The NIU Advising Information and Referral Services office has packed up and moved from Neptune North to University City, 817 W. Lincoln Highway.

“We had grown beyond the allocated space in Neptune, so we had to move to gain more space and accessibility,” AIRS office coordinator Lori Lawson said.

As a part of campus support services, the AIRS office helps students of all majors with general advising questions, information on academic programs and connecting students with appropriate advisers.

Increased student and vehicle traffic forced the office, which received hundreds of walk-ins, e-mails and phone calls every day, to look for a larger location.

The new office, located behind the Stevens Building near PJ’s Red Hots, boasts not only more space but also several new features. A conference room will be available for meetings and peer mentor training, a service in which students with exceptional academic achievement tutor other students who are struggling in their classes.

The new location has separate offices to allow for improved confidentiality. The former location was one big office with partitions and did not allow for a confidential conversation, Lawson said.

Both students and faculty seem pleased with the new location of the AIRS office.

“This office is wonderful. It is much brighter, more spacious and, most importantly, more inviting,” AIRS office secretary Tita Kaus said.

Some students have found the new space to be more convenient.

“I live close to there, so if I ever need anything, it’s there. Plus, I can get a hot dog afterwards,” senior geography major Nick Jones said.

The AIRS office also holds the Majors Expo, an event designed to help students who may have questions with their major or need help finding one. This year, the expo will be held from 1 to 5 p.m on Oct. 24 at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

The student insurance office will expand across the hall to fill the void that the AIRS office left at Neptune North.

Despite the move, the AIRS office is open to any student who needs help with academic or personal advising.

For more information, call the office at 753-0048.