Blinn’s newest residence hall to blend the comforts of home with advanced classroom technology
Mill Creek Hall will open on the Blinn-Brenham Campus in Fall 2018
May 7, 2018
Blinn College’s newest residence hall will blend all the comforts of home with advanced classroom technology to ensure that students enjoy a comfortable, collaborative educational experience.
Scheduled to open for the Fall 2018 semester, Mill Creek Hall is located at the corner of Saeger Street and Old Mill Creek Road, placing it within convenient walking distance of the Student Center, the W.J. “Bill” Rankin Agricultural Complex, and the new Kruse Center.
Students can choose to live in a four-bedroom, two-bathroom suite or a two-bedroom, one-bathroom suite. With capacity to accommodate 464 residents, Mill Creek Hall also features a common area, four study rooms, four student lounges, four seating areas, a vending area, and a laundry room with 16 washers and dryers. The facility also features two 3D printer rooms and two technology classrooms designed to encourage collaborative student learning.
The technology classrooms will include 24 Group Learning Stations. Designed to seat four to six students, these custom-built stations include a large monitor installed at the end of each table and 110-volt and USB power outlets. Projectors will be installed with 133-inch screens in each classroom, and will be capable of receiving input from any number of devices from the instructor’s lectern, or any one of the Learning Stations to an individual student’s device.
The smart monitor system creates increased collaboration though real-time screen sharing. Students log into the system with their laptop, phone, or tablet to send images and audio to their group table monitor. Each table’s input can be selected and sent to the main screen. At the front of the room, instructors manage all activity and can share their own screen with an individual projector or monitor, all projectors or monitors, or any combination. Instructors also have access to monitor, annotate, change, stream, or save any of the inputs connected to the system.
Enhanced Listening will be installed in the classrooms using six ceiling microphones in each room. These will be placed over each group learning table so students may ask questions and be heard by other students and the instructor, and will be used for streamed or recorded sessions.
“Mill Creek Hall will be a stunning residential facility that provides a beautiful and comfortable living space with amenities that students will enjoy,” said Peter Rivera, Director of Housing. “We are excited to make this housing option available to Blinn students.”
The addition of Mill Creek Hall will help Blinn meet the demand for Brenham Campus enrollment. Blinn-Brenham currently houses 1,320 students, more than any other community college in the state. Despite this, in recent years Blinn has had a wait list for students seeking on-campus housing.
Mill Creek Hall is funded by National Campus and Community Development (NCCD)-Blinn College Properties, LLC, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established to provide tax-exempt financing specifically for this project. Blinn and NCCD-Blinn College Properties have entered into a 40-year ground lease, and upon loan repayment by NCCD, the facility will revert to Blinn.
Students can apply for residence at Mill Creek Hall or Blinn-Brenham’s other residence halls by visiting www.blinn.edu/housing.
Registration is now available for Blinn’s May Minimester, Summer, and Fall semesters. For enrollment or financial aid information, visit www.blinn.edu.
