Nontraditional students have a new way to stay connected to their families and employers while they are in class.

The Direct Contact paging service provides students with low-cost pagers, allowing them to maintain contact with family, friends and employers while they are on campus, said Penny Rosenthal, director of Off-Campus and Adult Student Services.

Rosenthal said she thought of the pager service when she was in school, and her daughter was injured while she was at class.

“I was sitting in class, and an officer walked in and said that he needed to talk to me. I knew right then that something had happened to my kids. I had always worried about them while I was at class,” she said.

Rosenthal said she looked into starting the pager service at her previous institution of employment, but the proper resources were not available. When she came to Iowa State, she was excited to put the program into effect.

“[Direct Contact] just started in January 2000, so it is still pretty new, but I am really excited about it,” she said. “We reserved 30 pagers for the year 2000, and there are only two still here. If we need more, though, we can get an unlimited amount from Electronic Engineering.”

Electronic Engineering Co., also known as the Beeper People, is located at 330 Fifth St.

Rosenthal said the majority of the customers have been nontraditional students with children, but anybody can get a pager.

“Anybody, even a staff member, can get one if they really need it. The only problem we have is if we can’t charge it to their [university bill], they have to pay up front,” she said.

The pagers are available in the office of Off-Campus and Adult Student Services, Room B6 of the Memorial Union. Rosenthal said students sign a contract, and then the fee is charged to their university bills.

“The pagers run $6.50 a month, and that is for 200 pages. Every page over 200 costs them 25 cents. We also have to charge them if there is any damage done to the pager,” she said.

Students were made aware of the pager service through a direct e-mail by Off-Campus and Adult Student Services. Rosenthal said business was a little slow at first, but it has started to pick up.

“I think that people just had to make sure that they could afford it,” she said. “After financial aid came in, we had a great influx of students.”

Jim McCurdy, nontraditional sophomore in microbiology, said he has only had his pager for about two weeks, but it has been very helpful to him.

“Since I work on campus, I give it out to the people I work with so they can get a hold of me if they have any questions,” he said.

Both Rosenthal and McCurdy said they have not encountered any problems so far, and they hope it stays that way.

“There haven’t been any complaints to us yet. If they have any problems, they should contact the Beeper People,” Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal encourages anyone who needs a pager to contact her office.

“I would suggest that they either call or e-mail our office first,” she said. “We just want to make sure that we have enough in stock.”