Card, mobile credential, payment and security
Beginning June 1, Marshall University will end its 10-year partnership with Higher One and begin a partnership with PNC Bank to issue refunds for students. Upon the start of the new partnership with PNC, the university will commence reissuing student IDs to current and incoming students with the new system and IDs.
According tot he Marshall Parthenon, the agreement will see all students receive a new ID card. There will be no charge for students' first cards, while lost, broken or stolen cards will carry a replacement fee of $20.
Higher One's relationship with Marshall spanned ten years after an initial five-year contract was renewed for additional five years by the university. The new contract with PNC will consist of a similar five-year contract with the option for a five year renewal. The university will review the relationship with PNC following the initial five-year period and make the decision to extend the contract or seek another vendor.
PNC was awarded the contract in a unanimous decision following an RFP process that was handled by Marshall University's Purchasing Office. Despite a number of other proposals being submitted, PNC’s previous relationship with West Virginia University showed their knowledge of West Virginia student culture.
The new relationship with PNC eliminates the Higher One issued cards and gives Marshall students a traditional student ID with the option to open an account with PNC. The PNC agreement also provides students with refund functionality directly at the Marshall website, whereas the previous agreement saw refunds managed at a Higher One site which required students to have a Higher One issued card in order to log in.
Marshall University had previously discussed and decided to choose a vendor based on their proposal of separate ID and debit card functionality. The university's RFP was issued specifically with the stipulation that Marshall was seeking just a refund service not the integrated card with ID and the debit function.
There are three options for refunds at Marshall, direct deposit into any existing checking account specified by the student, a hard copy check mailed to a permanent address, or the student can choose to open a bank account. The new account is not mandatory for students but a nice option which comes with a debit card to access the account.
To help colleges and universities be more safe and secure, the VTV Family Outreach Foundation (VTV) released a new integrated framework for improving campus safety called the 32 National Campus Safety Initiative (32 NCSI).
This first phase of 32 NCSI provides universities with a series of free, confidential, online self-assessment tools to improve comprehensive campus safety programs. Several institutions including the University of Florida and George Mason University have already completed pilot versions of 32 NCSI.
VTV is a national non-profit organization founded by the families of the victims and survivors of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Using the VTV's tools, colleges and universities will be able to better self assess safety measures across nine important areas: alcohol and other drugs, campus public safety, emergency management, hazing, mental health, missing students, physical security, sexual violence, and threat assessment.
"Institutions are sometimes criticized for campus safety efforts," says Peter Lake, the Chairman of 32 NCSI's Advisory Council and a professor of law at Stetson University. "For the first time, there is now a tool to help campuses implement effective programs across a wide variety of safety metrics."
"The 32 NCSI is designed to bring professionals together with a multi-department team approach that breaks down potential school silos," says Jen Day Shaw, associate vice president and dean of students at University of Florida. "Institutions will benefit from doing the process together as a team. Institutions will also benefit from the assessment results – determining areas that need improvement, prioritizing those, and utilizing the VTV panel of experts and professional staff to receive resources to address those priorities."
Universities can sign up for the program at www.32ncsi.org.
Norwalk, California's Cerritos College will be issuing a newly redesigned campus card for all students starting September 17, following a preparation and transition period during the summer months.
Cerritos' dean of student services and student senate approved the estimated $20,000 expense last year. According to a report from the college's newspaper, Talon Marks, the changeover is comprehensive and includes the installation of new hardware, cameras, printers and software.
Cerritos students will be able to use the new IDs in the campus library and learning resource center, while on the administrative side, the college will be able to monitor a student’s hours in each location respectively.
College officials say that the startup cost was the primary expense, and that the new IDs will not come at an additional cost to students. This latest investment is expected to tide the college over for five to seven years, at which point printers or other hardware may require an upgrade or replacement.
Official costs for the new IDs hasn't been release, but college officials believe the new IDs will be cost effective. The college had initially considered using the student ID for buss passes, but ultimately decided against the added functionality for now due to cost.
There will be no change in card technology, and the transition is not mandatory, as the old credentials will continue to be accepted. Despite the changeover being primarily aesthetic in nature, everyone on Cerritos' campus is expected to make the transition to the new IDs, including faculty and staff.
Idaho State University is providing its students with an new resource for accessing services on campus in the form of a new smartphone app.
As reported by local NBC affiliate, KPVI News, the free app is being provided through app developer Guidebook. Dubbed "Idaho State Student Affairs," the app was created by the ISU Office of Student Affairs, includes an interactive campus map, as well as links to services such as counseling, student housing and financial aid.
Using the interactive map, students can tap a building and learn what is available in the building, any applicable services, as well as view relevant phone numbers. A click on the Pond Student Union, for example, leads users to information about the Games Center, Outdoor Adventure Center, ISU Credit Union and more.
Via the app, students are also provided with easy access to campus counseling services and other lesser known student advocacy services like conflict management that are provided by the university's Office of Student Affairs. The Guidebook app is available for free download at on both the Google Play Store and the Apple Store.
The new campus mobile app at Idaho State joins the university's April announcement of campus safety app, Rave Guardian. The safety app was launched as part of an ongoing effort to maintain a safe and secure campus environment at Idaho State. The mobile app is available for free download for iOS and Android devices and covers all four of the university's campuses -- Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Meridian and Twin Falls.
ISU joins some 1,000 campuses nationwide that use Rave Guardian's mobile safety app. Rave Guardian allows students to set a safety timer to notify designated guardians if they are alone or in an unfamiliar location. The app also features an emergency call button that sends a notification to public safety personnel, providing the user's information and GPS location. Users can also send text or photo content directly to University officials if they witness something suspicious on campus.
Visitor management can be a bear on college campuses, with residence halls representing perhaps the biggest and most pressing challenge. Universities handle dorm visitation in a plethora of different ways, and this fall Western Illinois University will be implementing a new guest policy.
The university's housing and dining services is rolling out the new policy that requires all on-campus residents to register any non-Western student guests that will be spending the night on campus. According to a report from the Western Courier, the new policy will help to ensure a safer environment for residents.
The new policy places a level of guest responsibility in the hands of hosts, holding both guest and host alike responsible for the visit. The new overnight guest policy has been implemented for the following reasons:
The process for registering overnight guests has been designed to be simple and convenient for students. Hosts simply go to the front desk of the residence hall where they confirm that their guest will be spending the night. There's no paperwork, as registration is conducted via computer. The guest will be required to produce an official ID and the host will show their student ID at which point both identities will be placed together in the system. The guest will be printed a guest pass, which should be carried with them throughout their visit as proof of visitor registration.
If a student wishes to have their guest stay the night again after the initial period they must re-register at the front desk. Hosts must also register guests individually if there are multiple overnight guests. Guest registration periods last up to three days.
According to the university, the new policy should assist in enforcing the previously established guest policies in the residence halls. Existing regulations allow residents to only have a guest for up to three nights in a ten day period, with the permission of the roommate. Hosts are also held responsible for the actions of their guests and should escort guests at all times.
Virginia Commonwealth University, along with identification solutions provider ColorID, has implemented a new method for students entering the campus' Shafer Court Dining Center this fall. The university has opted to add iris biometrics as an alternative to the existing card swipe method of entry.
According to a release from VCU, the university installed two iris cameras this week that will enable meal plan holders to scan their eyes instead of swiping their IDs to access the dining hall. The new, voluntary system will serve as a sort of express lane for students in an attempt to boost throughput at the dining hall door.
"Students won't need their ID to enter the dining center anymore," says Stephen Barr, the director of campus services for VCU Dining Services. "With iris identification, it’s as simple as a camera taking a picture of their eyes and two seconds later they walk through."
The introduction of biometric access at the dining hall also enables students who lose their IDs over a weekend to still access their meal plans while the campus card office is closed. According to Barr, there isn't a mechanism for students to get a replacement ID during weekends, which prior to the biometric system would have kept student from accessing the dining hall without a student ID. In the past, students would only be able to circumvent this problem by paying out of pocket for a meal.
"ColorID is extremely excited to launch the Biometric Dining Solution at Virginia Commonwealth University," says Mark Degan, corporate marketing manager at ColorID. "VCU is a long-standing customer of ColorID’s and they’ve always embraced and encouraged the latest in identification technologies for the university."
According to the university, cashiers will still man the dining hall access points for those students who choose not to use the iris cameras, as well as for visitors and others entering the dining court.
The university chose to partner with ColorID for the biometric dining project, purchasing iCAM 7100 iris cameras that take a high-definition photo of the user's iris and then identify 220 or more unique points. The photo's are not saved or stored in any way, instead the system generates a unique number that is then associated with each meal plan holder's iris.
Establishing the project at VCU was a team effort, with ColorID playing an integral role in delivering the iris system. "VCU Dining Services came to us earlier in the year and wanted to give students a better dining experience on campus," says Degan. "It was then up to VCUCard Operations manager Patti Murdock to implement and install the solution."
VCU’s food service provider Aramark was also involved as their employees manage the cashier station and will be monitoring the solution on a daily basis, explains Degan. "We worked hand in hand with both departments which allowed us to really get a good idea as to what requirements were needed to make this successful in everyone’s eyes."
Students interested in enrolling in the iris recognition system can do so at stations set up at the dining hall and other select locations on campus during the first few weeks of the fall semester.
CBORD has seen a number of new campuses climb onboard with the company's GET platform in 2015. Since the beginning of the year, CBORD has added 25 new customers to the company's mobile commerce platform, including Florida International University, University of Oregon, Northern Virginia Community College, Keene State College, and on the health care side, Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Designed to be a one-stop shop for the life of a student’s ID, the GET platform allows a user to add funds to various accounts, check usage of meal plans, investigate where they can spend their funds on- and off-campus, and order food.
“Our customers have been clear: they want united commerce functions that cross all parts of campus,” says Susan Chaffee, director of product development for CBORD. “We’ve been in online ordering and online account management for years, and during this time have come to fully understand how a single touch point for the patron can be a value driver for an entire auxiliary operation.”
Keene State College, one of the newly added GET campus partners, has seen the benefit of the GET's all-in-one format. “There is a significant upside to having card office, dining and marketing functionality in one app,” says Rebecca Hunt, marketing manager with dining services at Keene State College. “Offering food ordering within the app students are already using to manage their accounts allowed us to add value and, perhaps more importantly, increase visibility and use of the GET platform. Ultimately, this streamlines and simplifies our Owl Card Office services and marketing.”
It's no secret that the student ID is vital for nearly every part of student life, whether access to athletic facilities, academic buildings and dorms to paying for copies, parking tickets, and supplies in the bookstore. It's for this reason that losing a student ID can feel like being marooned on an island with no way to access meals or a dorm room.
“A student with a lost ID on a Friday night can mean a student with a lost weekend," says Chaffee. "The newest GET feature will allow payment at POS with the app — a function that will expand GET’s impact beyond the auxiliary department and dining facilities."
Mobile ordering app, Tapingo has announced a new feature for the offering that is reaching beyond the confines of campus, facilitating delivery from on-campus venues to both on- and off-campus students.
The new service, dubbed “Tapingo Delivers,” is helping traditional university food programs to expand the reach and accessibility of campus meal plans and dining services by offering options for upperclassmen, faculty and staff living off campus. The new service's operations are handled completely by Tapingo on behalf of the campus using the company's proprietary scheduling technology and a network of Tapingo Couriers, which carry out the deliveries to users.
“We’re always looking for ways to provide our partners with new revenue streams without impacting their workflow, and this is a big win-win for the campus community,” says Tapingo founder and CEO Daniel Almog. “Tapingo Delivers provides the ultimate convenience for students by bringing fresh, healthy meals to their doorstep, while campuses can extend their sales beyond traditional campus dining locations and dorms.”
Since 2012, Tapingo has partnered with more than 90 colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada to bring mobile ordering to campus. Tapingo-enabled campuses provide students to option to order on-the-go and skip the line at the time of pick up, eliminating wait times.
In addition to working with more than 90 campuses, the Tapingo Partner Ecosystem integrates with POS providers Micros 3700, 9700, and Simphony; Agilysys InfoGenesis; and Sequoia solutions, as well as with card system providers Blackboard, Heartland, CardSmith, and NuVision.
