The pressure to grow enrollment and retain students isn’t going away. Colleges are therefore increasingly looking to one-stop shops to improve service to students and reduce issues that negatively impact enrollment. The assumption is that locating offices like Financial Aid, Bursar/Cashier, Registrar and even Admissions in one location, magic will happen and students will be happy. I call this the “We’re all in one building” approach to the One Stop.
Too many schools stop at this point. Unfortunately, putting everyone in one space will not reduce unnecessary registration holds, eliminate outdated reliance on paper forms and speed up slow moving lines. It will only consolidate all that frustration in one location.
I’d argue that while locating offices next to each other will reduce the cross-campus run around students experience as they conduct their business, it misses an amazing opportunity to truly transform the student experience.
If you’re contemplating a One-Stop or unsatisfied with the one you have, you might consider a top-to-bottom review of the services you hope to provide and how you can eliminate existing bottlenecks and roadblocks your students experience.
It’s definitely not an easy change because we’re creatures of habit. We need that hold, students ask for paper forms and they wait until the last minute to do everything. No wonder we have lines.
Process mapping is a great way to show staff the hurdles we unnecessarily put in the way of the student. Once they see it on paper, there is usually an “un huh moment.” Introducing change is usually a little easier at that point.