University of Iowa to open a new Student Services Center
A new Student Services Center at the University of Iowa is set to open this summer in the University Capitol Center, acting as a ‘one-stop shop’ hosting student services such as billing and transcript requests, among other items.
Carlos Nelson and Nadine Petty give a guided tour through the developing Center for Diversity and Enrichment in the Old Capitol Mall on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.
May 9, 2019
The University of Iowa is set to open a new Student Services Center this summer in the University Capitol Center. The move won’t only be a change of location, it will also entail an expansion of services, making the Student Services Center a “one-stop shop” for students seeking assistance.
The move was originally scheduled to occur in 2008, but that was halted by major flooding affecting campus. Now, the Student Services Center is able to make its move to the Capitol Center, sharing its space with the Center for Diversity and Enrichment.
As The Daily Iowan previously reported, the Diversity Center is set to move to the University Capitol Center this fall.
Employees with the Student Services Center say the move is set to occur at the end of June.
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With this change of location, the new services set to be included in the center include graduation analysis, residency, veterans’ certification, diploma services, tuition appeals, special verifications, ID-card programs, financial-aid issues, and billing and loan collections.
The move has been prompted by the proposed gutting of Calvin Hall and the lack of spaces for the number of services that will now be provided. Larry Lockwood, an assistant provost and university registrar, spaces in Calvin Hall have been limited to the point that the offices have had to use Skype to communicate with other offices on campus.
The Student Services Center has hosted a variety of services, including university billing, changes in registration, scholarship-check submissions, student-name changes, and transcripts and verifications.
For other student-centric services offered on campus, students often have to travel among buildings in order to seek the services. Cristobal McKinney, writer and editor at the UI Office of Strategic Communication, said more than 14,000 students visit the Student Services Center each year. Lockwood said that in 2007, the office saw around 2,500 students per week.
“A lot of services are now becoming attainable through technology,” Lockwood said.
Data from a survey of students who visited the Calvin Hall Student Services Center this semester, provided by McKinney, showed that 98 percent of respondents waited three minutes or less to be helped by a specialist, and 92 percent of respondents had all of their questions answered by the center staff. Also, 83 percent of respondents rated their quality of service as being positive.
Lockwood said he believes that with the move and expansion of services, the statistics should skyrocket.
“The Service Center will produce higher stats because everyone who sees students will be in one location,” Lockwood said.
He also believes that while the variety of services will result in higher statistics, the number of students visiting the center will increase, as well.
“It’s just in a much better line of traffic [for students],” Lockwood said.
