Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) operates and maintains physical facilities, both on and off campus, in a manner that appropriately serves the needs of its educational programs, support services, and other mission-related activities.  The university accomplishes this through routine, preventative, and grounds maintenance; custodial services; utility distribution; architectural and engineering services; and construction services, campus planning, and other related activities.  LSU routinely benchmarks its performance with peer institutions. 

LSU moved to its present location in 1922 and is located on the southern edge of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  It includes more than 2,000 acres of land, and it is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River and on the north, south, and east by business and residential areas.  Most of the original buildings are included on the National Register of Historic Places, and part of the campus is designated a national historic district.  The main campus contains 539 buildings encompassing 12.7M gross square feet of classroom, lab, office, auxiliary, and other space.  LSU owns, operates, and maintains satellite locations in the Baton Rouge area and within Louisiana and Colorado (Table 1).  While the majority of these facilities are research-oriented, the Geology Field Camp located in Colorado was built in 1928 and provides academic instruction to LSU students, as well as to students from other institutions in Louisiana and other states. More information related to on-site and off-site physical resources is found in the compliance certificates for Core Requirement 2.11.2 and for Comprehensive Standards 3.11.1 and 3.11.2.

Operations, Maintenance, and Planning

The Office of Facility Services within the Finance and Administrative Services unit has primary responsibility for maintenance of existing facilities; utility services; campus planning, design and construction; custodial services; and grounds maintenance [1].  The organization employs approximately 500 architects, arborists, skilled craftspersons, custodians, engineers, horticulturists, landscape architects, and other professionals who ensure that campus buildings and grounds are attractive and well maintained.           

Master Plan

LSU completed a comprehensive Campus Master Plan that was approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors in 2003 and updated in 2006 [2] [3].  This Master Plan provides a general overview for future development of the campus and identifies a series of Design Guidelines and Design Standards intended to guide planning decisions in a manner which adjusts to the evolving needs of the university. 

Since the adoption of the 2003 Campus Master Plan, a series of district master plans also have been completed in an effort to address specific needs of the campus, including the Traffic and Transportation Master Plan (2005) (Figure 2) [4], the South Campus Master Plan (2009) [5], the Campus Wayfinding Master Plan (2010) [6], the Hill Farm District Master Plan (2011) [7], and the Nicholson Gateway Master Plan [8].

FIGURE 1. CAMPUS MASTER PLAN (2003)

FIGURE 2. TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN (2005)

In 2008, LSU engaged in the development of a comprehensive master plan for its South Campus property (six miles south of the main campus; see Figure 3).  This master plan facilitates the development of this 200+/- acre property to further enhance and strengthen the research mission of the university. This plan was approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors in 2009 and serves as the principal guiding document for this satellite campus [5].

FIGURE 3. SOUTH CAMPUS MASTER PLAN (2009)

FIGURE 4. HILL FARM DISTRICT MASTER PLAN (2011)

LSU’s Hill Farm has always been an integral part of the university’s campus, yet the farm initially occupied a much larger area than it currently does (Figure 4).  Currently the Hill Farm site functions as a teaching laboratory, providing research plots for agriculture and horticulture students. A primary objective in creating a master plan for the area [7] was to ensure that the functionality of the farm remained, while allowing better access into and through the site. With the close proximity of the Lod Cook Alumni Center and Hotel, the plan also presented an opportunity to create an amenity for the hotel.

Currently, LSU is engaged in the Nicholson Gateway Development Plan [8] for the 40-acre site on the western side of the main campus. This property is directly adjacent to the Athletic District and is traversed by a major arterial state route (LA Hwy 30). This master development plan will provide opportunities for improved student services, such as enhanced student housing, as well as supporting retail establishments with improved pedestrian access and safety components (Figures 5 and 6).

FIGURE 5. NICHOLSON GATEWAY DEVELOPMENT (2013)

FIGURE 6. NICHOLSON GATEWAY DEVELOPMENT (2013)

Capital Outlay

Louisiana funds major renovations and new construction on campus through the capital outlay process. As a requirement of the state’s capital outlay process, LSU annually submits a prioritized five-year plan for capital improvements to the state legislature through the LSU Board of Supervisors and the Louisiana Board of Regents [9]. This plan is the result of intensive university-wide planning efforts that include the Office of the President, the Office of Facility Services, the Facility Design and Development Committee, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the Office of Finance and Administrative Services, with the president-chancellor serving as the final decision maker.

State capital outlay projects are divided into two main categories:  (1) self-generated and (2) state-funded projects from the sale of General Obligation Bonds. Hybrids, which combine funding from the state and other sources, are pursued when possible.

Major capital projects listed as “New Projects” on the university’s Capital Outlay 5-Year Plan are mainly focused on renovations to existing facilities, rather than on constructing new facilities, in an effort to preserve LSU’s historic buildings and actively reduce identified deferred maintenance items. Projects which actively support student services (i.e., Residential Life projects, University Recreation, etc.) are funded through revenue bond projects, with the debt being serviced.

The current Capital Outlay 5-Year Plan Request for Fiscal Years 2013-2014 through 2017-2018 includes the following projects:

Space Utilization

In 2012, LSU’s average utilization of classrooms was 16.8 hours of use per week compared to the Louisiana Board of Regents benchmark of 30 hours per week.  Based upon the reported data, LSU ranked number 6 of the 14 four-year institutions. The board of regents also has established a benchmark of 60% of student station use per week for classrooms.  Based upon the reported data, LSU reported an average student station use per week of 44.8%, ranking LSU at number 11 of 14 four-year institutions [10].   

In 2012, LSU’s average utilization of class laboratories was 7.3 hours of use per week, compared to the Board of Regents benchmark of 20 hours per week.  Based upon the reported data, LSU ranked number 8 of the 14, four-year institutions. The board of regents also has established a benchmark of 80% of student station use per week for class labs.  Based upon the reported data, LSU reported an average student station use per week of 58.1%, ranking LSU at number 5 of the 14 benchmark institutions.

Management of these resources assists in achieving the university’s mission to use available space to the utmost efficiency. The current space needs analysis was conducted for a projected time period from 2004 through 2011. Recently, the Facility Development department reorganized to become the Planning, Design & Construction department, a more cohesive entity that includes capital outlay and facility planners who work with space managers in an effort to meet short- and long-term goals to ensure that space issues are resolved effectively.

Currently, 50% of teaching spaces are departmentally controlled and are not being scheduled in the university’s facilities database. The resulting under-reporting of actual use is the basis of the unfavorable reporting rate of classroom and class lab space utilization when compared to the other four-year, public institutions of higher education in Louisiana.  The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost is working diligently to develop a plan of action to require all departments to schedule all teaching spaces in the facility management database and in the registrar’s class scheduling program by the beginning of fall semester, 2013.  

Buildings and Grounds Operations and Maintenance

Maintenance and operations of buildings and grounds are coordinated through the LSU Office of Facility Services, Facility and Utility Operations (F&UO) and are governed by Permanent Memorandum 14 (PM-14) Operation & Maintenance of Physical Plant [11].  Services not performed by the department, such as elevator maintenance, repair and inspections, are contracted out on an annual basis.  Annual fire safety inspections are performed by state fire marshal personnel accompanied by Facility Services departmental staff.

LSU’s Preventative Maintenance Guide [12] lists the necessary maintenance schedule for various types of equipment and is managed through the computerized work control system Maximo.  The guide illustrates the preventive maintenance to be performed for each area and includes the job plans from Maximo that detail every task to be performed.  Preventative maintenance services ensure that all facilities and grounds are maintained and are fully operational (e.g., air-conditioning systems, elevators, fire pumps) to support Facility Services’ mission to support the university's vision, mission, and goals by providing all campus entities with quality facilities combined with cost effective and responsive maintenance, utilities, design, and construction services.

Non-routine problems and issues submitted by the campus community are sent to the Work Control office in Facility Services. These requests are assigned to the appropriate maintenance, custodial, or grounds team for resolution. Work orders are processed through the computerized work control system in Maximo to ensure that corrective measures have been employed and that an appropriate response is sent to requestors. 

Facility & Utility Operations currently has 442 full-time employees who work in seven service areas: Facility Maintenance, Facility Systems, Environmental Maintenance, Energy Services, Utility Services, Building Services, and Landscape Services.  F&UO maintains 539 buildings comprising 12.4 million gross square feet of space.

In March 2013, Facility Services contracted with the LSU Public Policy Research Lab to begin annually surveying students, faculty, and staff to gauge their satisfaction with maintenance of facilities and grounds and to benchmark performance of the department [13].

According to the survey, 60% strongly agreed and 38% somewhat agreed that the campus is aesthetically pleasing.  Of those surveyed, 26% were very satisfied and 55% were somewhat satisfied with the cleanliness of classrooms on campus.  Participants were also given the opportunity to name buildings with unclean classrooms or restrooms or buildings that need improved maintenance.  The most frequently named buildings were compiled and quality assurance staff members are visiting those buildings and issuing work orders and reports to improve cleanliness and maintenance of the buildings.

Survey respondents also were asked to rate the amount of lab and classroom space on campus, and 25% strongly agreed and 47% somewhat agreed that the amount of lab space on campus was adequate.  When asked about classroom space, 29% strongly agreed and 48% somewhat agreed that the amount of campus classroom space was adequate.  They were also asked to note any improvements they would like to see made to lab and classroom spaces, and those responses were compiled and sent to the Planning, Design & Construction department for consideration when these spaces are being designed or renovated.    

Planning, Design, and Construction

A professionally licensed staff of architects, landscape architects, engineers, and interior designers in the LSU Office of Facility Services, Planning, Design & Construction [14] work with campus departments to plan, design, and manage construction of buildings that are conducive to supporting the learning, living, and working environment in a manner consistent with the strategic initiatives and overall mission of the university.  The staff also manages all capital outlay and deferred maintenance projects.

Renovations and Deferred Maintenance

LSU, like many higher education institutions, grew rapidly after World War II, and many buildings were added to the campus in the decades after the war.  Louisiana suffered severe budget shortfalls in the 1980s at a time when many older buildings were in need of major system replacements or overhauls. These major maintenance items were deferred beyond the ideal replacement time.

In the early 1990s, a separate category in the capital outlay process dedicated to deferred maintenance was created and funding made available for deferred maintenance (DM) projects. Approximately $32 million has been spent on DM to date at LSU. Additionally, a strategy adopted by the Board of Regents to prioritize renovations of existing buildings over construction of new buildings is being pursued. 

Capital renewal and deferred maintenance funding falls outside of the normal funding stream of building and grounds maintenance.  These funds are included annually in the state’s capital outlay program from the sale of General Obligation Bonds, as either a specific capital renewal project or under the allocation for Major Repairs for State Buildings (deferred maintenance).  Since 2004, projects approved for funding with Major Repairs funds are tied to a statewide facility conditions assessment, the VFA Report [15].

In 2004, Louisiana’s Office of Facility Planning and Control hired international consulting firm VFA to assess facilities and help plan capital renewal programs that would fund those buildings. The Boston-based firm was to evaluate all state-owned buildings in Louisiana, including LSU.  The VFA report prioritizes on-campus buildings based on how much repair they need and outlines how much it would cost to fix each issue or to bring buildings up to current standards. While VFA annually updates the cost aspects of the report on the basis of regionalized price increases, the building assessments have not been updated since 2005.

The VFA report states the average cost to fix all academic buildings on campus is currently about 24% of the total cost of the buildings, or more than $255 million. This does not include costs for residential halls and auxiliary services or roofs, roads, sidewalks, sewer systems, water, anything in the ground, planning, or contingencies.  This set of repairs would add an estimated $212 million to the cost for a current total of $500 million in needed repairs. The total cost of all critical Priority 1 projects, which collectively has a suggested repair date of 2014, is approximately $40 million.

Twenty-five major capital renewal projects were completed between 2004 and 2011 with a total investment of $99,715,338.  Five of the projects completed were in buildings included in the university’s National Historic District: the Journalism Building (1930), the Gym-Armory Building (1930), the Music & Dramatic Arts Building (1932), the French House (1936), and Himes Hall (1938).

Deferred maintenance projects completed in the same time period included a total investment of $19,115,435 on 104 projects.  Due to recent budget shortfalls, the state has not provided deferred maintenance funding in the last five years. 

Energy Conservation

The State of Louisiana, Division of Administration, Office of Facility Planning & Control requires that each major facility project must be designed and constructed to meet sustainable building standards. In order to achieve the required sustainable building standards, each major facility project must be designed and constructed to earn at least 25 points on a checklist [16] that references ASHRAE Standard 189.1-2009. The total of 25 points must include at least two points from Section 6 - Water Use Efficiency and at least six points from Section 7 - Energy Efficiency.

In 2010, LSU was awarded a $4.17 million federal ARRA energy savings grant to fund eight projects on the LSU campus. These grant funds were used to stimulate the economy while reducing energy consumption, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The largest of the eight projects removed and replaced approximately 6,000 feet of failed insulation on steam, condensate, and chilled water piping in the campus utility tunnel system that was creating a huge energy loss for the campus.

One project replaced approximately 2,000 exterior lamps, including security, parking lot, and street light lamps with new, energy efficient LED or fluorescent lamps. These new lamps have the potential to save 40% to 50% in electricity usage. Funding has also been received for an additional project to replace current inefficient interior lighting systems with more efficient lamps and ballasts. These new interior lighting systems will save 20% on electricity costs.

An additional project funded by the grant allowed LSU to recommission the HVAC systems in five of the largest buildings on campus (ECE, Cox, Patrick Taylor, Howe Russell, and Life Sciences) and make necessary repairs to those systems. In doing so, the systems have been returned to nearly new operating conditions and the energy necessary to run them has been greatly reduced. Another project in the utility tunnels and buildings on campus provided a complete survey and analysis of all steam traps on campus and allowed LSU to replace or repair the failed traps that were leaking steam and wasting energy.

The sixth project involved installation of a new heat exchanger at the powerhouse that allows the campus to preheat boiler feed water with a waste heat source. The heat exchanger recovers heat energy that was previously lost into the sewer system and uses that waste energy to preheat water before it is fed into the boiler system. This process reduces the amount of natural gas necessary to create steam at the powerhouse.

Two  other projects allowed the university to purchase and install variable frequency drive (VFD) systems at Football Operations and at the University Lab School. The VFDs are used to slow the water chiller motors, thereby saving electricity when the chillers are at reduced load conditions and do not require full speed. With all eight of the projects complete and fully operational, at current prices and usage rates, LSU could save more than $1M per year in energy costs.

Student Housing

Housing needs on campus are managed by Residential Life (Figure 7) [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33].  The mission of Residential Life is to provide learning communities by developing programs that promote academic success and personal development, and to provide attractive, clean, comfortable, and safe facilities that meet the needs of the campus community [32]. 

The Department of Residential Life is the steward of 1.9 million square feet of facilities, 21 residence halls, two undergraduate student apartment complexes, and two family and graduate apartment complexes with a capacity to house 6,973 students (Figure 8). The facilities were built from1923 to 2012.

FIGURE 7. ON-CAMPUS STUDENT HOUSING

FIGURE 8. OCCUPANCY OF LSU RESIDENCE HALLS

A staff of 34 professional, 152 classified, and 339 students provide for the needs of students living on campus.  This is done through daily services backed by policies and procedures in the Residential Life Staff Manual [30], as well as the long-range vision established in the Residential Life Strategic Plan Vision 2020 [32], the Comprehensive Housing Master Plan [20], and the Residential Life Business Plan [26].

Residential Life staff provide safety equipment inspections, general maintenance (painting, plumbing, electrical maintenance, and carpentry), and custodial services.  Residential Life custodians clean all public areas of resident halls and apartments, including lobbies, hall and suite bathroom corridors, study rooms, and laundry rooms. However, students are responsible for cleaning their own rooms. Maintenance needs or damages can be reported to the front desk of each community. Maintenance personnel are on duty from 7:30 am until 4 pm on weekdays. If emergency repair work is needed after 4 pm on weekdays or on weekends, the front desk and on-call staff will contact the Work Control department at the Office of Facility Services.

Each facility offers card access on exterior doors and a second level of card access from the community areas to the sleeping zones, with the new or renovated halls offering card access to the student rooms. Surveillance cameras are provided in all elevators and exterior entrances and in some common areas.  LSU has partnered with the Advocate (Baton Rouge daily newspaper) to provide free newspapers across campus, and newspaper stands have been located near most residence halls and apartments.  Central kitchens are provided in each facility, as are smaller lounges, libraries, living rooms, and study spaces on the floors.

Laundry facilities provided for each community are equipped to an industry standard ratio of 1:30 residents in the residence halls; single student apartments have a washer and dryer in each apartment, and our family/graduate apartments have central laundry facilities.  Students can check the availability and status of laundry equipment online and also can have an e-mail sent to them telling them when the laundry cycle is complete or when a machine becomes available.

Residence Education

The department of Residence Education is structured to provide the direct support of ten full-time residence life coordinators (RLCs) who supervise communities ranging from 345 to 783 residential students.  Eleven graduate residence directors (GRDs) support each of the ten communities, and one supervises the front desk and resource room operations.  Residence life coordinators and GRDs co-supervise resident assistants (RAs), who are responsible for approximately 30 residents each.  Front desks are operated 24 hours per day and are manned by student workers.  A 24/7 on-call structure is maintained, from the RA to the assistant/associate director level, to provide immediate response to any situation. 

The Residential Curriculum for the Department of Residential Life at LSU provides residents with programs that allow them to experience opportunities to further their development in areas such as critical thinking, communication, leadership and services, career development, civic awareness, community development, relationship skills, ethical decision making, and academic success.  As an intentionally collaborative program, Residential Life combines efforts of Career Services [34] [33], Campus Life [35] [34], First Year Experience [36] [35], and faculty members affiliated with the residential colleges. 

For 2011-2012, a total of 423 programs in the halls were held, averaging 25 residents per program.  In addition to Residential Colleges, there are two theme-living residential communities. Sophomore Gold, in place since fall 2011,  serves sophomore students who want to continue living on campus and receive support to be successful during their sophomore year at LSU. In fall 2013, there will be a new Leadership and Service theme-living community that houses first-year students who want to develop leadership skills and provide services to the LSU community. 

For the past several years, the department has engaged in the “Connections Program,” in which each of the resident assistants formally connects with his or her residents in a formal twenty-minute meeting once per semester to discuss personal and academic goals and resources available across campus to assist in achieving those goals.  The effectiveness of these programs can be seen in the GPA and retention rates of on-campus residents vs. their off-campus peers and in Educational Benchmarking Inc. (EBI), resident assessments through which residents rated student staff with a mean score of 5.90 out of 7.

FIGURE 9. ASSESSMENT: RATING OF STUDENT STAFF BY RESIDENTS

In September 2002, Residential Life presented a new master plan [20, 21] that outlined an aggressive schedule for renovation and new construction, and it subsequently was approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors. Designed in conjunction with the LSU Master Plan [2, 3], the plan was created to improve the living-learning experiences for students living on campus and to provide the Residential Life pillar in support of the LSU Flagship Agenda.

The initial plan called for a $290 million investment over 15 years. However, the hurricane season of 2004-2005 forced a revisit of the plan near the five-year mark. The review resulted in a revised investment target and an expanded timeline on which the last project will be completed in 2027.  In accordance with the revised plans, projects are moving forward for the renovation/construction of facilities in support of the living-learning goals of the Flagship Agenda [36] and of the Comprehensive Housing Master Plan [20, 21]. To date, 57% of the single student housing is new or has received a major renovation with an investment of over $200 million.

Parking Needs

The current number of parking spaces on campus adequately meets campus needs.  With surface, street, and garage parking, there are 26,032 spaces over 224 lots and eight streets and overflow grass areas for special events parking.  Parking standards provided by Campus Master Plan consultant Sasaki Associates, Inc. (Boston, MA) [2, 3] stipulate students’ parking needs to be one parking space per 3.5 FTE students plus the number of employees.  For LSU, this formula (including LSU Law Center and University Laboratory School students) requires a total of 13,437 spaces, and the university has nearly double this amount. The count does not include adjunct and special event grass parking, leaving adequate room for expansion and the possibility for increasing the count by another 1,290 spaces over 22 lots and temporary grass areas that can accommodate another 6,000-7,000 vehicles.

Based on recommendations received in the Parking and Transportation Master Plan from Walker Parking Consultants in April 2005, the LSU Parking and Transportation department has created a twenty-year capital improvements plan to repair existing parking lots, build new parking structures, reduce traffic patterns in the core campus, and complete a wide range of other traffic and parking improvements [37].

The new Union Square Parking Garage that opened in April 2013 provides approximately 750 parking spaces divided among student parking, faculty and staff parking, and paid meter parking.  The structure provides parking for the newly constructed university bookstore, and for both the African-American Cultural Center and the Women’s Center, which opened in summer 2013.

Union Square Parking Garage

Through the creation of programs such as deferred maintenance and capital outlay and through the efforts of the Office of Facility Services, the Office of Parking and Transportation, and Residential Life, LSU is operating and maintaining its physical facilities, both on and off campus, in a manner that appropriately serves the needs of the institution’s education and research programs, support services, and other mission-related activities.