More than 8,000 walk-in questions were answered from August 2 to September 9. During that same period, financial services received 15,000 phone calls. The brunt of those calls were handled by a group of workers dedicated exclusively to responding to incoming phone calls. And, busy signals are down 70 percent from last year, O'Rourke noted proudly. In addition to the departmental reorganization, technological advances have made financial services more responsive.
Students can now view their rosters, bills and grades on-line .
Kiosks also have been added to the Financial Services office for students who do not have access to computers at home. In August 1997, there were 200 visits to the site, O'Rourke said. In August 1998, the site had 42,000 visits. The University also has created a phone service, the Diamond Line, that allows students to access much of the same information available on-line. Despite these changes, O'Rourke is quick to note that the department is not trouble free.