One Central Stop for Most Student Questions
FirstPoint Center can help with registration, jobs, all things in between
FirstPoint employee Olivia Miller assists a student at the center’s desk, located on the second floor of 881 Commonwealth Ave. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi
Say good-bye to the days when a question on how to drop a class meant trekking across campus to three different departments. FirstPoint Center can answer some of students’ most common questions, ranging from how to register for classes to what to do if you don’t understand your financial aid package, in one location.
FirstPoint, which launched last year and has recently undergone a renovation, is part of a new service department within Enrollment and Student Affairs called Combined Enrollment Services (CES). CES director Sylvia Cypher describes the center as a one-stop shop where students can receive help making informed decisions about financial assistance, registration and classes, transcript ordering, and student employment.
Combining these services was led by Laurie Pohl, vice president for enrollment and student affairs. The center’s staff members are trained across a range of areas and are now “better able to understand holistically what students are asking,” Cypher says. “This means they are better able to help students ask the questions they need to, in order to make an informed decision.”
As an example, she cites a hypothetical student who is looking to drop a course. “Under BU policy, students can drop a course until a certain date, but we want to make them aware of things they may not be thinking about—for example, how will dropping that class impact their financial aid if they were to go from full-time to part-time status?” Cypher says. Other common questions the center can help address include, “Where can I find work if I’m not eligible for work study,” or “How do I go about setting up direct deposit?”
To access the FirstPoint Center, students can either visit their website, email questions, or visit the office at 881 Commonwealth Ave.
“We really want FirstPoint to remove the complexities of the administration of a student’s education,” Cypher says. “This way, students can better spend their time focusing on their classwork, extracurricular activities, and social commitments.”
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