Need to register for classes and apply for scholarships? Don’t want to run from office to office? The new Aggie One Stop has advisors to help you with all of your out-of-classroom needs.
For the ease of a one-stop-shop to handle all life and academic needs, Texas A&M’s Aggie One Stop has advisors who can be reached via phone, email and walk-in appointments for services from the Scholarships & Financial Aid Office, the Office of the Registrar, the Office of Admissions and more.
Though talks of a service similar to One Stop have been going on for years, it truly kicked off in the fall of 2020. Aggie One Stop director Darren Curry joined the service last March and said One Stop will help guide students from before their first day in Aggieland to their last.
“Even helping with transferring academic records and transcripts, [One Stop] is like customer service for everything,” Curry said. “From application to enrollment to graduation.”
One Stop helps students understand the effects their actions have on their billing structure as well as their degree plan. Curry said a student may not be privy to all the ways their actions can affect their time at A&M, and One Stop ensures an advisor is equipped to explain each of the potential consequences. For example, Curry said if a student were to drop a class, their financial aid eligibility as well as their remaining degree plan may change.
“The goal is to reduce the frustration and surprises that come from all this information,” Curry said. “One Stop advisors are trained across the board to help students holistically.”
Assistant Vice President for Scholarships & Financial Aid Delisa Falks said Aggie One Stop is staffed with roughly 35 professional staff members and 25 part-time student employees to ensure the student perspective is also taken into account.
“One Stop has services for veteran and military students as well,” Falks said. “[A&M] wants to be more student-centric.”
Falks said she hopes students benefit from being able to email any questions they have or get in a virtual queue that gives regular wait time updates.
“Students are very busy, and now, they don’t have to run around. We tell them exactly when their appointment is,” Falks said. “[One Stop] also complements parents so they do not have to wait at an office or stay on hold indefinitely.”
Similarly, as soon as students visit the One Stop website, “Miss Rev” is available to chat about any general inquiries. Curry said he hopes to program Miss Rev for more specific, detailed information in the future.
“The chat can provide students with any basic information they need,” Curry said. “Miss Rev is a bit of a puppy with the chat services, but has been trained.”
With a new semester beginning, students have begun flocking to One Stop to take full advantage of its services. Biochemistry junior Youstina Soliman said she has already used One Stop’s services twice for information regarding her financial aid status and her degree plan requirements. Soliman said she opted to use the chat feature as well as go to walk-in appointments. With wait times of less than an hour, Soliman said she received text updates regarding her appointment.
“I had to stay after class unexpectedly and [I] was able to push my appointment back just enough for me to arrive on time,” Soliman said. “That way, I knew I would not have to waste time I could have spent studying.”
Aggie One Stop appointment text updates allow students to check the number of minutes left in their wait time, to leave the line and to ask for more time before their appointment. After being assigned an advisor, students are free to ask any questions about any of the services offered by One Stop.
“I had my questions answered face-to-face at a time that worked for me,” Soliman said. “It was super easy and convenient.”
For more information, visit Aggie One Stop on the first floor of the General Services Building.