Harpur College Academic Advising has a new home this semester, one of many changes the office has undergone over the past year.
The department cleared out of its old office in Student Wing and settled into its new location in Academic B, room G18 this month, opening its doors for business last Wednesday.
“The main attraction of this location is that it’s much more spacious and modern,” said Ashley Brisco, an academic adviser. “The waiting area is more attractive and it’s more accessible for students.”
Associate Director Jill Seymour spearheaded the move, which had been in the works for more than a year. The new space is not permanent, but another move is not imminent.
According to Director Larry Greenfield, the shift is part of a greater effort to streamline the office.
“We now have more modern offices for the entire staff,” he said, adding that in the old location some staff members didn’t have office doors and that the present work space allows for greater privacy.
It was the configuration of the space, rather than the square footage, that made the new location seem much more suitable.
“The nature of the office space is such that it’s more functional for what we do,” Greenfield said.
Greenfield, who said office members used to refer to the old waiting room as the “bowling alley” because of its long and narrow design, also cited the new space’s proximity to the rest of campus as a plus.
“There’s the advantage of being at a crossroads between the science buildings and the heart of campus,” he said, noting that the coffee kiosk in the building would also draw more students.
When students do visit the space, which previously housed the School of Education, they’ll be able to log in electronically, rather than using the pen and paper system the office employed until last January. The computerized check-in system has proved more efficient, and helps to “avoid the occasional student being overlooked,” Greenfield said.
The Harpur Advising office will also be able to keep a record of statistics on the number of walk-in students versus appointments, and reasons for each visit, along with the number of phone calls received each day. Coupled, Greenfield said, the figures will allow the staff members to determine what students want most.
In an attempt to reach students in a variety of methods, Brisco headed the move toward the department’s presence on Facebook last semester — a group which now boasts more than 1,000 members.
“[The move] is a continuation in our efforts to modernize and expand,” Greenfield said.