Card, mobile credential, payment and security
The University of Mississippi and Emory University's Atlanta and Oxford campuses have all partnered with mobile safety app platform LiveSafe to deliver real-time security communication.
The app, available for free download for iOS and Android devices, enables campus communities to report non-emergency tips including threats, disturbances, assaults, theft, stalking, suspicious activity, drug and alcohol abuse and traffic or parking issues, among others.
As reported by the Oxford Eagle, Ole Miss students recently trialed the app and the university will now use LiveSafe to send RebAlerts and safety information to its campus community. Students can use the app to send a picture, video or audio clip when submitting their safety tip, all of which can be anonymous. Once a tip is reported through the app, the appropriate department will respond based on the type of alert.
A chat option is also available through the app to allow direct and immediate communication with on-campus resource officers. Another feature of the app, called SafeWalk, allows users to virtually monitor a friend's walk home using, GPS location technology, to ensure safe arrival.
Ole Miss has also launched an accompanying website called UMatter, which serves as a support site for students, faculty and staff to provide assistance to peers and colleagues who may be in distress. The website enables individuals to report concerns or find support resources for problems ranging from physical and mental health issues, to financial hardships, to behavioral issues including drug and alcohol abuse.
Emory's Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) officially launched the app November 17, with the hope that it will increase emergency and general safety for the campus community.
All of the safety app’s features will be on offer at Emory, enabling users to alert the Emory Police Department (EPD) and other safety agencies about safety concerns on campus, call or text EPD and '911,' request a SafeRide shuttle or SafeWalk, and look up safety resources both at Emory and in the greater Atlanta area.
As with Ole Miss, Emory's deployment of the app can be used to track a user’s location, though some settings such as tip reporting will allow anonymity, only sending certain information -- such as the location of an incident, but not a user’s contact information -- to authorities.
Separate from the university's main campus in Atlanta, Emory's Oxford campus will have its own specific tab within the app that will feature campus-specific resources.
According to an Emory Wheel report, the university signed a three-year contract with LiveSafe and is paying for its services with funds from the university's Student Activity Fee and Employee Benefit Fees.
Emory's CEPAR worked with several campus agencies over the past year to develop the app, including the Emory Safety Alliance, which pools members from other campus stakeholders including Student Government Association, the Environmental Health and Safety Office and Student Health Services.
Emory officials also hope to connect with other LiveSafe app communities, such as Georgia Tech, to better protect those who may be traveling between campuses.
Fall 2017 will mark a major change to Notre Dame's Irish1Card program card program, with all students set to be issued new, smart card IDs.
According to a report from The Observer, Notre Dame will be transitioning from the magstripe-only credentials it is currently issuing to multi-technology credentials that incorporate both magstripe and smart card capabilities.
“Magnetic strips are reliable, but it’s not always the most secure, and you’ll find a lot of schools are moving away from the magnetic strips or are starting to look at smart card technology and how to incorporate that into their programs,” said Daniel Tormey, Irish1Card program director. “This new card will have a smart chip in it, and for students or staff, instead of handing over your card to swipe it, you’re just going to tap it on a reader. The technology there is much more secure than swiping it and just reading that information off.”
Despite the current credentials and card system maintaining reliable levels of service, Irish1Card officials say that because the card system traces its origins back to food services and campus dining, it isn't as much of a “campus-directed enterprise” as at other peer institutions.
“You really need a system in place that supports the use of mobile tablets for doing attendance and event verification and those sorts of things,” Tormey said in an interview with The Observer. “There’s lots of functionality that exists out there, and you really need a system that’s scalable enough that you can adopt these certain technologies, and that’s been our struggle for the last few years.”
According to Tormey, a majority of the transition will consist of back-end technical advancement and development, rather than noticeable changes for the cardholder community. However, the transition to smart cards will be accompanied by the university's flex point and Domer Dollar accounts being accessible through CBORD's GET platform. Students will also likely notice two other primary changes as part of the transition -- a new photo submission utility for Irish1Cards, and the introduction of new internal card readers to be used for residential students' dorm room access.
Replacement costs for the current ID cards currently runs $30, and that fee is set to remain as the transition concludes. Also included in the transition will be a card design vote to be held in early January. Irish1Card officials worked with university marketing communications to develop three card designs, and will open voting up to students, faculty, staff and the general campus community.
Tapingo is hard at work expanding its user base with Florida International University, The Univeristy of Southern Mississippi and their surrounding areas deploying the app in recent weeks.
Last week, Florida International released the app for free download to its students to leverage both pickup and delivery services. To celebrate the launch of Tapingo in Miami, Tapingo is eliminating delivery fees for new customers and will be hosting special in-app promotions for local favorites.
Tapingo’s delivery service is available from hundreds of restaurants, such as Pieology, The Habit, and Jersey Mike's Subs, as well as on-campus favorites at FIU including Cafe Bustelo, Pollo Tropical and Chilli’s Too.
Tapingo is an official partner of FIU, which will serve as a hub for its delivery program. Students on campus can even use their meal plans and FIU cash to order on the app.
Tapingo’s mobile ordering service for pickup has seen solid traction since hitting the ground in the Miami area. “We launched Tapingo pickup just two months ago, and it’s been incredibly successful,” said Jeff Hardy, Tapingo’s CBO. “Within 60 days, we had more than 6,000 active users placing daily orders through Tapingo.”
Once an order is ready, Tapingo sends a text notification to the user, who can avoid waiting in line and head straight to the counter for pickup. The app also remembers personalized choices – extra cheese, hold the mustard, etc. – for quick, one-tap reordering.
The University of Southern Mississippi, meanwhile, is the first college in the state to implement Tapingo.
According to student publication Student Printz, Southern Miss has tethered its USM Eagle Dining plans to Tapingo to enhance the student dining experience.
As with other Tapingo deployments, Southern Miss students can search for nearby restaurants, browse menus, customize orders and pay for meals via the app. Food orders can either be delivered or be ready for pick-up when the student arrives at the restaurant.
Lauren Brescher, Eagle Dining’s Marketing Manager, said she is excited to bring Tapingo to USM. “We think it will add a lot of value to our meal plans, and students can use their bonus bucks or dining dollars to pay through the app,” Brescher said in a Student Printz interview. “We know that students are very busy, trying to get from one place to another and trying to eat between classes, and it isn’t always easy to wait in line at Chick-Fil-A.”
Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University held a vote for its new card design competition with a winner chosen from some 500 submissions.
According to a Mothership report the judging panel was comprised of faculty, student and staff representatives, with the finalists presenting “distinctive interpretations” of NTU. The finalists included a freehand drawing of campus life, an appropriation of Piet Mondrian’s path breaking line compositions, and a conceptual representation of science meeting art as a nod to the university’s interdisciplinary exchange.
The winning card design.
The new card will be rolled out for use by students, faculty and staff beginning early next year. The university is also moving to smart cards as part of the transition, incorporating additional features such as improved security and the convenience of smart card payment for retail and public transit.
The winning design has received over 1,100 positive reactions on Facebook since being released to the public. Despite the traction on social media, the wining design has not been unanimously supported and the university has decided to give students a second design option.
NTU students will be able to choose from two student card designs next year. The second design will be put forth by the NTU Students’ Union after reviewing the rest of the initial 500 design entries and shortlisting a further 50 designs.
The shortlisted design with the most votes will become the second design finalist. At the time of issuance, students can choose one of the two designs.
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