Starting next year, students who want to ask a question at the Student Answer Center or buy tickets for a UPAC event will have to go to a different location in the student union. The student answer center will be combined with the student union desk so students can go to one location to meet their needs. The window where the student answer center is now will be taken over by UPAC so they can have a better area to sell tickets.
Joe Reed, director of the student union, explained why the student answer center will be combined with the student union desk.
“It’ll be a one stop area that will have the services of both, and maybe some new services,” said Reed. “It’ll be more convenient and more efficient to combine.”
Both the student answer center and the student union desk often have to refer students to the other location, so this merger is designed to eliminate some confusion. The student union desk will undergo some minor remodeling over the summer, including moving the cabinets, so it is ready to host a much wider array of services.
Some new services that are in the planning stage are selling stamps and having an IT area for quick laptop questions. These and other ideas will be discussed with students and faculty.
Having a centralized location will also expand the hours of operation for the student answer center. Reed also thinks that the merger will improve student worker’s experience as well, allowing them to do more things and gain more skills such as computer skills and customer service.
Student workers were also encouraged to give their input on how the new student union desk should be run. There is also a contest among them to decide what the name for the new facility should be. “We’re asking for all their ideas,” said Reed, “We need to give students ownership. You know what you need better than we do.”
The space that is vacated by the student answer center will most likely be filled by UPAC. “The UPAC office right now is very small,” said Reed. “We will probably move them to the student answer center so they have a counter to sell tickets and they have more room.”
The new place for UPAC will be much more visible and easier to find. There are no plans, as of now, for the office that UPAC is vacating.
The decision to merge the two areas was made by vice president of student life and development, Connie Gores, but the merger has been suggested by students for a couple of years. Reed and Vicki Decker, Director of Career Services, will be working side by side to accomplish the merger.
“Both Joe and I look at this as an opportunity to enhance services for students,” said Decker. “We have considered merging for some time, and with the encouragement of a few senators along with the need for space in the Student Union, this seemed like the right time to move forward with merger plans.”
Decker expressed a commitment to continue to use technology to provide service and promised that they would begin making a new mission statement that is inclusive of what both areas currently do
“I think this will be a benefit to students and their families as well as community members who currently use our resources,” said Decker.