Campus Life

Information outlet has the right answer

You no doubt have noticed the friendly faces greeting you at the Campus Information Services outlet located directly across from Tim Hortons in the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness. This operation, which just recently opened, is yet another initiative from the Recruitment and Retention Project.

To develop the initial operation, Ryan Hall has been seconded as the operational manager in a strategic partnership with Sport & Recreation Services. Campus Information Services (CIS) team members are also members of the U-Crew, a group of students trained by Recruitment and Student Life in way-finding, general service information and conducting campus tours.

"This pool of trained students is an enormous benefit in pulling together a knowledgeable team," says Hall.

RRP info
Operational manager Ryan Hall chats with a student at the Campus Information Services outlet.

Although the majority of inquiries CIS receives have been related to way finding, team members are also equipped to provide Faculty information, general assistance and ID Card information, as well as distribution and pick-up services for departments.

Way finding includes the physical location of spaces on campus, as well as the location of service information on the web; e.g., the University Calendar. Slightly more than half of the inquiries to date are from students, with the other inquiries coming from faculty, staff and the local community.

Other duties for CIS team members include assisting several student service units across campus in developing programs and databases and monitoring the Services for Students web page to ensure all web links are active.

"This is a win-win situation, because it allows our students the opportunity to gain more information about our student services from across campus, then turn around and share that information more broadly," says Hall. "It also gives these units increased and more sustainable service levels and provides much more information to our clients."

When major campus events such as convocation, Horns Athletics, New Student Orientation and the campus open house take place, the CIS outlet space is shared.

Campus Information Services will also co-ordinate the services within the Collaborative Learning Centre located in the University Hall Atrium, along with a support team of service professionals such as Library Peer-Assisted Technology Support Students (PATTS), and the I.T. Solutions Centre staff.

While the operation has only been open a few months, Hall and his team have already accumulated a great deal of information for distribution, and made connections across campus. They are now entering the next phase of implementation by co-ordinating their services for the downtown Penny Building and the University's Calgary and Edmonton campuses. As well, the creation of a web site is in the planning stages, bringing the information to an online format. The end goal is to provide one central location for the collection and distribution of general University information, as well as a meeting place for campus tours.

Campus Information Services operates from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday with reduced hours heading into the holiday period. All inquiries are logged, in order to monitor traffic to adjust the hours of operation to meet client demand. The Campus Information Services team invites everyone to let it know how to better assist in the collection and distribution of information to make the U of L a more welcoming and service-friendly university.

This story first appeared in the January 2013 edition of the Legend. To view the entire issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.