Buc Central is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday on the second floor of the Culp Student Center next to ID Services. (Katie McLain/East Tennessean)

On Wednesday, Buc Central launched as a one-stop shop for students’ academic needs.

Located on the second floor of the D.P. Culp Student Center (room 250), next to ID Services, Buc Central combines several student services into one location. Services such as registration, student records, graduation, student payments, student accounts, billing and financial aid will all be under Buc Central.

“Rather than coming to financial aid with a question about their award package, and then having to go upstairs to make a payment, they can do them all in one location. And let’s say they want to copy their transcript at the same time. We can get them that as well. So it’s truly a one-stop where they can get more than one service and more than one need met all in one location,” said Kim Van Wie, director of Buc Central.

Buc Central front desk staff are cross-trained to answer questions and provide services for students in different areas. Depending on the need, students can also sit down with a Buc Central or financial aid counselor for lengthier issues or discussions. These meetings can be arranged at the front desk or through Navigate360. Buc Central also offers Zoom appointments with a counselor.

The home locations for the services now housed under Buc Central, such as registration, financial aid and student records, will remain open to students through the end of the year. The soft launch is a transition period before the official launch at the start of the new semester, when the previous home locations will close to students.

“They’re not going away in the physical sense. There still will be a records office and a graduation office,” Van Wie said. “For example, if students didn’t order their regalia in time for commencement and need to pick it up, they’ll pick that up at the graduation office. So, in some respects, there still will be some things going on there, but the day-to-day things that most students go to these offices to take care of, we will handle here.”

Buc Central encourages students to visit for their needs now, before the new semester begins.

“We couldn’t have a better team. They are so excited to be able to provide services beyond what they were able to in their previous roles,” Van Wie said. “We’re excited to be here for the students. We’re also gonna be sending out some surveys down the line and getting some student feedback to make sure it’s really meeting their needs. We hope to even grow maybe to more services and more staff. We’re gonna get it up and running, and we’re excited.”

Buc Central can be contacted at buccentral@etsu.edu, by calling 423-439-BUCS or by visiting room 250 on the second floor of the D.P. Culp Student Center. It is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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