Administrators get a home

By Jesus Diaz

A new building slated for March 2011 will combine the Undergraduate Admissions, Bursar's, Registrar's and Financial Aid Offices, making them more accessible to campus visitors and students.

While still in the early stages of development, the new facility will bring these four offices, which are currently scattered across campus, together under one roof. A location at the university's main entrance on Palm Drive has been designated as the building's future location.

"It would take four departments that all serve the student body in some aspect of it and put them together in such way that their collective efforts would better serve the student body," said Joe Sugg, assistant vice president for university operations.

As of now, Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid are located in Varsi Hall, while the Bursar and Registrar's offices are located in the Walsh Administrative Building.

"I think it's a good idea," said Rae Ann Prado, administrative coordinator in Undergraduate Admissions. "We need to be more present to students when they arrive on campus. We should be the first thing they get to instead of them trying to find us set back in campus."

With many high school students visiting campus during their spring breaks, the large turnout of prospective students posed the need for a new, more visible landmark on campus.

"I think it would be very beneficial to the students to get their stuff done in one area," said Betsy Fiel, administrative assistant in the Office of the Registrar.

Fiel also said her department, Office of the Registrar, "could use some more space."

Said Sugg: "We need to first understand from (the offices moving to new building) what physical environment they need to do their job."

"Once we get an agreement, we'll start talking about the space requirements," Sugg said. "Sometime after that we'll hire an architect to do the design."

According to Sugg, the building was included in the university's ten-year plan, which was approved in 2002, and is the last facility from the plan that has yet to be completed.

The ten-year plan is not the only campus development blue print currently in the works.

In the mid-1990s, the university master plan also envisioned a pedestrian walkway in front of the Arts & Sciences building, which will be completed this summer.

The two plans differ because the ten-year plan names specific buildings, while the master plan reserves areas of land for future use.

It was not until the early 2000s that the need for this building was identified, and the future location for the new structure was reserved. "It depends what they're looking for," said freshman student Jackie Gage. "It would be easier for some, but for students living in Swig, McLaughlin and Dunne, it'd be less convenient."

Some students, like sophomore Kyle Slyngstad, wonder about the reason for construction. "I think it would be a good idea if it doesn't cost too much money," he said. "If they're doing it just for the aesthetics of it, then it shouldn't be built."

The new building will not be more than two stories high, according to Sugg.

The building would take about one year to be completed with Sugg citing March 2011 as a potential date to break ground.

"We're on a timeline where we could break ground next March. Whether we break ground or not, that's a decision the president has to take," he said.

The lengthy timeline, according to Sugg, is due to the complexity of the project and resembles the schedule for Harrington Learning Commons. The planning process for the library took five years.

Since the offices of financial aid, the bursar, the registrar and undergraduate admissions have never been together before, finding a way to integrate them has been difficult. The same planning issues arose during the library's construction, when different departments like Media Services, Information Technology and the university library were housed together.

"We're not the first campus to realize that this is a good idea. Other campuses are doing this as well," Sugg said.

When it comes to the appearance of the new building, Sugg said the new enrollment building will be in the "character and context of the university," citing resemblances to the Leavey School of Business and Harrington Learning Commons, which are not identical to the Mission Church, but fit in architecturally and aesthetically.

Said Sugg: "This is at the front door, and that's where we want it to be."

Contact Jesus Diaz at jadiaz@thesantaclara.com or (408) 554-4546.