Annals of Reengineering

Back in the old days, students who needed a cash advance first had to go to the Student Financial Aid Office in Building 5 to get approval and then to the Bursar's Office, 10 minutes away in Building E19, to pick up the money. To the time it took to carry out these transactions, one can also add the time spent making phone calls to figure out where to go in the first place. Those students who didn't call ahead risked going to the wrong place altogether.

This was before Student Services Reengineering and its most visible product, the new Student Services Center (SSC). Centrally located on the Infinite Corridor in Building 11, the SSC has brought together many of the services that students previously had to track down in three separate offices: the Registrar, the Bursar, and Student Financial Aid. Now, students can go to one place to get copies of their academic and financial aid transcripts, sign scholarship checks, discuss their student account billings and make payments, receive loan entrance counseling, and much more. They can also check student job listings, replace lost MIT ID cards, and change the amount in their MultiPlan accounts.

Following last year's successful pilot, the full-service center opened in August in time for the start of the academic year. The staff, most of whom are drawn from the three "home" offices (Registrar, Bursar, Financial Aid), are trained in a full range of student services, so they can help students directly and give proper referrals for the services the Center doesn't provide. A few functions still require visits to the other offices, but plans are underway to bring them all together in one academic and financial information services organization that will be located above the SSC, on Building 11's second and third floors. When this arrangement is in place, students won't have far to go for more specialized services. The staff of the Student Information System, whose work has been critical to the SSC's development, will also be a part of the new organization that will report to the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education.

The SSC owes much of the increased efficiency in service delivery to another reengineering success, WebSIS, the Web-based student information system. WebSIS lets students transact for themselves many operations that used to require staff support. Online, students can now check their grades, registration status, and progress toward fulfilling the General Institute Requirements; update their addresses and other information; and review their student accounts, financial aid status, and loan information. Students can also check subject listings and schedules, and preregister. A cluster of Athena Quickstations, which provide Web access around the clock, is located just outside the SSC. (There are also other Quickstations around campus.) Some SSC staff time is devoted now to showing students how WebSIS functions, but this service will be in less demand as WebSIS becomes a more familiar campus feature.

The mission of the SSC is "to provide financial and academic services to all students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni/ae in a friendly, accurate, and timely manner and in a way that ideally will allow more time for their educational and personal interests." To help ensure that they are meeting these goals and can adapt to changing needs, the SSC staff regularly ask students to fill out service evaluation cards. And while it is too early to measure the SSC's effect on education, there is no question that it has lessened the bother of its business end. On their survey cards, students consistently give high ratings for the friendliness, accuracy, and timeliness of service; and, to quote a few, here is what they say:

"This is the most convenient and efficient place on campus!"

"Great facility. It has made life easier."

"Service is exemplary."

And even, "I like MIT a lot. Yee-hah."

The SSC is open Monday through Thursday, from 9am to 5:30pm, and from 10am to 5:30pm on Friday. The staff invites all faculty to come and visit. To get a full listing of their services, please also check out the SSC Web site at <http://web.mit.edu/ssc/>.