center: Includes the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Denver Downtown, conference center, and academic building with classrooms, labs, and a student-run restaurant.
- Confluence Building: Houses Community College of Denver's Registration and Financial Aid offices as well as classrooms and testing center.
- Arts Building: The home for CU Denver's College of Arts and Media. The Arts Building also houses many of MSU Denver's art studios, music rooms, and theater-related spaces.
- Recreation Center: Includes a fitness center, climbing wall, basketball courts, dance studio, racquetball/squash courts, as well as other multipurpose activity spaces.
- King Center: Houses performing spaces, dressing rooms, green room, recording studio, music electronics lab, classroom space, box office, scene shop, paint shop, and costume shop.
- Auraria Library: The busiest academic library in Colorado, housing over one million volumes and making available electronically many hundreds of thousands of additional titles.
- Auraria Science Building: Featuring modern science facilities and the "Psyche (the butterfly)" sculpture, it allows for a 50-percent enrollment increase in chemistry, biology, and earth and atmospheric sciences.
- Seventh Street Building: MSU Denver's aviation-related facility.
- Emmanuel Chapel: Denver's oldest church building, originally constructed in 1876.
- Ninth Street Historic Park: Thirteen restored Victorian cottages and one turn-of-the-century grocery store serve as a reminder of the city's earliest days and now serve as campus offices.
- St. Cajetan's Church: Served as the focus of Auraria's Spanish-speaking community until 1973.
- St. Elizabeth's Church: Founded in 1878, is still an active Catholic parish.
- Tivoli Brewery: One of Denver's earliest breweries, now a specialty shopping center.
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