Off-campus and adult students may soon have greater access to information and resources available through a Dean of Students Office Web site.

Pete Englin, dean of students, said he and others in the Dean of Students Office have been looking into creating a Web site, linked from www.dso.iastate.edu, for off-campus and adult students, which would provide resources for off-campus and nontraditional students.

The Dean of Students Office provided services for off-campus and nontraditional students through the Off-Campus and Adult Student Services Office, until budget constraints forced its elimination in late 2001.

“If you can provide reasonable services and resources in other ways, then that’s where you have to cut,” Englin said.

He said services for off-campus and nontraditional students are being provided by the Dean of Students Office as a whole and Student Legal Services.

“Students are having to find help in other ways, which makes things complicated. We want this Web site to help finding information and resources easier for them,” Englin said. “We’re losing our flexibility due to budget cuts, but we believe this Web site will help give us some flexibility.”

Englin said he has been working with student organizations, student leaders and the Dean of Students Web coordinator to make the Web site a reality.

Advice from students will be sought out in determining what should be included on the site, Englin said. Some of the ideas include providing information on renting, day-care options and scholarships for nontraditional students.

There is no specific time table in place for the creation of the Web site, Englin said, but it could be implemented by early August.

“[The creation of this Web site] is about how students best access information and how to provide it in a way that’s best for students to connect,” Englin said.

“Having the information on the university’s Web site makes sense, because that’s where students look first, and that’s where they’re likely to look for information.”

Jon Minnehan, junior in agricultural studies and off-campus student, said he believes the Web site should include information on zoning laws and city ordinances for off-campus students.

“[The Web site] needs to go deep into zoning laws and state things clearly, so there is no confusion for students,” he said.

Kevin Taber, junior in transportation and logistics and off-campus student, was living in a six-bedroom house with five other roommates when they were issued an over-occupancy citation. Taber is Minnehan’s roommate.

Taber said creating a university Web site with information about renting would be beneficial for students.

“If it had been created before all of this happened with our citation, it would definitely have saved a lot of headaches,” Taber said.

“There’d be a good amount of people looking at it. It would be smart to check it out, because landlords don’t always know the answers. They tell you one thing, and you’ll find out something totally different from what they said.”

Judy Parks, assistant attorney for the City of Ames, said she believes the Web site is an excellent idea, even though the city does provide information on its Web site at www.city.ames.ia.us. She said if more students are informed of ordinances, it will help to reduce housing violations.

“[The Web site] will at least give people thinking about renting a place the opportunity to look for issues they may not have thought of,” Parks said.

“Unfortunately, people learn by trial and error, and hopefully the Web site will get people to be more informed consumers and won’t have to learn by trial and error.”