In order to make student services and admissions more fluid, what was once Medary Commons, has been renovated to combine Admissions and the Enrollment Services Department into one building called the Enrollment Services Center.

The renovation came from the need to relocate the Admissions Office from the center of campus so touring students could easily find Admissions, and have access to parking, according to Tracy Welsh, director of relations and admissions.

Construction was completed the first week in July and doors opened in time for the new semester to start.

“Campus visitors used to park in front of the Administration Building, but with Administration Lane no longer a street and parking close to the building is at a premium, that really prompted the university to look at alternate sites for us,” Welsh said.

Similarly, the facility was made to improve the care of future students, said Aaron Aure of Enrollment Management.

“The need was identified through our desire to create appropriate space for the various types of interactions we have with our constituents…” Aure said. “This renovation was an effort to bring together a number of different office functions underneath the same roof and provide our student body the type of customer service they deserve.”

The Enrollment Services Center will serve as both the Admissions office and the Enrollment Service office.

With a growing student body, SDSU created a facility to offer one location on the edge of campus for students to get assistance with services such as enrollment, financial aid and registration.

“[Prospective students] are excited about our new office space. We’ve already been very busy since the move with students and their families visiting campus and they’re impressed with the new facilities,” Welsh said. “It makes it much more convenient for families to come and visit us.”

Cody Leins, a senior consumer affairs major, said the renovation was a smart move for campus.

“I like the combination because it’s all one stop and makes it one step easier for a student coming in,” Leins said. “I didn’t like it in the older building, it was more of a hassle to get there and it was confusing to find the financial aid part of that building”

The $2.8 million renovation budget was set to meet the goals of serving a growing student body. The funding for the project came from the Higher Education Facilities Fund, so the Foundation nor any other organization had to raise donations or add extra student fees.

“This renovation focused on providing excellent customer service to students and their families in both an individual and group setting,” Aure said. “This focus was incorporated from the exterior entry through the length of the building and included attention to the front desk area, office sizes, as well as appropriate signage.”

According to Leins, the renovation makes the university more adapted to a growing campus. “I walked in here and it seemed more professional and that we’re upgrading everything and moving along with the times. With the old building it seemed dark and gloomy.”

The new facility was created for the convenience of having multiple student services in the same building, but ultimately, Welsh said, a student’s college decision comes down to more than just the impression the campus and all its buildings make.

According to Welsh, new faces aren’t the only ones taking a stance on the new facility: families and alumni have said that the new renovation is a sign of “SDSU’s commitment to providing students with quality facilities” and education.

“It won’t reinvent the way students are introduced to SDSU but it will give us the additional space we need to serve them effectively. Honestly, students make a decision to attend a specific university because of the connections they make and the relationships they develop,” Welsh said. “Our new facility won’t change that; it will simply let us communicate that message more effectively.”

There will be an open house for facility in October, with an exact date yet to be announced.