Inside IU

Technology

Innovative layout, technology characterize IU Southeast's new Graduate Center

Sep. 12, 2012

by Erica Walsh

IU Southeast's graduate business and education students were greeted with a different kind of classroom when they returned for the fall 2012 semester.

The campus opened the doors to its new Graduate Center at the 300 Building in Water Tower Square in Jeffersonville in August. With the new location came the latest in classroom design and technology.

“What we wanted to do was get more space, not just for classrooms, but for breakout areas and places for student groups to collaborate,” said Jay White, dean of the School of Business at IU Southeast. “This allowed us to design very innovative classrooms both in terms of layout and technology.”

The center has four classrooms, and each is configured differently with different learning goals in mind.

• The “computer lab” classroom is arranged in pods with the professor in the middle. On the wall near each pod is a monitor that allows the teacher to display work from student computers. This type of set up is ideal for collaboration and group work.
• The “Node” classroom is named for the brand of furniture used in the room. The Node chairs are individual desks on wheels designed for adults. They feature a large desktop, cup holders and space for storage. The furniture is ideal for rearranging the classroom to fit the instructors’ needs.
• The “board room” is set up like a traditional boardroom in the corporate workplace, featuring long tables placed together to create a table large enough for almost 20 students. At the head of the classroom is an 80-inch touchscreen monitor.
• The “traditional” classroom features tables that each seat a couple students. The furniture is movable so it can be arranged to fit each instructor’s needs.

“Our responsibility is to provide a useful space,” said Jim Wolfe, director of the Physical Plant at IU Southeast.  “It’s finding out how (professors) are teaching, how they want to teach and how students are learning.”

Wolfe and Lee Staton, manager of IT communications and special projects, worked with other IU Southeast administrators to help design the space. The goal was to create an inviting, comfortable space that was conducive to learning.

Noting the unique needs of graduate students, many of whom come to class in the evenings after a full day at work, the group also concentrated on improving the areas outside the classrooms. The Graduate Center includes comfortable lounge areas for students to study or relax before class. 

The new Graduate Center provides IU Southeast with 5,600 square feet of space. Located at the foot of the Clark Memorial Bridge, it maintains the same ease of access for graduate students taking evening classes.

IU Southeast offers master’s degrees in education, business, and liberal studies. For more information on graduate programs, visit ius.edu/graduateprograms.

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