The University of Queensland is upgrading and expanding its Student Centre at St Lucia, with the first stage open in time to welcome students back during Orientation Week.
The Centre is being refitted and extended into the old UQ Traffic and Parking Office across the ground floor of UQ’s JD Story administration building.
New student lounges, eight service counters, 14 self-serve counters, cashiering facilities and three meeting rooms will be built in the 660-square-metre Centre.
Student Centre manager Kate Heffernan said the Centre was being rebuilt to be a “one-stop-shop” to improve student services.
Ms Heffernan said it would house UQ’s Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) and FEE-HELP office and take over student cashiering as the existing cash office is demolished and rebuilt.
Australia Post, also on the same level, will stay.
She said integrating the cashiers into the Student Centre was more convenient than having students walk between each office.
“Previously, if students had wanted an academic transcript they’ve had to walk out to the cashier, pay for that, then come back to the Student Centre.”
Centre staff have traditionally provided a face-to-face service for requests for information about course offerings, admissions, enrolments, fees, study options, examinations, scholarships and loans, but provisions are being made for a student enquiries call centre.
Project Manager Sherron Irwin said the open-plan centre was designed to be vibrant, stimulating, casual, family-friendly and to glow from within thanks to modern lighting.
“We told the interior designers Cottee Parker to make it glow so it would be people’s first port of call at the university and they could see that something exciting was there,” Ms Irwin said.
She said the old décor and fluorescent lights would be replaced with an orange and lime colour scheme, vinyl artwork, bright lights and a glass wall featuring a sepia plan of UQ from the 1930s.
Work started last November but stage two starts on February 14 which includes demolishing the current cashier’s office and refitting the traffic office.
The Centre is operating from UQ Traffic until February 14, when the first half ahead of an expected finish date of April 1.
UQ Traffic will move to Building 76A, next to the Warehouse Complex.
Cash payments in the new Centre will be limited to $50, with EFTPOS, cheque and credit cards accepted for bigger amounts.
Media: contact Ms Heffernan (phone: 07 3365 6151, email: kate.heffernan@uq.edu.au) or Miguel Holland at UQ Communications (phone: 3365 619, email: m.holland@uq.edu.au)
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