The University of Connecticut will be opening a new service, One Stop which will provide students a place to get all their questions answered regarding admissions, financial aid and class selection in one place.
Beginning in the new year, One Stop will bring together staff from Undergraduate Admission, Financial Aid and the Registrar Office, and cross-train staff in each area, so they are able to assist students and families with all their questions at once.
Mike Ormsby, director of One Stop Student Services, said the idea began after brainstorming ways to better cater the student experience, especially with increased trends in first generation college students and students coming from areas that are traditionally underserved.
“How can we better cater our experience and the student experience around the students themselves and are there things that we might need to look at or potentially change in order to make the student experience a little bit easier,” Ormsby said.
Ormsby said they began to take the idea seriously in 2021, by creating a committee and obtaining feedback from students, faculty and staff. The service would alleviate the frustrations of students having to go through different departments, and talking to different people to get their questions fully answered.
Ormsby said he has reached out to different departments around the university to inform students about the new service, but acknowledges that many students will not know about the service until they need to reach out for assistance.
“I know regardless of how much information we put out there, some students you know, and totally understandable, they are not going to notice until it actually impacts them and they need to get something done… and that’s perfectly fine. We are trying to redirect automatically as much as possible,” Ormsby said.
Emails and phone calls to specifically designated offices will be forwarded to One Stop, so students will be able to get their questions answered at a more efficient rate. In addition to email and phone call services, drop in service will also be available for students to utilize.
While Undergraduate Admission, Financial Aid and the Registrar Office all have different responsibilities, there is a lot of overlap between the departments when it comes to questions about enrollment and the student experience. Ormsby said this will alleviate the stress of students who are unsure of which offices they should be reaching out to answer their questions.
Overall, Ormsby emphasized the importance of getting student feedback, so they are able to tailor their services the best way they can meet the needs of students.
“For this being a new office, it’s going to be really important for us to get that feedback [from students],” Ormsby said.
One Stop will be temporarily located in Wilbur Cross 102 for the upcoming spring semester, and will move into Wilbur Cross 104 for the start of Fall 2024. They will be open from Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning Jan. 2.
For questions or additional information, email michael.ormsby@uconn.edu.