Front Desk Procedures and Expectations

Welcoming Students to Our Space 

When a student enters the office, you are the first person they will see! For some students, it's their first time entering our space, you'll notice right away if they feel lost or nervous. Please reassure them that they are in the right space as long as they are a Humanities affiliated student. You want to make sure to welcome all students with a smile and make sure they get their questions answered. Also, please offer them snacks and drinks that are always provided in the lounge area! Humanities students are always welcome into our office, even if it’s just to study or do their homework, they don't only need to be in this space specifically for advising appointments.

Also, students may come to the front desk when they can’t find a certain office. Here are some tips on how to guide them: 

  • On the first floor, you can access all wings in Padelford (A, B, C). 
  • Offices on the Plaza Level (PL on the elevator) will begin with 00. Example: Our office is 002.
  • Offices on the Lower Lobby (LL on the elevator) will have 2-digits. Example: To get to B-37 from our office, the student will need to:
  1. Take the elevator to the first floor 
  2. Take a left when exiting and walk to the B-Wing elevators (lime green) 
  3. Press the LL button in the B-Wing elevator 
  4. When exiting, there should be a sign for the student to follow so they end up in the right office.
  • Offices from the 1st to 5th floors will be 3-digits. Example: Office B-225 is on the 2nd floor of the B-Wing.

Greeting Students for Advising Appointments 

Please make sure to ask everyone on the team to share their calendar with you including information like student appointments (with their name/preferred name and student number provided). You will then know when to expect students and can let the appropriate adviser know they have arrived.

Example: Hi, welcome in! Are you here to see Arielle? *Yes. Are you Jonathan? *Yes. Great! I will let Arielle that you’re here. You're welcome to help yourself to any snacks or drinks in the lounge area and she will come out to see you when she's ready.

Note: Sometimes students will come into our office expecting to see a specific adviser who may not be on the calendar. In this case, please have the student show you their confirmation email because their appointment may be later in the following week.

Greeting Students for Drop-ins

For drop-in advising, please make sure to have students complete the drop-ins check-in form so advisers can prepare appropriate resources based on the student's questions. Completing this form helps make the drop-in session more efficient and productive for both the adviser and the student, allowing the adviser to prepare in advance.

Also, please ask the student for their name when they enter the office and let the drop-in's adviser know (via Teams message) the order of when students come in so they can be helped accordingly.

Registration Assistance

You can register students through the Student Database (SDB) application. Here are some screens that you will use:

  • SRF 104: This screen will help you register students based on the department you have access to. UW staff are able to register for a maximum of 10 departments. You will not have the ability to courses affiliated with German Studies, Slavic Languages & Literatures, and Humanities (HUM). Only the HAS Director can register students for these courses, in case they are out, request assistance from the Office of the University Registrar.
  • SRF 245: Will give you access to view the entry/add codes, however, we do not distribute these, and faculty should be receiving them from departmental administrative staff. 
  • SRF 390: Allows you to run a degree audit for a student.
  • SRF 630: Allows you to see registration holds that prevent students from registering for classes. You can also identify which department can manages the removal of the hold, e.g., Student Fiscal Services or OMA&D.
  • SRF 120: Lets you see all the adds, drops, or revisions of registration that has happened in a student’s account in a given quarter. It also shows who (by UW NetID) made the change; if it displays “Web”, the student used MyPlan to register.
  • SRF 232: Lists the individual faculty codes based on department; primarily used for independent study registration.

Answering Phone Calls and Responding to Voicemails

Answering the phone
  • Greet the caller with, “Hello, Humanities Academic Services Center!” 
  • Make sure the caller knows that they are calling our office, we are an undergraduate advising and support center for B.A. students, faculty, and staff in the Humanities division at UW.
  • If a parent requests information about their child, do not share any personal student details (such as academic records or class enrollment), as this would be a violation of FERPA.
  • Typical inquiries are like the greeting inquiries listed above (add codes, advising appointments, and transfer student questions). 
  • It’s ok if you don’t know the answer right away! Please ask one of the advisers to get confirmation on something you’re unsure of. You can put the caller on a polite hold in the meantime. 
Transferring calls
  • Know who you’re transferring to. See this phone guide for our adviser's office phone numbers. 
  • When you are on the phone with the caller and want to transfer to a specific adviser, press the button below the glowing red button on the top right-hand corner of the phone. On the left there is a 5-digit number, such as 32634. 
  • Once this button is pressed, dial the new number you want the call to be transferred to and it should successfully transfer.

Managing the Central Inbox

Emails to Prioritize
  • Time-sensitive matters, including graduation applications deadlines and add/drop deadlines.
  • High-demand or limited-capacity courses, like SPAN 110 or ASL 101, where seats fill up quickly.
  • Graduating seniors, particularly those in their final quarters, as their timeline to complete degree requirements is limited. Responding to their inquiries promptly can have a direct impact on their graduation.
  • Humanities department staff or faculty requests, such as dropping a student from a course or notifying students about a course cancellation.
Saying ‘No’ Effectively
  • Link to policy (if available) helps connect the decision in university, college, or department guidelines.
  • Provide a clear and student-centered rationale. Helps students understand the why behind the decision, (hopefully) reducing frustration.
  • Offer an alternative solution, even if their preferred option is not available, such as recommending they sign-up for seat availability notifications for closed courses.
When to Escalate Emails
  • A student continues to push back after you've offered appropriate assistance.
  • A student, faculty, or staff member uses hostile, intimidating, or disrespectful language.
  • The email exchange becomes overly time-consuming, and the issue could be more effectively resolved in an advising appointment.
  • The situation involves unclear or complex policy, and you're unsure how to proceed.
  • The student is requesting an exception or appeal beyond your responsibilities, such as a course substitution for a major requirement.

Autumn Quarter is typically our busiest time of year, with a high volume of student appointments, phone calls, and emails to our central inbox. We analyzed messages sent to has-center@uw.edu, and here’s what we found: Autumn 2024 Central Inbox Analysis.