AU's new electronic package system is up and running successfully, according to Catherine Gannon, guest and public relations coordinator for Housing and Dining.
Gannon described the system as a collaboration between the Office of Information and Technology, Mail Services and Housing and Dining.
"[It was a] group effort not only to help with the distribution of packages ... but really also accountability," she said.
The newly-instituted system notifies students of the status of their package electronically and allows them to swipe their student identification card to receive their packages, The Eagle previously reported.
The new system has had missteps, such as when the system was being set up and students received e-mails saying they had packages when they didn't, Gannon said.
"The package system had not been fully completed," Gannon said, calling the incorrect e-mails a "blip in the system."
In addition, there was some confusion as to whether students' packages were located in the package room or the front desk, as desk employees are responsible for putting in where the packages are located. To correct this, Gannon said there are two separate e-mails, one for package room deliveries and one for front desk deliveries.
Gannon said she and her office have observed that the system has reduced the amount of time needed to log packages. Earlier in the semester, when students were receiving numerous textbook packages, the paper system took "three ... four ... five hours logging packages individually," she said.
Now, Gannon said, it takes "under 30 minutes to log"; however, the time it took to log packages did increase this week due to the influx of Valentine's Day deliveries.
The new system also helps students who may lose their package slips, Gannon said. Front desk assistants can use the electronic package system to look up students' names in the computer so they can locate their package without unnecessary searching, she said.
All of these components contribute to the new package system speeding up the amount of time students have to wait for their packages. All of the residence halls, except Anderson and Centennial, have 24-hour package hours during which students can go to the front desk and receive their package, The Eagle previously reported.
Because the package room is separated from the Anderson-Centennial front desk, a staff member cannot go get packages for students without leaving the front desk unattended, The Eagle previously reported. As a result, the Anderson and Centennial residence halls have set periods of time when the package room is staffed.
Gannon said the new package system has cut down the amount of time students wait in the Anderson-Centennial package line.
"The first 30 minutes have been quite lively," she said. "It's really been dead for the last hour, hour-and-a-half."
So far, Gannon said the Housing and Dining staff has heard positive reviews of the new system from students.
"They like the system," she said. "It's a lot easier to make sure [students] got their package."
Some students said they feel that while the new package system may make some aspects of getting a delivery easier, the set hours in Anderson-Centennial are the real problem.
Molly Grant, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said the limited hours are frustrating because students are turned away despite waiting in line.
"I find it really discouraging that the system cannot even accommodate students," Grant said. "I'm not asking for a drastic change, but if I wait in line for 15 minutes, I expect to get my package. They should stop letting people in line at 11 p.m. It's not fair to the ones that wait and are not given their package"
