"The place to go when you need to know" is the slogan for Ralphie's Resource Center, a new comprehensive student information center located in Norlin Library E156 at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
According to manager Robyn Sandekian, the center is a comprehensive, one-stop facility with staff on hand to answer questions from students, parents and the public about campus policies, procedures and more.
"We can answer questions about registration, navigating the campus, when and where to buy textbooks and what students should bring with them," Sandekian said. "We also have information on fun stuff to do on campus, student clubs and organizations and other aspects of student life."
David M. Goldman, a freshman psychology major from New York and a student in the Kittredge Honors program, discovered the center by accident last month and was amazed by his experience there.
"I was going around at orientation, feeling lost, and I went into Norlin looking for someone to help me figure out my course scheduling so that I could register," he said. "I was pretty stressed out when I went in and the people at Ralphie's showed me that things weren't so complicated and really helped me to put things into perspective.
"They were so friendly, kind of like a mix between a friend and a psychologist. It was an extraordinary welcome into the Colorado atmosphere."
Goldman later referred another new student, Julia Massey, an incoming freshman from Maryland also enrolled in the Kittredge Honors program, to Ralphie's Resource Center. She went there to find a call number for one of her classes.
"They were extremely helpful, the nicest people I've ever met," Massey said. "They showed me how to use the computer to get the number I needed. I was telling people later that day to go there and I'm sure I'll be there a lot."
The center has six computers available for exploring PLUS, the university's Personal Look-Up Services program that allows students to access their academic information, financial records, health insurance and addresses on a secure server using their personal identification number.
Ralphie's Resource Center is sponsored by the Student Odyssey Project, an initiative of the chancellor and the vice chancellors to re-engineer the delivery of administrative services to students on the Boulder campus. According to Jean Delaney, Student Odyssey manager, the project complements the university's strategic goals to respond to student needs and to use technology to improve services.
Ralphie's Resource Center is centrally located in Norlin near the east entrance revolving doors. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, call (303) 735-RALF or (303) 735-RALP.