Effective Nov. 1, the single unit of Admissions and Records will divide into two separate units, becoming the Office of the Registrar and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

The two-office split is a natural progression that reflects the growth of both operations, said Keith Marshall, associate provost for enrollment management. He added that Admissions and Records are each so large that giving them independent status will ease confusion for students, as well as facilitate organization and further development.

“A lot of current students do not get what the Registrar’s office does because they do such a good job,” said Jackie Ceglinski, intern in both units of the previous Admissions and Records office and senior in Media. “If they were doing a bad job, you would hear about it.”

Marshall said the Admissions unit works on recruiting new students and processing the nearly 30,000 undergraduate applications the University receives each year.

He said the Records unit works to meet the various needs of current students and alumni.

“Admissions’ focus is getting the best and brightest students possible,” said Ashton Clark, employee of the new Office of Admissions and junior in Business. “Records’ focus is more on using the hottest new technology to keep track of records. Each is doing their own thing.”

Both units are still focused on students, just at different points in the students’ careers, Marshall said.

“It is clearer now where to go to get a problem solved,” said Carol Malmgren, head of the new Office of the Registrar.

One cause of the separation of the departments has been the very dynamic energy of the Admissions unit, which has grown enormously in the past four years, said Stacey Kostell, director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

“We are working to recruit students away from private universities and the (Ivy League Schools), and choose Illinois,” said Marshall.

Student blogging is one of the newer branches of the Admissions recruiting unit.

“Students have become a different type of consumer than they were 10 years ago,” said Kostell. “They want to touch people.”

Another venue trying to reach prospective students is a very popular University-sponsored YouTube site, said Douglas Burgett, creative director for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

“Students really want to hear from other students,” Burgett said. “They want to know more than the basic information. Video is easier to digest than one page of text.”

The new Office of the Registrar is also a highly dynamic unit with a focus on meeting the needs and implementing the creative ideas of the whole of the student faculty body, Malmgren said.

“The faculty, dean and students come up with creative ideas, and (the Office of the Registrar) makes those dreams a reality,” Malgrem said.