Superstores and convenience stores have known it since their inception: offering customers the convenience of one-stop shopping will keep them coming back. Now Augsburg College is trying this.

Rick Smith, vice president of admissions and enrollment services, spearheaded the effort to develop a one-stop shop for student financial and enrollment needs.

Augsburg's Enrollment Center was launched in fall 1998 and reopened in fall 2000 in the newly-renovated Sverdrup Hall. The center integrates student billing and accounts, financial aid, registration, and support functions—and includes a student lounge and conference room.

Rick Smith, vice president of admissions and enrollment services, was instrumental in establishing the center in its new location. He was largely responsible for troubleshooting, reviewing drawings, overseeing the construction of the facility, and working with staff on procedures.

According to Smith, integrating the offices allowed the Enrollment Center to "eliminate steps in the registration process, like the confirmation process." Because of this, Smith believes the one-stop shopping "eliminates a lot of work for staff and hassle for students."

Decreasing the hassle has been especially beneficial for Weekend College students. "With the size of our Weekend College population the convenience of the 'one-stop' shop is tremendously important. These students are interested in convenience as a critical part of their decision about where to attend college," said Smith.

When asked if the one-stop shop has made attending Augsburg easier, Weekend College student Mercedes Weishalla said, "Absolutely. You can just go there and everything is taken care of. It's all inclusive, so everything is more organized."

In addition to eliminating steps, integrating the offices means that when a student has a question or concern that "requires more in-depth explanation or discussion, the professionals are all there in the same suite," said Smith.

An additional improvement that Smith considers a major change is the new format of billing that combines a monthly statement of account with a class schedule, billing statement, and summary statement. "An awful lot of work went into changing the back room operations and technology in order to produce that sort of statement," said Smith.

Augsburg senior Allison Heimkes said that the new statement of account is the improvement that she believes is the most convenient. However, she said there are still problems with how the new Enrollment Center functions.

"I really like the new statements, but I have heard some students complain that [the Enrollment Center] people never answer their messages and that the office is always losing their loan papers and other documents," said Heimkes.

Smith said that the Enrollment Center personnel are aware of the problems Heimkes mentions. He identified the three most critical areas being addressed by the center as managing the volume of calls, improving the routing of documents, and hiring additional people to staff more customer windows.

Despite these remaining problems, Smith and the Enrollment Center staff view the project as a success.

"We are trying to do something very state-of-the-art here," said Smith. "There are only 10 to 15 percent of 3,000 colleges around the nation that have tried the one-stop shop."

According to Smith, the $1.5 million project was not simple. "It is hard to convey how much integration of the offices it took, and that was a monumental task," he said.

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Augsburg to host the Lutheran Summer Music program

From June 24 through July 22, more than 220 high school students from across the U.S. will take up residence on Augsburg's campus. They will be joined by an additional 60 faculty and staff members. This national gathering, Lutheran Summer Music (LSM), will be hosted for the first time by Augsburg College.

LSM is a four-week summer camp for student musicians in grades 8-12. Founded by a group of visionary Lutheran educators and musicians in 1982, LSM has been hosted by seven Lutheran colleges or universities. It is a program committed to excellence in music. "LSM encourages youth of high school age to develop their God-given talents. The goal of LSM is to extend the Christian tradition of fine musical performance in worship," explained the Rev. Dr. Victor E. Gebauer, LSM executive director.

Melissa Olson ’89

Even though this is the first time LSM has been to Augsburg, the program has an Augsburg connection in Melissa Olson, director of admissions and financial aid. Olson, a 1989 Augsburg graduate with a degree in English and communication, began at LSM in 1996 after working for Augsburg Fortress Publishing and serving in Switzerland and Ethiopia with the Lutheran World Federation.

Olson credits her career choices and service to the church to Augsburg. "Augsburg literally opened the world to me," she said. "It exposed me to ideas and an environment I never knew existed. I have enormous respect for small, Lutheran liberal arts colleges."

In talking with LSM students, Olson is quick to point out Augsburg's advantages—the best of both worlds, offering a tight-knit community within a large metropolitan area. This is echoed by Ruth Hook ’03, a current Augsburg student and LSM alum from 1996–99, who described Augsburg as a hometown in a big city.

This is the first time LSM will be in a major metropolitan area, and it will benefit from the Twin Cities' extraordinary culture for the fine arts. Such an atmosphere is the perfect setting for the more than 50 concerts and recitals that LSM will produce during its four-week duration.

It is this aspect of the summer camp that most excites Augsburg music professor and former LSM faculty member (1982– 94) Merilee Klemp.

"LSM will bring a vibrant, comprehensive, musical community during the summer—not just to Augsburg, but to the whole West Bank community," Klemp said.

However, the most important part of LSM is not the musical knowledge, local culture, or outstanding faculty, but the close spiritual community that LSM and Augsburg will foster. The daily schedule includes morning and evening prayer; it is this characteristic that most defines LSM and is what Hook and many other LSM alumni most remember.

For more information regarding Lutheran Summer Music 2001 or for a listing of LSM 2001 concerts and recitals, call toll free, 1-888-635-6583, or visit LSM's Web site at LMP@lutheranmusic program.org. For admission and financial aid information, contact Melissa Olson at the above number or Web site.