California Lutheran University’s mail center expects to install a new and revised mailbox system allowing students to pick up mail at all hours of the day by spring semester. Delays due to budget issues postponed plans originally projected to be completed before students’ arrival this fall. 

Ben Hengst, the Print and Mail Services Supervisor, says that the push for this new system within the mail center has been in the works for five years.

“We are moving from the old combination mailboxes that we had before to electronic boxes,” Hengst said. 

Hengst said the boxes will work similarly to that of Amazon Lockers. Students will not have a designated box, instead, they should expect that their mail will be assigned to a box, which they will be notified of via email. That email will contain a one-time pin code which allows access to mail. That box is then reassigned to someone else. All paper mail and boxes that can fit will be assigned a box. This allows students to pick up their mail after the mail center closes.

Brissa Sandoval, a senior at Cal Lutheran and mail center student employee, spoke on the system currently in use. She said that since the mail center is currently without outdoor mailboxes, all mail is transferred inside and separated into folders by staff members. 

Currently, students must ask the front desk for any paper mail they may be expecting. According to mail center staff, this interim solution, while functional, has increased the workload for staff.  

“The new change is definitely going to be helpful,” Sandoval said.

Mail Center staff expect that this new system will significantly reduce error and improve overall efficiency. Sandoval said the system will also help students with heftier schedules. With over 500 individuals enrolled at Cal Lutheran being student-athletes, several programs at the university requiring students to have internships, and over 100 student clubs and organizations offered to keep students busy, this 24/7 access aligns with the increasingly round-the-clock nature of campus life and student needs.

According to Sandoval, most of the mail center’s student workers have class during peak visiting hours, making scheduling a challenge. She said she believes the new system will effectively eradicate this issue. 

Sandoval said that there is concern that some mail center staff may lose their jobs because of the new system, yet said it will benefit the staff and allow them to focus on other aspects of mail services. 

“I think it would just keep the mail center more organized, and I think it would be more accessible to all students,” Sandoval said.