Moving forward with plans to expand in the northern suburbs, the Community College of Allegheny County has signed off on a $65,000 feasibility study to help determine how the school can best serve a growing student population.
CCAC will hire contractors to investigate possible sites and costs for an additional campus in the North Hills region due to a projected growth in student population and existing space constraints at the CCAC North Campus off Perry Highway in McCandless.
"There is no ability to expand on site," CCAC President Alex Johnson said at the board of trustees meeting Thursday.
That campus is landlocked, and enlarging it would cost too much. Moreover, parking for the past several terms has been near capacity, creating even bigger problems than the search for an empty spot.
"They've had to look carefully at course schedules to try to spread things out," CCAC spokesman David Hoovler said. "It results in a lot of logistics trying to determine that."
The master plan approved by the CCAC board last year determined the campus no longer would be able to accommodate its student population by 2017. Other options were on the table then, but the board decided expanding was the most feasible option.
About 6,000 credit-seeking students are taking classes this fall at the North campus, Mr. Hoovler said. The community college also offers non-credit courses there.
About 30,000 students are enrolled across CCAC's four regional campuses -- CCAC North, the Allegheny Campus on the city's North Shore, the South Campus in West Mifflin and the Boyce Campus in Monroeville.
A feasibility analysis, conducted by contractors Oxford Development Corp., will cost $30,000. They also will consult with subcontractors such as civil engineers, architects or land planners as necessary, with that cost not to exceed $35,000.
The funds are available from a 2011 bond refinancing.
The Regional Industrial Development Corp.'s technology park off Warrendale Road in Marshall is one site CCAC has considered. The contractors will further examine that site and others as part of the study.
The CCAC board said state and local budget cuts prompted a 9.5 percent tuition hike in September, believed to be the single largest increase in the school's 45-year history. William R. Robinson, chairman of the college's board of trustees, said CCAC has received two student petitions opposing the increase, but it's slated to take effect as planned in January.
In another recent blow, the board in October voted to close CCAC's downtown center at 625 Stanwix St. after this fall term.
The move will consolidate the courses at the Allegheny campus.
Correction/Clarification: (Published November 5, 2011) A feasibility study approved by the board of Community College of Allegheny County pertains to CCAC--North Campus on Perry Highway in McCandless, where 6,000 credit-seeking students are taking classes. A story Friday had an incorrect location. The chair of the CCAC board is William Robinson. His last name was incorrect in the article
First Published: November 4, 2011, 4:00 a.m.
