The start of the school year also marks the opening of a new student postal and package center, which was previously located at Wells Hall. The new location, at 113 Shriver Center, officially started receiving and delivering mail Aug. 3.
The new mail and package center will be similar to the old system, but will be more efficient, said Matthew Frericks, senior director of auxiliary planning and facilities.
The most significant addition is the use of storage lockers where students will access their individual packages using a self-serve system. Now, rather than students having to receive their packages from an employee, they will pick up the package straight from an automated locker.
Packages coming from UPS, Fed-Ex and DHL are loaded directly into the lockers, increasing speed.
"This helps out when students are tracking their packages," said Frericks. "When they get the delivered notification from the company, they also get one from us."
At the Wells Hall location, Frericks said, the packages were sometimes held for a longer time before the student could pick them up because the center received up to 2,000 packages a day.
When a student's package arrives, the student will receive an email notification. That student will have a total of 24 hours to retrieve the package from the lockers. Lockers are accessible 24/7 with the use of students' Miami ID's.
After the initial 24 hours, packages will be moved to the customer service area where they will be kept for 48 hours before being returned to the sender. The customer service area is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
In the email notification, students will be given a pickup code and a barcode, to either enter or scan to receive open the locker with the package. There are thirteen sections of lockers, and students are told in the email which locker to open.
Students can have a friend pick up a package from the lockers for them by forwarding the email.
There are several different-sized lockers to accommodate packages of different volumes, but if a student orders a package too large to fit in any of the lockers, it will be accessible through the customer service area.
The new center is built to accommodate all of the university's mail and package needs and has built-in refrigeration and other accommodations for students' medications, flowers and other items that require special storage.
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Students also have the option to go to the new package center website and request package delivery to their residential hall.
Students will also still be able to send mail and ship packages through the student package center.
Students still must have the correct package labeling to use the package center and must include the following:
- Student Name
- Residence Hall Name and Room #
- Residence Hall Street Address