By Logan Monteleone
News Editor
Noticeable differences from the end of last semester include the incomplete reopening of a reimagined campus bookstore and the transition to a new payroll service.
The campus bookstore was expected to reopen before the holidays, but the gear company the College chose to partner with last fall has since experienced concerns unrelated to WC and will no longer supply merchandise. Vice President for Finance and Administration Bo Connell said the College has since found a new vendor; eCampus the same company that began providing textbooks last semester, will also procure apparel.
While merchandise from the previous vendor is still available in the store for a discounted price, new inventory is expected to arrive at the end of February.
The store will be open on special weekends at the College, which will be communicated over email, along with regular Monday, Wednesday, and Friday hours between 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., staffed by student employees.
Renovations took place over winter break, including carpet and countertop replacement and repainting. Connell said theCollege would like student input on how to decorate and improve store over the coming months. At this time, all purchases are card only, all sales are final, and items are discounted.
Administration would like to shift from calling the shop a bookstore, and instead refer to it as an apparel or gear shop to avoid confusion about where to get course materials. Like last semester, textbook distribution will be centralized at Central Services and students who order their books through eCampus will pick them up like other mail.
As for the transition from Paycom to Self Service over winter break, Student Employment Coordinator Amy Thonnings said that the transition has been completed and no one should try to log hours in Paycom anymore.
Students should access timecards through Self Service now by navigating from the employee tab on the dropdown menu on the left of Self Service. JobX, the add-on for job applications and approvals, has not gone live to students as of Jan. 19, but student employment expects the site to be available shortly.
Unlike Paycom, there is not a phone app for the new payroll service. Timecards and financial information will be best accessed from a desktop or laptop screen.
Thonnings will be sending out information in addition to the how-to documents on student banking and timecard entry shared in December, which should be in all students’ inboxes. Also refer to the Dec. 2025 Elm issue for more context.
Staff who work on payroll worked hard on the transition over winter break, and while questions or concerns about how to use the service should be asked, student employees and their managers are reminded to be patient with the office during the readjustment and to trust that they will be paid for their work.
Photo caption: New inventory will arrive soon, but older merch is on sale.
Photo by Aaron Rodenhausen