Iowa State students who are looking for campus information but are clueless about where to turn can find help at the new Student Answer Center.

The Student Answer Center, located on the ground floor of Beardshear Hall directly beneath the dome, is the university’s latest attempt to help students avoid running from one office to the next seeking answers to their campus-related questions.

Employees from the Registrar’s, Student Financial Aid, Receivables and Treasurer’s Offices staff the center, so students with multiple questions can find the help they need without having to visit each individual office.

Four computers hooked up to ISU’s Web site and an AccessPlus kiosk are also at the center. The staff demonstrates to students how campus information can be found at the kiosk or on the Web without visiting an office.

Students also can turn in a graduation application, obtain an AccessPlus PIN number, submit a transcript request and update their addresses at the center.

Registrar Kathy Jones said the Student Answer Center is a pilot project to determine whether students need a permanent center built in Beardshear Hall. This summer, the Board of Regents approved the planning of a $5.7 million remodeling project for the building.

“The center will help us find a match between what students need and what [ISU] needs to do,” Jones said.

Greg Millan, manager of the Student Answer Center, said so far the student response has been positive. He said about 375 students visited the center Thursday and Friday.

Millan said most of the questions asked dealt with financial aid or how to change addresses.

“I had a spouse [of a student] come down here with a list of things she needed to get done for him, and we were able to check them all off for her,” Millan said. “It’s stuff like that that makes you feel good.”

Millan said that if the staff members are unable to answer students’ questions, they will call different offices until they can direct students to the people who can help.

“Definitely we want to reduce the run-around,” Jones said. “We want the referrals to be right, because we want it to be a learning experience for [the staff] as well as the students.”

The grand opening of the Student Answer Center was held Monday. ISU President Martin Jischke and Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill attended the event.

The Student Answer Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Millan said the center will remain in its location throughout the academic year.