The Ashland University Mail Center is going through a transition period that will make using the mailroom more convenient for both the students and workers.

Before the fall 2022 semester, each student was assigned a mailbox and a three-digit number to open it.

The most significant change to the Mail Center so far is that the mailboxes are no longer in use.

“The issue with the mailboxes was that a number of students wouldn’t check them and we would have to send the mail elsewhere at the end of the year,” Supervisor Mary Bond said.

Starting this semester, if a student gets a letter or package, they will be notified via email, Bond explained, instead of letters being delivered to mailboxes.

Dave McLaughlin, director of Safety Services, says that the change has been great so far and has lighted the load of mailroom workers.

One drawback of this system is that students are currently limited to when they can pick up their mail. Currently hours of operation for the Mail Center are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We are looking to eventually transition to smart lockers, which students would have access to 24/7,” McLaughlin stated.

The lockers would be similar to the Amazon Lockers which would involve students receiving an email that they have mail and then swiping their card at the lockers at their convenience.

McLaughlin hopes to have the lockers set up by the beginning of the fall 2023 semester or shortly thereafter, depending on funding.