Shakeup

Enrollment services undergoes reorganization, three employees terminated

Nigel Chiwaya
Chronicle Senior Writer

When NYIT opened its new space on the first floor of 16 West 61st Street, students wondered why the bursar, registrar, and financial aid departments were no longer clearly defined. As it turns out, this was exactly what NYIT administration wanted.

The enrollment services department is in the midst of a massive reorganization, as it shifts from the traditional three-department system to a new system designed to help students get on their way faster without spending as much time waiting on line.

The new system, dubbed the “Student Solutions Center,” is being introduced both here and in Old Westbury, and aims to blend all of the functions of the former system into one. The SSC consists of staff members who have been trained in each of the three enrollment services areas. This, the administration hopes, will make students lives a little easier.

“Like most colleges, NYIT previously organized student services according to function: financial aid, bursar and registrar.” said Dr. Jacqueline Nealon, the Vice President for enrollment services. “Despite the fact that the services provided by these three unique offices are highly, highly interconnected, students often felt like they were being ‘bounced’ from office to office to accomplish a simple task like registering for a class.” According to Dr. Nealon, under the new system, a student would be to pay tuition, register for classes, and get any financial aid questions answered all at the same time, thus eliminating the need to stand in multiple lines.

The SSC does not do away with the old system entirely. Dr. Nealon stated that the SSC will defer to the specialist departments in complicated situations. “The way we see it is that the SSC will devote its time to helping resolve the 80 percentof issues that most students experience at one time or another,” Nealon stated, adding “…and then the SSC will determine if an issue is so complex that it requires added help from the specialist department. We figure that’s around 20% of the time. This way, students get the help they need faster and more efficiently.”

However, the reorganization was not without its casualties. Three enrollment services employees, two from bursar and one from registrar, have been terminated. Lois Lawton, who worked in the registrar for 31 years, was told that her position had been “phased out.” When the reorganization plans were first announced, all three said that they had been told that their jobs were safe. However, as time went on, rumors of possible layoffs began to make their way around, creating a nervous environment. One of the former employees, who asked not to be identified, said: “We heard that they were going to let people go, so we waited to see who it would be. We were told our jobs wouldn’t be affected.” When asked if they were offered SSC training before being let go, one employee said: “they didn’t offer us anything.” However, when asked the same question, Dr. Nealon replied by stating “The positions available in the new Student Solutions Center were open to the entire NYIT community.”

All three employees were kept on during the summer months and into the start of the fall registration season. Ms. Lawton will remain with registrar until the end of September, while the two bursar employees stayed until the end of August.