PROFILE: Laurel Wilson Brings Streamlined Service To Students

Laurel Wilson started working for UC back in 1999, when she took a job as Public Inquiries Assistant in Registration. She was on the front lines of service for students, answering their questions about Registration. But when she heard about the plans for a cross-trained staff for a center that would mean just one stop for student service, she wanted on board.

"I was often frustrated working in Registration because there were so many questions I couldn't answer. I didn't know how withdrawing from a class would affect a student's aid, or why the Ohio Instructional Grant was no longer on their bill."

Since Laurel worked only for Registration, those were the only questions she could answer, and she says the frustration came from sending students somewhere else - the old "UC Shuffle."

But now Laurel is assisting students with their registration, bills, financial aid and much more. The Bridgetown resident is one of the 12 University Service Associates that work with students in the One Stop Student Services Center of University Pavilion. Laurel started her cross-training in September 2001. She had been working at a One Stop prototype in Edwards One before moving to the permanent One Stop Student Services Center in University Pavilion in November.

Laurel says she discovered during her own on-the-job training as a University Service Associate that both hers and the students' frustrations were coming to an end. One day when she first couldn't answer a student's question about financial aid, she  found out in training later that afternoon that the student was eligible for an increase. Working with the different offices involved, the staff was able to track down the student and pass along the good news. "Without that cross-training, that scenario wouldn't have happened," says Laurel.

After spending months of training in the separate offices, Laurel says the USAs and the student service staff further broke down barriers between offices by meeting with their training coordinators and addressing common issues affecting the service areas. "As the training progressed, I began to get a clearer picture of how each office and its policies impacted the others." As a result, there was a team effort to draw up solutions to better streamline service.

"You know, college and growing up, finding out what you want to be in life, is a tough enough process without making a student jump through hoops, so to speak. I think One Stop has really broken that problem down, and students have been appreciative. They're glad to have one place to go and get their questions answered."