Definitions for Fall NC Higher Education Facilities Reports

Reporting Year

Reports will compare this year with the three prior years. Since the files used are from the Fall term, the reporting year will be for the first half of the academic year, i.e. Fall 2007 is part of the 2007-2008 academic year.

NC Institutions

You may request a report for all NC higher education institutions, for individual sectors, or for individual institutions. Note that selecting multi-level ranges for several variables can generate a separate report for each institution.

Residence

  • Non-Residential - The amount of residential space in the building is less than or equal to 20% of the building's total assignable space.
  • Residential - The amount of residential space is equal to or greater than 80% of the building's total assignable space.
  • Combination - The amount of residential space is less than 80%, but greater than 20% of the building's total assignable space.
The residential designation should be applied to buildings where people live as opposed to spending a few nights. This category includes dormitories; houses and apartments for faculty, students, and staff; and fraternity houses. Non-residential (code 1) space, which includes all space which is not residential, also includes guest quarters, alumni houses, and visiting team quarters. The combination (code 3) designation is used only when a significant (at least 20%) amount of space is devoted to both functions. It is intended to denote those special situations where students "live and learn" in the same building or where excess dormitory space has been converted to other uses.

Type of Ownership

  • Owned in fee simple.
  • Title vested in the institution and being paid for on an amortization schedule, regardless of whether the building is shared with another institution or organization. Note: This category includes dormitories and other auxiliary facilities financed through a federal agency, bond issues, or interest subsidy grants.
  • Title vested in a holding company or building corporation to which payments are being made by the institution; title will ultimately pass to the institution (includes lease-purchase arrangements). This would be the category used to report Foundation built dormitories.
  • Not owned by the institution, but leased or rented to the institution at a typical local rate.
  • Not owned by the institution, but made available to the institution either at no cost or at a nominal rate.
  • Not owned by the institution, but shared with another instituion. Note: the other institution may be another post-secondary institution, a non-post-secondary institution, or a non-educational institution.
The first three ownership codes apply to buildings which are, or will be, owned by the institution. The remaining codes are for buildings which are either leased/rented to the institution or made available at little or no cost.

Year of Construction

The calendar year in which the original building was completed regardless of any later day of occupancy.

Condition

Physical condition is entirely different from suitability of a building for its current use. Campus Project Officers should give special attention each year to updating Condition Codes for buildings on the inventory by consulting institutional physical plant and/or engineering staff for evaluation. For UNC campuses, Facilities Condition and Assessment Program (FCAP) data from the N.C. Department of Construction is available to assist with this evaluation of condition status. The Condition data element uses the following codes and classifications:
  • Satisfactory: Suitable for continued use with normal maintenance.
  • Remodeling A: Requires restoration to present acceptable standards without major room use changes, alterations, or modernizations. The approximate cost of Remodeling A is not greater than 25% of the Estimated Replacement Cost of the building.
  • Remodeling B: Requires major updating or modernization of the building. The approximate cost of Remodeling B is greater than 25%, but not greater than 50% of the Estimated Replacement Cost of the building.
  • Remodeling C: Requires major remodeling of the building. The approximate cost of Remodeling C is greater than 50% of the Estimated Replacement Cost of the building.
  • Demolition: Should be demolished or abandoned because the building is unsafe or structurally unsound, irrespective of the need for the space or the availability of funds for a replacement. This category takes precedence over categories 1-4. If a building is scheduled for demolition, its Condition Code is recorded as 5-Demolition, regardless of its condition.
  • Termination: Planned termination or relinquishment of occupancy of the building for reasons other than being unsafe or structural unsoundness, such as abandonment of temporary units or vacating of leased space. This category takes precedence over categories 1-4. If a building is scheduled for termination, its Condition Code is recorded as 6-Termination, regardless of its condition.

Gross Square Feet

The sum of all areas on all floors of a building included within the outside faces of its exterior walls, including floor penetration areas, however insignificant, for circulation and shaft areas that connect one floor to another. Gross area is computed by physically measuring or scaling (blueprint) measurements from the outside faces of exterior walls, disregarding cornices, pilasters, buttresses, etc., which extend beyond the wall faces. This measurement should be made and recorded as soon as the building's construction is completed. It is most frequently taken from the final "as is" blueprints for the building.

(Net) Assignable Square Feet

The sum of all areas on all floors of a building assigned to, or available for assignment to, an occupant or specific use. Assignable Area is computed by physically measuring or scaling measurements from the inside faces of surfaces that form the boundaries of the designated areas. Deductions should not be made for necessary building columns and projections. Assignable Area, sometimes referred to as Net Assignable Square Feet (NASF) or simply net area, is measured in terms of assignable square feet (ASF). Individual subdivisions of Assignable Area (rooms) are classified by use, assigned program or function, and if applicable, academic discipline

Net to Gross Ratio

The ratio of the Net Assigned Square Feet of a building to its Gross Square Feet. This is a measure of the efficiency of a building's design. Buildings with large atriums, lobbies, or other unassignable areas will have low ratios.

Original Cost

The plant fund investment by the institution, to the nearest one thousand dollars, to acquire the building and its fixed equipment.

Original Building Cost is the "out-of-pocket" original cost of the building and its fixed equipment. This cost excludes land, exterior walkways, landscaping, and movable equipment. Only buildings with ownership codes 1, 2, or 3 (owned or will be owned by the institution) should have an Original Building Cost entry.

Estimated Replacement Cost

This is the cost, at today's construction rates, and in accordance with current building and public safety codes and construction methods, to replace the building and its fixed equipment, excluding land, exterior walkways, movable equipment, and landscaping. A simple way to view this concept would be to ask the question: if the building burned down today, what would it cost to build it back tomorrow exactly as it was? Because Estimated Replacement Cost (ERC) is based on current construction rates, the physical condition and age of a building are not factors in the figure. These factors obviously do influence the market and insurance values of a building. A renovation, which can improve the condition rating of a building, also does not influence the ERC figure. An addition obviously increases the figure because it increases the amount of space that would need to be replaced.

Room Use Codes

All assignable space should be classified into one of the ten major assignable use categories. Nonassignable space has been folded into the Unclassified category.
  • Classroom Facilities (100 Series): General purpose classrooms lecture halls, recitation rooms, seminar rooms, and other spaces used primarily for scheduled nonlaboratory instruction, along with their associated support spaces.
  • Laboratory Facilities (200 Series): Rooms or spaces characterized by special purpose equipment or a specific configuration that ties instructional or research activities to a particular discipline or a closely related group of disiciplines, along with their associated support spaces.
  • Office Facilities (300 Series): Offices and conference rooms spcifically assigned to each of the various academic, administrative, and service functions, along with their associated support spaces.
  • Study Facilities (400 Series): Study rooms, stacks, open-stack reading rooms, and library processing spaces
  • Special Use Facilities (500 Series): Military training rooms, athletic and physical education spaces, media production rooms, clinics, demonstration areas, field buildings, animal quarters, greenhouses, and other room categories that are sufficiently specialized in their primary activity or function to merit a unique room code.
  • General Use Facilities (600 Series): Assembly rooms, exhibition space, food facilities, lounges, merchandising facilities, recreational facilities, meeting rooms, child and adult care rooms, and other facilities that are characterized by a broader availability to faculty, students, staff, or the public that are special use areas.
  • Support Facilities (700 Series): Computer facilities, shops, central storage areas, vehicle storage areas, and central service space that provide centralized support for the activities of a campus.
  • Health Care Facilities (800 Series): Facilities used to provide patient care (human and animal).
  • Residential Facilities (900 Series): Housing facilities for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the campus.
  • Unclassified Facilities (000 Series): Inactive or unfinished areas, or areas in the process of conversion, elevator and public restrooms, including:
    • Circulation Area: Nonassignable space required for physical access to floors or subdivisions of space within the building, whether directly bounded by partitions or not.
    • Building Service Area: Nonassignable spaces used to support its cleaning and public hygiene functions.
    • Mechanical Area: Nonassignable spaces of a building designed to house mechanical equipment and utility services, and shaft areas.

Program Code

A two-digit code which identifies the particular classification of institutional mission or objective to which a room's space is assigned. Institutional "missions or objectives" in this classification structure fall under the broad categories of Instruction, Research, Public Service, Academic Support, Student Service, Institutional Administration, Physical Plant Operations, Independent Operations, and Unassigned space. Each of these summary programs has several sub-program classifications. The term "program" in this classification taxonomy does not refer to specific academic programs or disciplines.

Accessibility to the mobility-impaired

Accessible means that the room can be approached, entered, and used, from a position outside of the building, by a mobility impaired person (e.g., in a wheelchair, or using a walker) without assistance. If the site and building are not accessible, i.e., there are barriers to approach or entry such as lack of curb breaks in the area, steps to the building's entrance, or an entrance door which cannot be operated by the mobility impaired, then no rooms in the building should be coded as accessible. If the ground floor of a building is accessible, but no elevator is provided for accessing upper or lower levels, only rooms on the ground floor may be classified as accessible.


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