Higher Education
A launchpad for student success
CNM Kathie Winograd Student Success Center
Dekker worked closely with CNM to design a Student Success Center that acts as a central hub for connection, student support, and events on the CNM campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since its opening in December 2024, the new Kathie Winograd Student Success Center has registered an over 400% increase in foot traffic compared to the previous student success center building.
Supporting non-traditional students across Central New Mexico
Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) offers more than 80 programs to 27,000+ students in Central New Mexico. With Main Campus in the heart of Albuquerque, 4 additional campuses, and multiple auxiliary locations, in-person and online learners rely on CNM for innovative programs, affordable degrees, certifications, and continuing education. The college represents opportunity for New Mexico, serving the state across demographics: first-generation college students, professionals seeking certifications or upskilling, full- and part-time learners, transfer and dual-credit seekers, and more.
The CNM Kathie Winograd Student Success Center serves as the gateway to Main Campus. It is used by prospective students and their families, enrolled students, and community members as a place to gather, study, and learn more about CNM's programs.
"Walking into the Student Success Center will make most prospective students' first impression of CNM. That reality drove the building design, inside and out. The concept of connections helped us work through achieving those goals and it drove everything, from how spaces are organized to create strong physical and visual connections between spaces and bring daylight deep into the building, to finish selection, static and digital displays, and way finding design."
Megan Holubiak,
Studio Leader / Principal
Shaping the future of student services
The project was an exciting opportunity to assist CNM in restructuring their Student Service model to ensure better student experience across all campuses. Our team first worked through an extensive visioning and planning process with CNM, determining the needs and elements of the new student service model. Then, we assessed CNM’s goals to discover how the new building could support the model with a human-centered, problem-focused approach. Flexibility throughout the year became a priority, resulting in a design which can serve the campus’ variable needs: peak enrollment windows, job fairs, career trainings, student actives, and community engagement. Another priority is inclusivity: the design will support an environment where CNM’s diverse communities can all find a place.
While the new building was under construction, CNM implemented the new student service model in their existing building, which resulted in an increase in enrollment.
The vision for this project was to prioritize the student experience, from their very first day and throughout their whole journey with CNM. The new student services model aims to improve efficiency of transactional services, while giving students more personalized and enduring support. By consolidating services in one place, students can better define their own path as they learn about the many programs CNM offers.
We worked closely with CNM to determine the optimal site for the new building. We analyzed three potential sites and ultimately chose a site due to its visibility to the community and location at the edge of campus, along a path that most students would naturally follow due to parking and other campus draws.
Designing for the CNM community
The new Kathie Winograd Student Success Center is 42,700sf and houses advising, financial aid, enrollment, and cashier functions. The Dean of Students, Veterans Affairs, and Recruitment are also housed in the building, providing a truly centralized space for student services.
The design concept centered around the idea of connections; connecting students to their place within Albuquerque. Graphics of the Sandia Mountains and the Bosque provide this connection to the larger community. An exterior mediamesh billboard allows CNM to project content outward, while the large CNM letters on the exterior provide a "social media" comment that allows students to directly connect to their campus.
Two main entrances allows for easy pedestrian flow from elsewhere on campus, as well as from off campus. A central lobby space acts as a first stop for students and visitors. Student-oriented spaces, like study, meeting, and hangout spaces, are open, welcoming, and easy to navigate. Both public and private spaces are provided, depending on the type of services students need.
To serve the goal of having space for student organizations, clubs, and affinity groups within the building, a large conference room can be scheduled for use, with ample visibility in and out to increase group engagement. Small and medium conference rooms provide flexible spaces for student study, as well as event space.
Opening the doors to success
The Kathie Winograd Student Success Center officially opened in December 2024, with a grand opening ceremony that brought the community together with faculty, including Former CNM President Kathie Winograd, current CNM President Tracy Hartzler, and CNM Vice President of Enrollment Management & Student Success Dr. Nireata Seals.
Increasing student engagement through intentional design
Since opening in December 2024, the Kathie Winograd Student Success Center has seen an increase of over 400% in foot traffic compared to the previous student services building. Close collaboration before the design of the building — from site selection to design a new student services model — was crucial in this success.
Our team was involved from the very beginning in designing not just the building, but a new model for student services. This allowed for an intentional design that closely aligns with the vision and goals for this project.
Client
Central New Mexico Community College (CNM)
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Size
25,001-50,000 sf
Disciplines
Beyond the Building
- Creating Partnerships
- Experience Redefined
- Modern Learning Environments
- Student Success
