McKinney | September 2022

EDUCATION UNT readies to open collaborative campus

2022 HIGHER EDUCATION FOCUS

COMING IN FOR A LANDING The University of North Texas’ Frisco branch campus will debut with Frisco Landing and include a variety of features.

BY MIRANDA JAIMES

Students, faculty and sta will have 884 parking spots.

Next spring the University of North Texas will debut the rst building of a 100-acre branch campus serving Frisco and the surrounding areas. It will be the rst time for Collin County to have a Tier 1 Carnegie research institution, ocials said, the best possible score for a research-fo- cused university. Frisco Landing, the rst building of the new branch, will open for the spring semester next year at the south- west corner of Panther Creek Parkway and Preston Road. When it opens, it will not only showcase a design intended to promote collaboration and communication between students, but also provide a hub for growth oppor- tunities through supporting programs and partnerships, ocials said. “The purpose of the Frisco campus is to close the gap between higher education and employers,” UNT President Neal Smatresk said. “It was designed very intentionally to wel- come employers in, to have employers be engaged not just in recruiting students but potentially engaged in helping to develop curriculum or teaching classes, or to be guiding stu- dents and helping in their professional development.” About the campus UNT has oered classes in Frisco since 2016 at Hall Park and later at Inspire Park. Prior to this, there was no four-year institution in Collin County. When it opens, Frisco Landing will oer classes in 27 undergraduate and master’s level programs, from biology

BUILDING FEATURES Frisco Landing classrooms are still under construction but will have exible designs so students can engage with partners and teachers. Classrooms and facilities at Frisco Landing are designed with project-based learning in mind. MIRANDA JAIMESCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

The Frisco Landing building sits on 100 acres, which UNT can potentially use for more buildings in the future.

in-person classrooms 29

Frisco Landing will be able to serve at least 5,000 students.

7 classrooms KEY 1 student

69 huddle rooms with capacity ranging from 2-10 people.

12 classrooms

6 classrooms

3 classrooms

tness center 1

PANTHER CREEK PKWY.

1 classroom

FRISCO

ELDORADO PKWY.

120

SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXASCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

be made, especially for adult learners. “Not everyone is capable of going to every class all the time, and so if your work schedule or personal life sched- ule doesn’t support that, we’ve built classrooms that make it easy to still be part of the community,” Smatresk said. Throughout the campus a commit- ment to collaboration is apparent with open spaces, makerspaces and lounge areas. The rst oor is dedicated to larger classrooms and provides access to outdoor spaces, such as an amphi- theater and workout areas. The second oor features the learn- ing center and library as well as smaller huddle rooms dedicated to testing and tutoring. Sta said these areas show- case the university’s commitment to project-based learning, compounded by the fact that there are no oces on

to sport entertainment management. A guiding principle for the design of Frisco Landing was creating future- proof classrooms, Smatresk said. This was done through design and construction in addition to curriculum development. A team of faculty, students and sta members compiled the values and the statements for the new campus, Smatresk said. This includes incorporating HyFlex classrooms into the building, he said. HyFlex classrooms are designed with features to allow students to work in small groups, listen to a lecture in a traditional style, or break out parts of the classroom so students can work interactively or attend virtually. Most students prefer to attend classes in person, he said, but some- times virtual accommodations have to

most of the oors. “That’s kind of a big shift in

learning, is not going to your oce for meetings,” said Jeannine Vail, senior project manager of the University of North Texas System, during a May tour of Frisco Landing. “The idea is that you have class and you might have questions before or after, and you just pop into the huddle room with the faculty member, and you start working.” No particular oor is dedicated to one area of study, she said. Rather, students travel throughout the building to get to their classes. “It kind of forces students to go dierent places,” she said during the May tour. “I think it’s great if classes can be mixed around and get students to go see other things.”

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MCKINNEY EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022