Got questions? Connect with NGU Central
Hannah Roberts, Staff Writer
The NGU Central team is eager to help students.
Got questions about your financial aid package? Don’t know where to find a drop/add slip for registration? Have a hold on your account? Then NGU Central is the place to visit.
Students at North Greenville University may have noticed something new in the Craft-Hemphill Center lobby. This area now serves as the temporary home to a new service on campus called NGU Central.
Designed by Vice President of Student Services Rachael Russiaky, NGU Central acts as the mediator between stressed-out students and the Office of Financial Aid, Student Accounts, and Registrar.
Russiaky presented this new model to her team and is in the process of further developing NGU Central.
Robin McCarter, NGU Central manager, shared the NGU Central staff works together during biweekly leadership training to make sure the group is accomplishing their goals. Right now, the team is striving to assist students and their families in quickly answering any questions they might have throughout their college experience.
McCarter’s role as the manager is to ensure the NGU Central team is answering students’ questions accurately and in a timely fashion, but she strives to do more than that. McCarter’s goal is to help students make the most of their college experience by providing them with the tools to take away the stress and remove any obstacles that may come up from financial aid, student accounts or registrar.
McCarter has also aided students by helping them search for outside grants and scholarships and supplied practical tips to maintain their GPA to keep their current scholarships.
“So far, it has been good,” said McCarter. Hundreds of students have already received help from NGU Central. The majority of questions presented by students to the NGU Central team have been relating to financial aid.
Sarah Bolden, who works at the NGU Central desk, shared how she helps students on a daily basis. Bolden said, “we want to make sure that the students’ time is being used in a more efficient way to get the info they need without having to go through a bunch of different people.”
Those working behind the NGU Central desk are in the process of receiving special training for working with financial aid, student accounts and registrars. This means that students will be able to go directly to NGU Central and get their questions answered without having to walk from Hayes Ministry Center, hike up to the Donnan Administration Building, and then back down again to Hayes just to answer one question.
“With NGU Central, students can have a more personal experience,” said Bolden. Those working with NGU Central can also help with general questions about NGU such as where certain buildings are located or where to pick up tickets for cultural events.
Students can think of NGU Central as a “campus mom,” someone who makes the less pleasant experiences of college (like filling out paperwork), more manageable. “Students can turn to us if they have questions and we will help them figure out the answer,” said Bolden.
The NGU Central team plans to relocate by Spring/Summer 2020. Along with the move will come further improvements as well. McCarter shared the NGU Central team is hoping to have three windows, one for each category of question, with a team member working at each one to provide better customer service for students.
Students can get in contact with NGU Central inside the Craft-Hemphill Center lobby or by email.
NGU Central’s email is monitored all day by several team members. “The goal is to have an empty inbox,” said McCarter. That means students are getting immediate answers.
