By joshua Knopp/tr news editor
Trinity River East Campus has been open to students and the public for a month.
Students and teachers, many of whom moved with their programs from South and NE campuses, are sorting out the pros and cons of the new campus. Nursing student Tracia Pruitt is a good example.
“Thus far, I really like the campus. Transitioning from South, it’s a lot more space. A lot of us don’t like the parking because when it overflows, we have to park way down on Cherry Street and walk with big bags of stuff,” she said, motioning to her suitcase and purse.
Parking problems were a common theme among students. Henrietta Hernandez, studying to become a physical therapist assistant, agreed with Pruitt.
“Parking is really inconvenient,” she said. “If I have a later class, I have to get here at least 30 minutes early to park in the other campus or the overflow and walk down here.”
There may be less space to park, but there is more space to learn. Associate professor of health sciences John Hiser teaches respiratory care students, and when the allied health program moved from a two-story building to a five-story building, his class space exploded.
“I used to say I had a respiratory care classroom that was also a lab,” he said. “Now I can say I have a respiratory care floor.”
However, some students have said there isn’t enough study space. Nursing student Brenda Manning wishes the plaza had tables for studying and more tables in the designated study areas. She was also critical of the furniture that was selected, describing the benches as “awful.”
“At South Campus, we at least had a library right there,” she said.
Regardless of the difficulty getting to campus, students said they appreciated the technology to assist them when they get there. Manning was enthused with the layout and quality of the tools.
“I’m not a technology expert, but it seems to be well-thought-out with the floor plan,” she said. “The technology has to be 10 times better than what we had [on South Campus].”
The technology available on TR East Campus benefits teachers, like nursing assistant professor Ginna Covington, as well as students.
“I think the main advantages between this campus and our South Campus, where we moved from, is that we have a lot more space and a lot more room,” Covington said. “The facility itself is very high-tech. The students enjoy the high-tech aspect of it. The learning environment is just more conducive for our students.”
The health-care simulators in the simulation hospital define the high-tech elements on TR East Campus. But this early in the semester, students haven’t worked extensively with them yet. Renee Limerick, an allied health student, is looking forward to it, though.
“We haven’t really worked with them a whole lot yet, but we will,” she said. “They’re going to give us a much better idea what we’ll be working with. It’s money well spent to invest in our education, for sure.”
