On Jan. 6, the DU Health and Counseling Center announced extended hours to better accommodate the needs of DU students. “We have always been open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. [Monday through Friday] and now we are open until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays,” said Alan Kent, executive director of the Health and Counseling Center.

The decision to add hours was not a quick one. “We have been talking about it [extending hours] for over two years,” said Kent. “We’ve done various surveys of the student body’s needs and students have been telling us that the availability of evening hours greatly improved access for them. There are students that have internships or jobs and it is very difficult for them to get here during normal business hours.”

Adding hours was not completely based on student availability, though. “We are so busy and the demand for services are so great that it is hard to accommodate everyone during daytime hours,” said Kent. “We did get funding to hire additional staff so that we can extend our hours and be open and more available to students in the evenings. We are adding four extra hours of service, which is an additional 10 percent.”

Before announcing the addition of hours at the Health and Counseling Center, a few experiments were done. “We were open [late] in the winter and spring and we do find that virtually every evening appointment available is filled,” said Kent. “We are glad to be able to meet the students’ needs. We want to make sure students know that this is a service that is available to them and our primary need is to serve the student body.”

More information about DU’s Health and Counseling Center can be found on their website or by following them on Twitter @DU_HCC.