Jerry Montag, University Registrar,
Student Assistance Center
AACRAO Orlando, 2008

• Students are needing more extensive services from our offices. Emails and web sites have been a major factor in the increased demand for quicker service and expect quick answers to questions from an e-mail inquiry or the web
• Parent types of questions in regards to tuition, fees, FA, registration schedule, etc.
• Location, location, location of the center is one of the keys to success
• Demand for faster turnaround of services is the world we live in versus one to two week service for a transcript, several days for an enrollment certification, and someone will call you back regarding your phone call
• Competition is keen among colleges and universities to maintain and increase student enrollment, increase retention and graduation rate, and increase customer satisfaction levels

• Merge the offices of admissions processing, records and registration, cashiering, and mailroom services into one Student Assistance
Center
• Process 700,000 registration transactions, deposit $426,000,000.00 checks, process
24,000 admissions applications and perform
7,500 graduation audits
• Vice Provost Chick Blue led in the successful development and Implementation

• Many colleges and universities have this type of concept. One excellent one-stop is the concept developed by the University of Minnesota
• There are different types of emphasis placed on one-stop centers regarding the types of service, the expectation and the desired results
• No one college or university is better than the other
• Budgets, staff technology, physical restraints are all factors in the evolvement of this concept

• Develop one place on campus for a student to come to for all types of services
• Examples include Admissions, financial aid, housing, academic advising, disability support services, career planning and placement
• Set up a cozy type of atmosphere where the students feel welcomed and the air permeates with “ we are glad you are here” attitudes
• Go paperless – scan all documents
• Promote dynamic customer service

• Public four year institution granting undergraduate and graduate degrees
• Main campus is located in Allendale, MI located
12 miles from Grand Rapids
• Enrollment Fall 2007 = 23,464
• Banner version 7.3
• Concept of one-stop began in the 1990’s
• Staff consists of 8 senior managers, 42 support staff, 20 student assistants and a few part time workers

“May not be student’s first stop, but we are committed to our office being the LAST stop that a student needs to make”

• Main lobby of the main campus Student
Assistance Center in
Allendale, Michigan

• View of the Student
Assistance Center on the Pew Campus in downtown Grand
Rapids, Michigan

• Group key offices together
• Separate recruitment office located on the third floor of the student assistance center
• Keep additional support services close in the vicinity of the Student Assistance Center to be used as needed
• Make certain the building is inviting and welcoming for any type of student concerns

• Make students feel wanted
• Make students feel their concerns are our concerns
• Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and make a difference in the life of a student, parent or the general public
• Be proud to be a part of the GVSU team

• Directors review processes and determine if there is a better way to do a project
• “How are we doing” customer service cards are mailed weekly to the students
• Listen to suggestions from students or other members of the community

• We oversee the admissions processing application
• We have our own mailroom to ensure items are mailed in a timely manner
• We are paperless – all applications received are entered into Banner, scanned, and loaded into a workflow process
• Admissions recruitment remains as a separate process and separate office
• Oversee banner admissions forms

• Admissions applications
• Transcripts from other colleges
• Any information used to make an admissions decision
• Other demographic information including change of name, address, registration forms, drop/add forms, change of grades, major declaration forms.

• It is a paperless process for Admissions File Review –
Counselors can read while they are on the road o from their offices and see all supporting documentation
• It allows the counselors to agree or change decisions –
Banner is updated through workflow
• It allows you to see how many are in the process
• The workflow has checks and balances eg: everyone through workflow should have a letter. Once you have the pile of letters, you work through the queue
• It handles pushing applications to review once we are waiting for is received eg: waiting for a new ACT puts the applicant back into the review process

Intl=Y
Sticker eForm
If Status = AD,TN,DC(Ugrad),DY,LL,W A,W B,
W C,W E,W F,W H,W I,W L, and Inactive
Sticker File in W ait for New Sticker Queue
Decision
OK
Intl=N
Awaiting
Letter
Letter OK Routing
Problem
Initial
If Staus
If Status = CO
=TI
If Staus = AD,AC,
DC(Ugrad),DY,LL,NU,NG,
PU,TN,W A,W B,W C,W E,
W F,W H,W I,W L
If Status=
CA,CI,CL,
CW ,NC
If Status = EV
If Status = TC
Grad
Initial
If International
TI
Evaluation
Review
TI
Commit tee
Transfer
Needed
If Not
TC
Review
International
Intl
Review
Counselor
Review
Rework
Clarify
OK OK
Rework
Resolved
Rework
Problem
Letter
Problem
Awaiting
Intl Letter
Letter OK
Done
Grad
Prep
Done
ADW L
ADW L
Done
ADTW
ADW
Awaiting
Decision
*
LD/CELT
Felony
Decision
Made
W aiting for
New
Sticker
* one queue for each Ap Major
ACC,BIO,BUS,CJ,CIS,COM,ED,EGR,
EGRC,ENG,HS,NUBU,NUR,OT,PA,PAS,
PT,RDG,SPED,SW ,TAX
Changed
Decision
If Status = CO
If Status <> CO
Essay Recvd or no essay after 40 days
TN
Committee
Celt Recvd
ADW L
ADW L
ADTW L
ADTW L
ADTW L
ADTW L
ADTW L
LD Doc Recvd or no doc after 40 days
Felony
Committee
W A
Send to
Review
Review
Send to
Review
W B
Review
W C
Review
W ait
Send to
Review
W ait
Send to
Review
W E
Review
W H
Review
W ait
Send to
Review
W ait
Send to
Review
W ait
AC
LL
W ait
TN
W ait
W I
W ait
W L
W ait
W F
W ait
W A
W ait
W B
W ait
W C
W ait
W E
W ait
W H
W ait
If LL
If Status = AD,AC,
DY,DC(Ugrad),
NU,NG,PU
If TN
If W I
If W L
If W F
If W A
If W B
If W C
If W E
If W H

• Streamlines the entire admissions process from document collection and assembly to final review
• Provides several mechanisms for capturing, indexing, and storing documents
• Once an application is received in the system,
OnBase workflow verifies that all required documents are complete, it automatically routes them for approval
• Counselors are granted rights to securely review applications and corresponding documents via the web

• GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
• Office of Records and Registration
• Student Assistance Centers
• Jerry Montag, University Registrar
• The Student Assistance Centers (SAC) consists of the production and operations staff of Admissions, Records, Registration,
Cashier, Room Scheduling, Degree Audit, and Pew campus service center. It is organized in functional groupings. Each of the six functional groups is lead by a member of the professional staff. Listed below are the typical functions assigned to the specific areas and the name of the staff supervisor.
• Academic Records: Elyse Glass, Associate Registrar
•
•
• Transcript Processing
Veteran’s certification
Immigration/Naturalization
Attendance verification
Grade/repeat/dual changes
Grade processing
•
• Re-entry processing
Record retention
Athletic eligibility
Imaging/Document management
• Degree and Certification: Elyse Glass/Open position, Assistant Registrar
•
•
• Graduation auditing
Transcript evaluation
Degree analysis system
Teacher certification
• Ad hoc reporting – enrolled Commencement
• Registration: Michelle Rhodes, Associate Registrar
Master course file Web SIS/Banner continuity
•
•
• Registration events
Web based services
Refund authorizations
Classroom scheduling
• Course schedule booklet Liaison – services all GV Locations
• Service Center: Karen VanTimmeren, Assistant Registrar
Cashier operation Banking operations
•
•
•
• Service center operation Liaison – cashier/services
• Pew Campus Service Center: Bill Widmaier, Associate Registrar
Service center operations – Pew
Recruitment mailroom – Pew
Athletic eligibility
Banking operations – Pew
Pew Liaison – other GV locations
ID card operations
•
•
•
• Imaging/Document management
• Admissions Processing: Mary Brittain, Associate Registrar
Admissions mailroom
Ad hoc reporting – Admissions
Letter generation system
Application processing
Admissions statistics/reports
Coordination direct mail

• Process transcript requests
• Enrollment certifications
• VA and SEVIS
• Change of grade
• Change of major - explain
• Oversee banner records

• Evaluate transfer credit
• Place equivalencies into Banner
• Process evaluations for graduation
• Oversee certification for teacher education
• Commencement booklet
• Oversee Banner CAPP

• Oversee the development of the YEARLY schedule of classes
• Oversee room assignments – master list and first dibbs
• Oversee room reservations
• Oversee mid term and final exam administration
• Oversee banner implementation of student system

• Answer all type of questions from our students
• No shuffling around between offices
• Process tuition payments
• Provides refunds
• Cash checks
• Register students into classes where web access is restricted
• Processes refund appeals
• Processes “zicking of students” due to non payment or no payment plan on file

• Phones are answered by a person – no voice response system
• No voice mail messages
• Person on phone is full time employee
• Separate lines for admissions and records
• Staff uses wireless technology to answer phones
• Phone calls are returned within the same day
• Students do not answer phones
• Part time staff do not answer phones
• Smiles emanate on the phone
• Frustrated phone calls go the supervisors
• Phone schedule is developed bi-weekly and shifting within schedule is made among staff when areas become extremely busy

• Handled by full time staff
• Responses are sent the same day
• Team of e-mail groups work the e-mails
• Extra help is placed onto this project during peak times
• Supervisors are expected to monitor e-mails and make certain they are processed in accordance with guidelines
• Emails are checked during closed times – holiday break,
• Many supervisors check weekend e-mails to stay ahead of them
• E-mails are a method of communication to the student, academic and administrative community

• Staff members are cross trained – admissions processing, auditing, transfer credit evaluations, registration processing can be managed by any staff member
• User manuals are developed to aid in the training
• When the going gets tough, the staff rolls up their sleeve and get rolling

• Food is made available to the staff working busy times – this includes the first week of the semester, Fridays before deadline dates, and when the boss decides is time for a good old “pig out day”
• GVSU clothes are purchased for the staff. These includes dress and casual shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts and some jackets
• Free water from the water cooler
• Free coffee, tea
• Every staff member has two monitors and a color printer
• Supplies – get what you need

• Post card sent to all students currently enrolled or have enrolled at GVSU during the last two term
• Phone calls are made to returning students who have not registered for a subsequent semester.
• Phone calls are also made to students who are eligible to return, did not graduate nor academically dismissed and have not yet registered

• Unionized staff
• Must have a 15 minute break in the am and pm
• Time and a half for overtime on evenings and weekends
• Work during the Christmas break- triple time
• Staff must work towards the concept of “in one day, out the same”
• Busy like you have never seen it
• Dedication is tremendous

• Be prepared for unexpected problems – it could happen to you
• Watch the morale and motivation of your staff – be cognizant of burnout
• Implementation of new systems – Banner,
PeopleSoft, Datatel, In-house are overwhelming; yet, the fruits of the labor are extensive
• Realize that you can never please everybody but it sure is fun trying!!

• Pens with Institutional philosophy
• Decals for back of your car
• Mouse pads to the campus community with GVSU institutional philosophy
• Business cards with same message about
GVSU – “Educating students to shape their lives, their professions and their societies.”

• All directors meet with their units once a week
• Directors meet among themselves once a week
• Entire staff meets Friday morning @8:00am
• Customer service minutes are read at this meeting and circulated to keep offices on campus
• Banner teams meet, meet, meet, meet

• During the first week of the semester, we roll the office into the hallway into the midst of all student traffic
• Maintained by two full time staff persons
• Forms of every type are available with questions answered
• Candy abounds
• Smiles abound

• Yearly registration
• Honor societies and awards placed onto transcripts
• Refund schedule 100% though first week of class, 75% during the next three weeks
• Deans and Departments are responsive to students providing additional and extra assistance as needed
• Support offices demonstrate we care attitudes to students
• Mid term grades
• Learning communities
• Honors college
• Faculty who make the extra step to help students

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-
SjgQvQ

Need more information – e-mail montagj@gvsu.edu
or call
616 331-3327