Office of Internal Communications
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August 17, 2004 Soon, new and returning students will flock to the University of Houston for the first day of classes. When they arrive on campus, more than 400 staff members will be ready to welcome them. Cougar First Impressions (CFI) returns for its seventh year and will kick off the fall semester on Monday, Aug. 23 and Tuesday, Aug. 24. Sponsored by UH Staff Council, CFI features volunteers stationed around campus, offering directions to buildings and providing bottled water to students. Aside from water and advice, some of the CFI tent stations will offer items such as maps, mints, pencils and pens. For the first and only time at CFI, students will be able to register for parking permits at selected locations. Staff Council made the decision to allow students to apply for parking permits during CFI after learning that only 12.5 percent of students registered for fall classes had requested parking permits. “We’re hoping to alleviate some of the anticipated frustration levels of the thousands of students who registered online for classes but did not select a parking option,” said Angie Shortt, director of communications for the Cullen College of Engineering and Staff Council president. “They’d otherwise have to stand in line to arrange for a parking permit.” Volunteers from the Division of Administration and Finance will staff the tables, where students can sign up for parking. Parking requests will be deposited into sealed boxes located at the sites and will be picked up periodically throughout the day by the Department of Parking and Transportation Services to ensure security of their application requests. Students will also be instructed on how to select parking in the future using Enrollment Services Online. Students can sign up for parking at the following CFI stations:
Campus maps donated by the Department of Parking and Transportation Services will not only illustrate the streets and buildings on campus, but also will reflect all the CFI stations and note which ones offer parking registration. To prepare volunteers, the CFI Volunteer Training and Kickoff event will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19 in Farish Hall’s Kiva Room. During last year’s CFI, 486 volunteers at 18 locations assisted 18,142 students. Shortt added that it’s not too late to be part of this year’s CFI. To volunteer, visit http://www.uh.edu/sc/cfi/volunteer.html. Departments interested in making a financial contribution can contact B. Renae Milton, Staff Council’s program coordinator, at (713) 743-1578 or via e-mail at brenae@uh.edu. “Without the volunteers and financial contributors, CFI would not be possible,” Shortt said. “We truly appreciate the time everyone puts into this event. I know the students also appreciate the helping hands that guide them to their classes.” For more information, visit http://www.uh.edu/sc/cfi. Mike Emery
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