By: ALICIA FLORES
Staff Writer
aaflores@umail.iu.edu
The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships and the Office of Admissions have a new home this semester.
Long located in the Administration Building, the offices were moved during holiday break to the second floor of the Education and Arts Building where the education advising was once located.
A temporary gateway is now located on the first floor of the Education and Arts Building to assist students.
IUSB administration officials said the move was needed to allow for a renovation of the first floor of the Administration Building and is only temporary.
“By spring break, we hope to have everyone out of the first floor,” Chancellor Terry Allison said. “However, the corridor will remain open during the renovations for access to the second floor as well as access to the Office of the Bursar, Alumni Affairs and IU Credit Union. These three offices will not be relocating for the renovations.”
As offices make their move, announcements and signs will be posted so students are aware of the temporary locations. A smaller gateway will be put in place to help redirect people. Also, the parking lot will be rearranged to help visitors find a spot.
“A lot of people on campus have made temporary sacrifices and are in condensed spaces for now, but the end result will be well worth it,” Allison said.
Once the renovations are done, the new offices will be much more student friendly, Allison said, with offices that students use grouped together. Students will be able to go visit the offices they need with much more convenience, Allison said.
The administration expects the project to be done in time for the fall 2017 semester. They plan to move offices back in July.
“We are maintaining the courtyards and not doing major restructuring of the building, but the design should make it more open and student friendly,” Allison said.
About $1.4 million of this $3.6 million project has come from various donations with the rest coming in from other sources.
Aside from the $3.6 million project, there will be another project coming from additional funds to replace the glass for the entire Administration Building’s first and second floors. No exact date is set for this project but this can be done without any inconveniences, Allison said. The new glass is expected to increase the building’s energy efficiency. The administration also hopes for additional funds to expand the glass breezeway sometime in the future.
