Card, mobile credential, payment and security
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is now enabling students, faculty, and staff to add their Lion OneCard to their smartphones and watches to leverage mobile credentials across campus. The move to mobile credentials is being led by UCCS' Office of Information Technology and includes a mobile credentialing program, contactless payment, building access, and more.
According to an official university release, the program began May 21 and is underpinned by the university's card transaction system provider, Transact. The program will also deactivate physical ID cards once a student's mobile credential is activated. The university expects the move to both boost security and decrease the number of lost physical IDs.
When adding a mobile Lion OneCard to Apple Wallet or Google Pay, faculty, staff and students can use their iPhones, Apple Watches or Android phones for the full range of transactions, including access to campus buildings, purchases and more.
Student mobile IDs can be used at all dining locations for meal plans, as well as the university discretionary funds accounts, Clyde’s Cash and Flex Dollars. The Ent Lion One branded debit card may also be added to Apple Wallet or Google Pay as an additional form of payment.
The mobile credential program does not yet include campus library rentals or access to Mountain Lion Connect events, but both functionalities are planned for fall of 2021 through the UCCS ModoLabs app.
The mobile Lion OneCard works just like any standard mobile payment. Users place their Lion OneCard-enabled device near a reader to complete a transaction or gain access to appropriate buildings.
“As more students begin to return to campus, there is a growing need for contactless options to support our new normal,” says Harper Johnson, associate vice chancellor of Information Technology. “Mobile Credentialing will improve the student experience by providing mobile ID access to the Lion OneCard and encourage a ‘Contactless Campus.’”
To set up the mobile credential, UCCS users first download the Transact eAccounts app, authenticate with their UCCS credentials, and then add their Lion OneCard to Apple Wallet or Google Pay. More information is available on the Lion OneCard website.
Northern Michigan University will offer $100 food credits, to be loaded on campus card accounts, to any students and staff that upload proof of their COVID-19 vaccination. The proof of vaccination will be uploaded to individuals' university accounts via NMU's Bridge App.
According to a report from The Mining Journal, students and faculty who upload their vaccine documentation on or before July 1 will receive the full $100 credit that can be used at any on-campus eatery. Those who upload their vaccine documentation between July 2 and August 1 will receive a $50 food credit.
“This information will give campus leaders a more accurate understanding of the vaccination level on campus heading into the fall,” said Fritz Erickson, NMU President in an email sent to students and staff. “Many of our NMU pandemic protocol decisions will be tied to knowing if we have a high or low vaccination rate. The Bridge app will help us monitor that.”
The dining credit will be loaded onto student and employee accounts and can be used by swiping an NMU ID card at checkout.
The dining credit can be applied at both university-run and franchise locations on campus including the Wildcat Den, Temaki, Smoothie King and Starbucks beginning immediately. The list of participating locations will expand with the start of the fall semester to include Northern Lights Dining, Fieras, Melted, Sundre and the campus convenience store.
Erickson also addressed NMU's intent to follow the state of Michigan’s plan regarding indoor and outdoor gatherings on July 1, stating:
“This move comes as more people get vaccinated, COVID-19 trends improve and federal health regulators say it’s safer to start returning to normal. For Northern, this means most — potentially all — of our pandemic-related room capacity maximums will go away at the start of July. This will allow classes, campus groups and departments to meet as we used to do before COVID-19.”
More information on NMU’s COVID-19 response.
Virginia Tech recently held its annual Flex Out Hunger event, a program that uses student flex funds from dining plans to raise money for the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program (MCEAP) and the Student Emergency Fund. The program enables students to donate leftover funds from their meal plans, with this year’s event raising $21,265.02 and $7,088.34 for the two charities respectively.
According to a report from Virginia Tech's student publication, The Collegiate Times, this year’s event was ran May 3-7, with fundraising tables placed in front of every campus dining hall. With the decreased number of students on dining plans this year, the Virginia Tech chapter of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity aided in the donation program, supplementing the flex fund efforts with online donations, a raffle and working with other organizations on campus.
“Because this year only the freshmen on campus purchased a meal plan, we had far less money in general to draw from,” says Cooper Whiteleather, president of the Virginia Tech chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon. “I would say COVID-19 definitely affected fundraising. We just had less money to go around in general, which is part of why we took it so seriously, because we knew that people in the community needed the help now more than ever.”
In 2019, prior to COVID-19, the initiative raised about $40,000 total, a number that plummeted in 2020 to around $11,000, explains Whiteleather. "This year we raised just over $32,000 total, between the Flex donations and other online methods, as well as some cash. It was less than the last in-person year, but significantly more than last year’s pandemic conditions.”
Also underpinning the Flex Out Hunger donation program is Virginia Tech Dining Services.
“Dining services always wants the students to spend their dining plan money on meals, that’s what the number one goal is," says Brian Grove, associate director of Dining Services. "But we were kind of struggling — students always had leftover money — and we really wanted to give a couple of avenues to spend their leftover Flex Plan money."
75% of the fundraised money went toward the MCEAP, while the other 25% of the money raised went toward the Dean of Students Student Emergency Fund. The Student Emergency Fund allows students who are in immediate need of financial support to apply for a one-time grant.
Auburn University is in the process of installing new, contactless card readers on all doors across campus as part of a project that will see all students, faculty and staff be issued new contactless credentials. The campus-wide overhaul is intended to enable easier access to university facilities with contactless entry, as well as increase security as the university moves away from its existing magstripe infrastructure.
According to an Eagle Eye report, the university is currently in the throws of installing the new contactless card readers, and issuing the first of the new contactless cards to students and faculty. The cards will retain the existing magstripe as the university continues its reader replacements over time.
“The focus for the summer is to try to update highly used student areas first in order to minimize interruption during the fall," says Glen Granberry, Facilities IT Manager at Auburn. "The first buildings to have the new reader technology installed will be all residence halls, starting with the Quad dorms, with completion of all dorm buildings to occur about mid-June.”
More details about the card reader overhaul are available on the Tiger Card website, including what to expect as the project rolls on throughout the summer.
The first batch of contactless cards will be issued to students enrolled in summer classes. New incoming students and students taking in-person classes during the 2021 summer semester can now visit the Tiger Card office to receive their new contactless cards during in-person orientation.
Returning on-campus students for the 2021 fall semester will visit the Tiger Card office on or one business day before their move-in date. Returning off-campus students for the 2021 fall semester can begin receiving their cards one week before classes begin.
As the reader replacements are ongoing, current and returning students with magstripe and swipe access to buildings will be contacted via email prior to those specific readers being replaced.
Enrolled students will not be charged a fee to upgrade to the new contactless Tiger Card, provided they can turn in their old credential at the time of issuance. Students are required to turn in their current Tiger Card if possible or they will be charged $25.
New incoming students receiving a Tiger Card for the first time will also be charged $25 to their e-Bill. There will also be a $25 charge for subsequent replacement cards.
Students must show proof of identification when receiving their new Tiger Card, and the university will accept any of the following to verify cardholder identity:
Only new incoming students may submit a photo to be printed on the new Tiger Card. Any photos submitted after the initial Tiger Card is produced will be rejected.
The old Tiger Cards will still be functional for all payment transactions and door access to areas that do not have the new contactless readers installed. Once new readers are installed, students will be unable to swipe the old card on the new readers.
Penn State students put up impressive donation numbers during Earth Week this past April, raising more than $29,000 for the Student Emergency Fund by donating extra dining dollars from their campus meal plans. The leftover dining dollars were donated to the charitable organization, Swipe Out Hunger, which has quickly become one of the leading food donation programs for universities across the country.
According to an official university release, all Penn State residential campuses participated in Swipe Out Hunger in conjunction with Earth Week 2021, when students had the opportunity to donate excess dining dollars from their meal plans any time they dined on campus.
Students who have excess dining dollars left over on their meal plans were given the option to donate $5, $10, or $15 at a time from their campus meal plan when dining on campus. At the time students purchase a meal at any dining commons on campus, they simply tell the cashier how many dining dollars they would like to contribute, in increments of $5.
The funds raised will go to support the Student Emergency Fund -- a program that provides short-term financial assistance to students experiencing crisis situations. The program is run through the university's Student Care & Advocacy.
Dining dollar donations from Penn State's flagship University Park campus dining commons, HUB-Robeson Center dining locations, and Commonwealth Campuses reached a grand total of $29,502.67.
Swipe Out Hunger is a national nonprofit with the mission of ending college student hunger. The organization works with more than 130 colleges and universities nationwide to implement anti-hunger programs.
The group that brought Swipe Out Hunger to Penn State included task force subcommittee members from the university's Housing and Food Services, Student Affairs, Challah for Hunger and Penn State Hillel, as well as students who work with the university's on campus food pantry, Lion's Pantry.
Western Washington University is revamping its campus card office services, moving issuance operations to a more central hub in the university's Student Business Office, as well as implementing mobile credentials for students and staff.
As part of the move, the Western Card Office will be able to expand its scope in the coming months and implement a new card production program that includes a mobile credential. Card services provided by the office will remain the same in the short term; including the issuance of Western Cards, badges and name tags for students, faculty, staff and alumni.
According to a university release, the transition of card office location and oversight has been years in the making.
Moving the Western Card onto student mobile devices has been a core part of the transition. The move to mobile credentials will enable students and staff to tap their device at many of the same locations that the plastic Western Card is currently used.
WWU plans to enable mobile credentials for use in dining halls, entering the campus rec centers, check books out from Western Libraries, riding WTA buses and more. The university will still issue and recognize the plastic Western Card, maintaining card function in the same capacity that it currently does.
Phase one of mobile credential implementation will support all current Western Card functions. According to university officials, phases two and beyond have ambitions to expand credential capabilities to include declining balance accounts, additional building access, time and attendance tracking and more.
The mobile credential provider for WWU is yet to be named. The university will be holding meetings with vendors to view proposals and demonstrations, with details of vendors, FAQ’s and more to be posted on the Western Card Office website.
The National Association of Campus Card Users announced the winners of its annual NACCU Awards during a virtual Awards Ceremony event.
NACCU recognizes the following individuals and institutions for their outstanding accomplishments over the past year:
NACCU is proud to recognize David Halbach from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater as the recipient of the NACCU 2021 Distinguished Service Award, sponsored by ASSA ABLOY. Tyler Webb from ASSA ABLOY presented the award during the virtual NACCU 2021 Awards Ceremony event on April 20, 2021.
The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to an individual who has advanced the industry, exhibited entrepreneurial spirit, is an active member of NACCU, is actively involved in R&D, and who is active in the industry through serving on advisory boards or actively educating through presentations and sessions.
Dave Halbach has a long history of leadership and collaboration within the NACCU community. He has shared his experiences and expertise through countless presentations that have enhanced user knowledge of the card industry.
Halbach has previously chaired the NACCU Membership Committee and the Corporate Relations Committee. Halbach is often a “go-to” source for new professionals in the industry as his years of service prove that he is willing to go above and beyond to serve his colleagues.
On receiving the award, Halbach says:
“I am extremely honored and humbled to be receiving the NACCU 2021 Distinguished Service Award. Winning this award would not have been possible without the inspiration I have received from all of you NACCU members. Because of that, I have tried to share with you the experiences of the card office at UW-Whitewater. Thank you.”
Watch the virtual presentation of the award on naccuTV.
NACCU is proud to honor Jennifer McDonald from Georgian College as the recipient of the NACCU 2021 New Professional Award, sponsored by Transact. Rachael Sepcic, Vice President Global Sales at Transact, presented the award.
The NACCU New Professional Award recognizes an individual with five or fewer years in the campus identification and transaction system profession who has made significant contributions to their institution, the industry and to the association during their relatively short time in their position.
Jennifer McDonald currently serves on the Professional Development Committee and volunteered as a mentor this year. She is active on the listserv and has shared her knowledge and expertise on multiple topics as well as sharing items to the NACCU vault for others to see.
On receiving the award, McDonald says:
“I was touched and pleasantly surprised to find out that my colleagues had taken time out of their busy schedules to nominate me for this award. When I joined the card industry a few short years ago, I very quickly realized what a valuable asset being a member of the NACCU community is. I was eager to give back to a group that had given me so much support and camaraderie. Thank you so much for this honor. It really means a lot to me to be recognized by such an incredible group of people.”
Watch the virtual presentation of the award on naccuTV.
NACCU is honored to recognize Laurie Harris from Duke University as the recipient of the NACCU 2021 Outstanding Volunteer Award.
The NACCU Outstanding Volunteer Award is presented annually to recognize an individual who has demonstrated exemplary volunteer service to the mission, goals, and work of NACCU during the current or previous calendar year and encompasses the ideals of vision, diligence, and commitment to service to the NACCU community.
Laurie Harris has been a champion of the SAGs program, has served in a faculty role, is an active participant on the professional development committee, and is always willing to share knowledge with fellow members.
Harris was also chosen as the first NACCU Liaison to CAS (the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education) and has worked to elevate NACCU's standing with CAS. She has given credibility among this group of peers to NACCU with her hard work and determination, and has already started to explore possible ways that NACCU can benefit from this new partnership.
On receiving the award, Harris says:
“I’m honored to receive this recognition. NACCU has given me many opportunities over the years to learn and grow through volunteering, and along the way to build relationships. Volunteering with NACCU has shown me the strength and diversity of campus card programs represented within our organization and how we all contribute to our industry’s growth.”
Watch the virtual presentation of the award on naccuTV.
NACCU is proud to announce that Sheridan College is the recipient of the NACCU 2021 Best Video Award. Joann Wright, 2021 NACCU Awards Committee Chair, announced the award recipient.
The NACCU Best Video Award recognizes an institution’s use of video to communicate the purpose and intent of the card center. It may promote use of the campus card and other related technology. This award recipient is selected by NACCU member vote.
Aesha Brown, Manager of OneCard Operations at Sheridan College, accepted the award, saying:
“My team and I are so humbled by this award. The Best Video Award is a great accomplishment for us. We wanted to create a video that was light-hearted and fun, and also informative. We wanted to showcase our diverse student population, because that’s what makes Sheridan such a special place. Thank you again to the NACCU community.”
Watch the virtual presentation of the award on naccuTV.
NACCU is proud to honor The University of Alabama as the recipient of the NACCU 2021 Best Marketing Campaign Award. NACCU 2021 Awards Committee Chair Joann Wright presented the award.
The NACCU Best Marketing Campaign Award is presented to an institution to recognize implementation of an integrated marketing strategy that has achieved measurable results, to encourage participation in the Association and the industry, and to gather ideas and resources that can be shared by other NACCU members.
When The University of Alabama moved to a Transact mobile credential for Apple and Android devices, the ACT Card team had an objective to make the campus community award of the change to a mobile-first campus, and that physical cards would no longer be issued. A variety of strategies were used to promote the objective, including UA News, virtual orientation, and an update to photo submission that led to a 93% submission rate by the first day of move in.
The website and social media were also used to promote the Mobile-First mission. As a result of these and other strategies, mobile provisioning saw a substantial increase by thousands of provisions.
Courtney Petrizzi, Communications Specialist for the Action Card Office at The University of Alabama, accepted the award, saying:
“We are very honored and humbled to be the recipients of the NACCU 2021 Best Marketing Campaign Award. We, like many of you, have made major and permanent changes to our card office in response to the pandemic. For us, that was transitioning our campus to a Mobile-First campus. With that change came a large marketing campaign that encompassed our entire campus, so not only does this award mean a lot to our office, but it means a lot to The University of Alabama.”
Watch the virtual presentation of the award on naccuTV.
NACCU is proud to announce that Cuyahoga Community College is the recipient of the NACCU 2021 Best Card Design Award, sponsored by ColorID. Danny Smith, Co-owner and Executive Vice President at ColorID, presented the award.
The NACCU Best Card Design Award is presented annually for the submission which receives the most votes from NACCU members. Voters are asked to consider the visual impact, creativity and representation of the institution when judging the card designs.
“I’m so excited to be accepting this award,” said Kian Blackmur, Campus Card Manager at Cuyahoga Community College. “We just rebranded our card this year during COVID, so being able to show it off and promote it is so exciting.”
Watch the virtual presentation of the award on naccuTV.
NACCU is proud to announce that Georgian College is the recipient of the NACCU 2021 Innovative Technology Award, sponsored by HID Global. Tim Nyblom and David O’Driscoll announced the award recipient.
The NACCU Innovative Technology Award recognizes and celebrates the success of a NACCU institutional member that has implemented innovative uses of technology in support of services used by campus identification programs.
Georgian College sought to replace transit stickers by seamlessly distributing a digital bus UPass to their students each semester -- a process that normally led to long lines of students waiting for sticker passes.
The college used resources from both their campus and transit partners to complete an automatic delivery of the digital UPass once an ID was printed. Part of the challenge was overcoming connectivity issues with city buses, so they used their ingenuity to create a way for a nightly script of approved students to be downloaded to each bus.
Jennifer McDonald accepted the award on behalf of Georgian College, saying:
“On behalf of the UPass project team, I’d like to thank you for this honor. I know that this year especially, every school was undergoing a state of digital innovation like never before, so for our project to have been singled out among such a strong group of passionate and dedicated people really means a lot.”
Watch the virtual presentation of the award on naccuTV.
Campus transaction and payment solutions provider, Transact, will host a virtual town hall discussion covering students’ safe return to campuses and using technology in innovative ways to facilitate social distancing and limit person-to-person interactions.
Executives from Tufts University, Grand Canyon University, and Georgia Institute of Technology will all share their experiences during the "Preparing for Back to School with Transact Mobile Ordering – A Powerful Tool to Enforce Social Distancing" event.
The town hall event is free to attend, and available on-demand.
Institutions regularly look for unique ways to serve students, and the pandemic has increased complexity by introducing the need to adhere to social distancing requirements and to limit person-to-person interaction. This virtual town hall discussion involves a panel of experienced campus leaders who will share how they have used technologies, like Transact’s mobile ordering, to serve students and faculty while maintaining social distancing.
Panel members include:
The panel will cover a number of topics, including:
Registration is now open for those interested in joining the Virtual Town Hall Discussion: "Preparing for Back to School with Transact Mobile Ordering – A Powerful Tool to Enforce Social Distancing."
Syracuse University has gone back to the campus dining drawing board, reworking its meal plan system and consolidating declining balance funds into a single account. The university's Housing, Meal Plan and I.D. Card Services Office has chosen a new block meal plan system that will take effect with the start of the 2021-22 academic year.
According to an official university release, the meal plan overhaul has been driven by student feedback. Students had often expressed confusion over the number of meal plan options, the weekly meal swipe “reset” and the difference between the SUpercard FOOD and PLUS funds accounts, says Kris Klinger, associate vice president of Auxiliary Services, which also includes the Housing, Meal Plan and I.D. Card (HMPID) Services Office.
Under the new system, students will have the opportunity to select “block” plans. That is, a set number of meals for an entire semester. Unlike Syracuse's current meal plan system, there will also be no weekly “reset,” meaning students can use dining center meal swipes at their own pace over the course of the semester.
HMPID will offer three different block plans—one with 220 meals per semester, one with 130 meals and a third with 85 meals. The new options roughly correspond with the university's previous 14, 10 and 5 meals-per-week plans, respectively.
A first time addition to Syracuse's dining plans will be a new, unlimited meal plan option. Students on these plans will be able to swipe into a campus dining center as often as they would like. This plan would enable maximum flexibility for students who may just want to pop into a dining hall for a cup of coffee or a muffin before class, or who want to return to the dining hall for an ice cream bar after dinner.
Most meal plans will come with Meal Plan Dining Dollars, a declining balance tender that can be used at campus cafés and select dining halls on the Syracuse campus. Meal Plan Dining Dollars only plans are available for select students living off campus or on the university's South Campus.
Joining Syracuse's new meal plan overhaul will be a change to declining balance funds and accounts, starting with the retirement of the SUpercard FOOD and PLUS accounts.
Beginning on July 6, 2021, these two funds will be combined into a single account, accessible via students' SU I.D. card or the CBORD GET app. Students can use their ‘CUSE Cash funds to purchase food and non-food items at nearly every point of sale on campus, including all Food Services locations, the Campus Store, convenience stores, vending machines and stadium concessions stands and shops.
At the end of each academic year, unused ‘CUSE Cash funds will be refunded to student bursar accounts.
Faculty and staff members can also use ‘CUSE Cash accounts to eliminate the need to carry cash or credit cards for on-campus purchases. Unlike student accounts, faculty and staff ‘CUSE Cash accounts do roll over from year to year.
“We’ve introduced a lot more flexibility into the meal plan system,” says Gillian Budman Kanter, interim director of the Housing, Meal Plan and I.D. Card Services Office. “We have something for everyone, from our on-campus students who will eat most of their meals in a dining center to the off-campus students who may only want to enjoy an occasional Dunkin’ iced coffee.”
Students can alter their meal plan choice up to the end of the second week of the Fall 2021 semester. Students who feel like they need a larger meal plan can also increase the number of meals they need throughout the semester.
Campus payment solutions provider, Transact, has launched its new Transact CampusPay for cashiering service. CampusPay enables higher education institutions to securely process online and in-person payments with PCI validated processes and Point-to-Point Encryption.
Transact facilitates approximately $45 billion in payments annually.
"We are resolute in our commitment to offering the most convenient payment options for both students and administrators," says Laura Newell-McLaughlin, chief of staff at Transact. "With the addition of CampusPay, we now provide a one-stop-shop for back-end reconciliation for all payments on campus."
"The bottom line? Transact is the only payment processor a higher education institution needs to take any payment – online or in-person – on campus," adds Newell-McLaughlin.
Transact Payment’s Cashiering module enables campuses to securely accept and manage over-the-counter tuition and non-tuition payments via desktop and mobile workstations from anywhere on campus including the bursar’s office, recreational sports center, health center and housing office.
CampusPay also adds secure, integrated payment processing of both in-person and online payments.
CampusPay joins Transact's existing roster of integrations with higher education ERP platforms, and seeks to offer campuses instant back-office efficiency at a lower cost. Transact’s CampusPay also features straightforward interchange costs with no hidden fees and no confusion.
Students and payers benefit from an expedited in-person payment experience and the ability to use credit cards for payments.
