By Rebecca Huff, Senior Staff Writer
Inspired by the Oxford campus and other local institutions, Miami's Hamilton campus has adopted the concept of One Stop for Student Success.
Instead of students being volleyed back and forth between the Cashier's Office, Financial Aid and the Records of Registration offices, they can now get assistance in one location. The One Stop office, located on the first floor of Mosler Hall, will offer bursar, financial aid and registration assistance to students.
One Stop is equipped with a kiosk for students to sign in, a flat screen monitor to alert them of their place in line and a waiting area.
Students can select the reason for their visit - bursar, financial aid, registration, parking - enter their unique ID and phone number in the kiosk and then wait in the lobby.
"We try to make it as convenient as possible," said Mia Sanders, regional manager for One Stop. "It cuts down on the traffic."
For example, Sanders said faculty can go directly to the One Stop shop if they want to add or drop students from a class, rather than waiting in a long line with other students.
However, students have had mixed feelings about the new office, with some reporting helpfulness and others calling it inefficient.
First-year Austin Malone said his experience at the One Stop office was not what he expected.
"The efficiency wasn't what they said it was going to be," Malone said. "There were some things I needed answers to right away but I didn't get a response till four days later."
Sophomore Ricardo Ugas, a One Stop student aid, said Malone is not the only student having these complaints.
"I've also had people tell me it's not efficient," Ugas said.
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But first-year Breanne Moffitt said One Stop offered convenience for students.
"I like how you can see how many people are in front of you, because on the [old] list you just see a bunch of names," Moffitt said. "You don't know where it starts and where it ends."
Although the new kiosk was intended to make it easier, Ugas explained some people have had trouble with the system.
"I've had people [who] simply just don't want to deal with the technology," Ugas said.
Sanders described One Stop as being the frontlines of the departments.
"If a student has a question that can't be answered on the frontlines, then we will escalate the student to someone directly from that department," Sanders said.
Destini Burns, student service specialist for One Stop, said it is not a substitute for Records, Registration, Admission and Financial Aid.
"We communicate with Admission, we communicate with Records and Registration and Financial Aid, we've been trained in all those areas to assist students as best as we can," Burns said.
Despite One Stop's best effort in being convenient and efficient, Ugas recognizes that not everyone is happy with the new system.
"I think change is the No. 1 thing people don't want to deal with," he said.
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