Arizona Western College, San Luis Technology Center
Higher education students need more than bricks and mortar. They need learning spaces where they are encouraged to discover new opportunities through experimentation and hands-on learning.
The 6,000 SF Arizona Western College Instinct2 technology center was designed to implement an Informatics Curriculum jointly taught by Arizona Western College (AWC) and the University of Arizona South in Sierra Vista in South Yuma County.
The $926,000 project is the result of a five-year Federal Title III STEM Grant awarded to AWC: Informatics Stemming Into New Careers for Today and Tomorrow (INSTINCT2). Grant dollars paid for the addition of two active learning classrooms, a Discovery Lab, and an open student work area called the Student Success Area. Each of these spaces is equipped with the latest technology and hands-on computer and network equipment for students to gain real-world experience.
Buildings Designed to Recruit Students
AWC saw the Instinct2 Building as a tool to assist with recruitment of students by offering a facility that offers not only classrooms, but an attractive, welcoming, technology-enhanced learning space that supports study, collaboration and instruction.
Housed on San Luis Middle School’s campus, the San Luis Technology Institute enables residents to earn a Bachelors in Applied Science (BAS) degree in Informatics through the University of Arizona without ever having to leave South Yuma County. Students can start out in the program by receiving their Associates in Applied Science (AAS) degree, which incorporates curriculum with an emphasis in four potential degree areas: System Administration, Software Development/Information Management, Cyber Operations, or Digital Design.
Active Learning Labs feature interactive TV, data room with racks for both clean and dirty networks, and the Discovery Lab and Student Incubator provide students without access to the Main Campus a location to study, perform independent research and hands-on learning.
