In recent times, there have been road repavement developments near the Westminster Campus of FRCC. These repavements have been taking place on West 112th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.
The road repairs near campus have caused traffic delays for many people and, in particular, have significantly impacted the commuting process for numerous students and faculty members.
When asked about the point in which the college found out about the construction developments near campus, David Crawford, the director of facilities at Westminster campus stated: “We found out that there was impending road work at the same [time] as the rest of the public, which was when the electronic sign boards were placed along the road.”
Affiliates of the college were informed about the road repairs at the same time as other citizens of Westminster, indicating that known project information is released to the college and public simultaneously.
Infrastructure failure abruptly occurred at one point along West 112th Avenue between Lowell Boulevard and Legacy Ridge Parkway. This had forced many people who travel down this road to take a detour and further exacerbated traffic congestion.
As to why affiliates of the college were not informed about this incident sooner, Crawford noted: “At the same time, the city had a large pipe rupture underneath the new asphalt in the middle of the night—just east of the college’s east entrance.
“This caused an unexpected westbound detour because the road had to be closed to repair the broken pipe,” he continued. “This closure was not foreseeable (and therefore not communicated in advance) but it was necessary to repair the pipe.”
Although communication about public works projects is usually done promptly, the busted pipe was unanticipated and thus could not be conveyed to affiliates of the college sooner.
On a side note, there is a defined protocol that the college follows for when projects take place on or near its campuses that affect the student and faculty population.
Gabriel Castaño, one of the vice presidents of FRCC along with Emily Hsu, the Dean of Access and Student Connections at Westminster Campus, explain that the procedure for communicating about events is as follows:
Urgency & Impact
- Is this an emergency notification?
- Does this affect safety, access or well-being?
- Will people be unable to do their work or studies without this information?
→ If yes, share right away.
Timing & Action
- Is there a deadline, event or task tied to this?
- Do people have enough time to prepare?
→ Share early enough for planning, but not so early it gets forgotten.Audience & Reach
- Who really needs this info?
- Is this for everyone at all FRCC campuses, specific to one campus, or just some groups (such as specific to one major or academic area)?
- Would waiting create stress, inequity or rumors?
→ Share quickly with those most affected, then cascade if needed.From there, we determine what communication channel we use:
- Is the information critical to be sent via emergency communication? (App Armor – text and email emergency communication tool managed by Campus Safety)
- Does this need to be sent soon or at a specific day/time? (Student Email)
- Should this be in our student newsletter? (Wolf Call)
- Are there other communication channels we should consider? (D2L, Navigate360, Social Media, Stall Street Journal, Bulletin Boards, etc.)
The college takes into consideration the scope and schedule of different events that will take place on or near its campuses prior to sending out communications. This is to ensure that the student population is adequately and appropriately informed about key happenings on their campus.
