Card, mobile credential, payment and security
Campus credential and commerce solution provider, TouchNet, has been busy in the mobile ID realm of late, building an exciting new mobile app called 360u. The next generation of TouchNet’s OneCard mobile app, 360u is a significant step toward a campus mobile app that combines mobile ID with event access and the ability to purchase campus services all from a single interface.
“The aim of 360u is to bring all of our campuswide services into a single app platform and experience,” says Ryan Audus, Senior Director, Product Strategy for TouchNet. “We see the 360u app as the front door to TouchNet in the future.”
“A lot of the features built into this first version of the app are centered around our OneCard product stack,” explains Audus. “Moving forward, we anticipate bringing in other functionality like bill payment, shopping cart capability, and partner services.”
Currently, 360u offers the ability to view the student ID and provision credentials for door access using NFC or Bluetooth. “There’s also declining balance capabilities, so as you add funds to your closed-loop account on campus you can use 360u to make copies, pay for vending and laundry, and get dining hall access,” says Audus.
“A lot of the features built into this first version of the app are centered around our OneCard product stack. Moving forward, we anticipate bringing in bill payment, shopping cart capability, and partner services.”
Other core features of the 360u app include notification capabilities that students can subscribe to, as well as campus navigation and wayfinding.
“While using your meal plan on campus, if declining balance funds reach low levels you can be notified of those statuses,” says Audus. “Students and staff also have the ability to add more funds directly through 360u.”
Campus mobile apps aren’t a new concept. Universities have long provided campus communities with mobile apps that cover the basics, like events calendars, dining hall menus, directories, and campus maps. But these apps traditionally lacked the functionality and features that made consistent use worthwhile.
“One of the challenges that universities have had was creating the drive and desire to entice students and other campus constituents to use the campus mobile app,” explains Audus.
With the addition of more utility for students, TouchNet views 360u as the proper, all-encompassing campus mobile app.
“One of the challenges that universities have had was creating the drive and desire to entice students and other campus constituents to use the campus mobile app."
“Payments and access control with the student ID, and eventually the ability to make tuition payments, will drive more people to want to use the app,” he adds. “From there, we will add more ancillary campus services that enhance the overall campus experience.”
The inclusion of mobile ID capabilities, whether NFC or Bluetooth Low Energy, could be the missing piece of the campus app puzzle. “We’re embracing those technologies in our development,” says Audus. “By including the mobile ID in the app, you can leverage the capabilities around NFC or BLE.”
TouchNet piloted the new 360u offering with four universities that will represent the initial rollout group. “Our existing OneCard mobile app campuses will also have access to 360u after launch, as 360u will be an upgrade to the current app,” says Audus.
If the campus already has the previous mobile app as part of OneCard, they will move up to the 360u mobile app. “It’ll be a solution update for the campus and for students it’s simply downloading the new 360u app,” says Audus.
With every discussion of mobile ID comes the inevitable question: Where does the plastic card fit in? It seems the answer is becoming clearer.
“I would see this as a replacement of the plastic credential, particularly when you can pair the app with access control and payments,” says Audus. “The direction we need to go on campus is towards a digital or mobile ID and phase out the plastic ID. When you look at where we’re going generally as consumers – boarding passes, driver’s licenses, etc. – I think this is the beginning of the phase out process.”
Moving away from the plastic credential only makes sense if the mobile ID can offer use-case ubiquity with the tried-and-true card.
“I would see this as a replacement of the plastic credential, particularly when you can pair the app with access control and payments. The direction we need to go on campus is towards a digital or mobile ID."
“We are going for feature parity between the mobile ID and the plastic card,” says Audus. “It’s a two-way street, and we see 360u as providing a full credential use case, but where the mobile ID is actually accepted will be determined by the campus’ infrastructure.”
As for provisioning, TouchNet is offering flexibility to campuses as they move toward mobile ID.
“We can deliver the mobile ID, and have it operate as a plastic credential, as long as you have the fundamentals of TouchNet OneCard on campus,” says Audus. “It can live in the wallet, in the campus’ existing campus app, or in 360u.”
Ultimately, the role of 360u in TouchNet’s portfolio stamps a clear message to universities: mobile ID is here and TouchNet is ready to provide a solution.
“We see 360u as a relaunch of our mobile experience and a further step toward providing the mobile ID experience,” says Audus. “We can meet you wherever you are on your mobile journey.”
Check out a demo of 360u in a free webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 2pm EST. Click here to register.
Campus food trucks have offered universities a creative means to diversify dining options for students, as well as provide students on the go with a more convenient meal between classes. So when the University of Tennessee, Knoxville was recently facing some food service challenges and was in need of a quick solution, card transaction system vendor, CBORD, stepped up with a food truck solution.
More specifically, Tennessee was facing an influx of students to campus, and it became evident that more cover in campus dining was needed.
“The labor shortage caused problems for the university. Combine that with a record enrollment, and it left us with some challenges that we needed to resolve quickly,” says Bill Strickland, Director of Operational Services, Division of Finance & Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “When the fall semester began, Aramark didn’t have adequate labor to open all the eateries and the ones that were open were running on reduced staffing.”
The university turned to its card transaction system provider, CBORD, in an attempt to find a solution. The result of the planning with CBORD was a fleet of food trucks placed on campus.
“The food trucks drive onto the campus and can set up in high-traffic areas fairly easily,” says Sami Takieddine, Director of Platform Operations, Patron Engagement at CBORD.
Integral to Tennessee’s food truck offerings is the ability for students to leverage their campus cards and campus funds to pay for food. The payment options don’t end with the campus card, however.
“Students can pay by swiping their campus card or by tapping their Apple or Android phone and mobile credential. Students' declining balance funds on the Vol Card, dining or flex accounts are also accepted.”
“The food truck program was thrown together very quickly, but has been a huge success,” says Strickland. “Students can use their Dining Dollars to purchase food as well as cash or credit card.”
“Students have the option to pay either by swiping their campus card or by tapping their iPhone, Apple Watch or Android phone using their mobile credential,” says Takieddine. “Students can also opt to use declining balance funds associated with their Vol Card, dining or flex accounts.”
Joining Tennessee’s food truck initiative, the university is providing similar mobile alternatives for other student services.
“In addition to food trucks, we recently signed up a laundry truck to our UGryd program at UT-Knoxville with plans to add a second shortly,” says Takieddine. “These trucks will allow students to drop off dirty clothes for laundering, pay with their campus card funds, and pick up freshly laundered clothes.”
UTK and Aramark recruited the food trucks. The trucks sign contracts with Aramark, but UTK manages the scheduling and logistics.
“There are multiple locations for the trucks to operate from, and they are assigned their locations by UTK,” says Strickland. “The goal is to have a different food truck at each location on a daily basis so the students have a wide variety of options to choose from.”
“When we began the initiative at the start of the semester, the dining-based declining balance accounts were definitely the most popular form of payment.”
“The location and name of the vendor is posted on a dining website daily so students can decide ahead of time if they want what’s being offered that day,” adds Strickland.
“CBORD’s UGryd platform processes the transactions and CBORD deployed the Wi-Fi enabled terminals to the campus for distribution to the trucks by Aramark,” says Takieddine.
As with other university food truck deployments student reception has been positive. The key is having good variety in food truck concepts and making the order process as convenient as possible.
“When we began the initiative at the start of the semester, the dining-based declining balance accounts were definitely the most popular form of payment,” says Takieddine. “That being said, our first transactions were processed on August 27, 2021, so this is still a very new offering.”
Early signs from Tennessee’s food truck program are promising and have laid the groundwork for an expansion going forward.
“We’re up to 14 food trucks that are participating in the program, with as many as five or six trucks on campus each day Monday through Friday,” says Strickland. “We also utilize some of them for the dinner meal, but lunch is the main objective for the trucks.”
“The food truck vendors have also been very satisfied with the situation. The days they serve the UTK campus are by far their most lucrative days.”
The reviews have been positive from the trucks, as well. “The food truck vendors have been very satisfied with the situation,” says Strickland. “The days they serve the UTK campus are by far their most lucrative days.”
What began as a quick fix to a difficult situation has since blossomed into a full-featured campus service.
“The food trucks started as a workaround to assist dining but have proven very popular and will become a staple on campus,” says Strickland. “Currently, we’re booked through the end of the semester and have started taking reservations for the spring semester.”
Access control and security solutions provider, Allegion US has launched the Schlage NDE and LE mobile-enabled wireless locks with "Si" option, which now supports HID smart cards and next-generation Seos credentials. The interoperable locks are ideal for customers using HID smart cards and mobile credentials who want to extend access control further into their buildings using Schlage wireless locks.
Schlage NDE and LE mobile-enabled wireless locks now fully support HID smart cards and Seos credentials, using the Si option, providing customers more solutions to meet their needs. With the Si option, the Schlage NDE and LE mobile-enabled wireless locks support HID iCLASS, iCLASS SE and Seos credentials.
The new option enables security directors and facility managers to choose the solution that fits the needs of their campus.
As interoperability and open architecture continue to be a priority for institutions and campuses, the need for flexible solutions from manufacturers is increasingly important. Now buildings with an HID reader on the perimeter can add the compatible Schlage wireless locks to interior doors, enhancing security and convenience while driving electronic access control deeper into the building.
“As Allegion works to be the partner of choice, it’s important for us to embrace open architecture and interoperability so we can collectively decrease the complexity and increase the adoption of EAC solutions,” says Devin Love, electronics product leader at Allegion. “In addition to the AD Series locks, the Schlage NDE and LE mobile-enabled wireless locks will provide customers with an expanded portfolio of HID-supported solutions from Schlage."
Whether upgrading from a competitor’s wireless locks or implementing new mobile-enabled hardware, the Schlage NDE and LE wireless locks offer customers support of HID smart cards and select mobile credentials when ordered with the Si option.
Additional benefits of these locks include:
Freedom of choice. Expanded support gives customers the power to choose the solution that meets their security and financial needs regardless of the brand of credential they are using.
Leverage existing credential investment. The Si option allows for reading of the secure application area of the credentials versus only the card serial number (CSN), which means customers can take full advantage of the powerful, smart credentials they have invested in.
Trusted expertise. Designed with over a century of experience in the security industry, the Schlage NDE and LE mobile-enabled wireless locks provide the Grade 1 security, simplicity and quality customers have come to expect from Schlage.
The enhancement to the Schlage NDE and LE mobile-enabled wireless locks is part Allegion’s ongoing efforts to offer more open architecture and mobile access adoptions.
Campus card transaction and identity solutions provider, ColorID, is hosting a two-part webinar series to explore the products and solutions available to campuses. The webinars will examine some of the cost savings options available, vendor independence, as well as discuss mobile and contactless technology adoption.
The two-part webinar series will detail secure cloud-based card issuance, as well as how to maximize card office efficiency and streamline card production. Attendees will also learn that that moving from card issuance to a more robust, identity management solution can deliver new levels of efficiency and utility.
Part I:
Reviewing Your Card Issuance and Identity Management Options
Tuesday, December 7th from 1:00-2:00 pm EST
Part II:
Understanding All Your Mobile Credential Options
Thursday, December 9th from 1:00-2:00 pm EST
"Card issuance is about collecting information and using it to print and encode cards," says Mark Degan, Director of Corporate Marketing at ColorID. "Identity management, on the other hand, can include card issuance, but go much further by centrally managing all the pertinent information for each cardholder, from introduction to the system through their eventual departure."
As Degan explains, new identity management solutions can handle a number of tasks beyond card issuance.
"Account creation; role and profile assignment; creation of many types of credentials including mobile; provisioning and de-provisioning credentials in other systems with their associated permissions; robust reporting for all activities within the system for cardholders and administrators. These are all possible with newer identity management solutions."
It's this flexibility and more robust capability that makes identity management a valid consideration for campuses as part of their technology roadmap.
"As cloud services, identity management solutions can be cost effective and easily deployed, often providing cost savings as they reduce manual processes and improve communication across campus systems," says Degan. "A new generation of cloud-based solutions that are purpose-built for identity management offer a range of specific features beyond what many campuses have available to them at present, through their one-card systems, home-built systems, or a combination of both."
The webinars will also discuss advanced contactless card technologies, how they fit with the mobile credentials available today, and how to create a mobile test site on campus.
"BLE mobile credentials from a range of providers, available for both Android and Apple devices, have improved dramatically over the last 8 years and work very well," Degan says. "Secure communication has been solved for Bluetooth and the apps can run in the background on mobile devices."
When it comes to the latest contactless cards, Degan says that HID Seos and DESFire EV3 are available and still reasonably priced. "Inline reading and encoding of contactless cards (in the printer) is also gaining popularity, as supporting software and hardware is being developed for an expanding range of technologies," he says.
Regardless of where campus attendees are in their credential environment -- whether legacy technology, contactless or mobile -- Degan hopes to provide valuable takeaways from the webinar event.
"Going mobile doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition," says Degan. "Partial roll-outs for specific groups or buildings on campus are realistic and achievable on limited budgets."
"Having an identity management solution at the center of campus IT architecture will give the institution 'vendor independence,' and provide more control over which systems you can connect to, when, and without having to ask for approvals for integrations from legacy system providers."
TouchNet, together with CR80News, will host a webinar detailing mobile credentials, the campus mobile app, and how these technologies are being used in conjunction to expand a number of campus card services. Integrating the benefits of mobile credentials into a new generation of campus mobile app is helping to streamline the student experience, adding new utility to the campus app, and opening an array of new doors.
The free roundtable event is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 9 at 1:00 PM Central.
Attendees will learn how a reinvention of the campus mobile app, working in conjunction with the mobile credential, is helping to expand the functionality of student-facing campus services.
Webinar participants:
Join leaders from Northern Arizona University (NAU) and the University of Alberta as they share their experiences launching innovative mobile services on campus. Webinar attendees will also hear from TouchNet’s Senior Director of Product Strategy, Ryan Audus, about the future of mobile tech on campus, as well as see a demo of the company’s new 360U campus app.
The roundtable-style discussion will cover a number of key points, including how:
Space is limited for the event so register today to take part in this free, educational webinar.
Campus credential and payment solutions provider, Transact, has named Rasheed Behrooznia as the company's new Vice President for Campus ID Solutions. Behrooznia initially joined Transact in 2020, and has more than 20 years of engineering, technology and product development experience.
In his new role, Behrooznia will drive the vision, strategy and execution for the company’s suite of Campus ID solutions. Transact's campus ID suite includes solutions for secure access privileges, mobile-centric campus environments as well as campus-wide transaction systems.
Transact’s physical and mobile IDs are used for door access, event ticketing, meal plans, printing, vending, class attendance tracking, bookstore purchases, and more. The company’s campus ID solutions are highly configurable and supported by integrations with institutions’ ERP, financial and building security systems.
“Rasheed is an inspirational leader with extensive, hands-on software engineering and delivery experience,” says Nancy Langer, Transact CEO. “This role will leverage both his technical expertise and his passion for innovation and continuous improvement as we envision and deliver even more market-leading solutions for our clients.”
Most recently, Behrooznia served as Transact’s global head of campus ID solutions, leading the company’s development of SaaS solutions, mobile credential, and other solutions within the campus ecosystem.
Prior to joining Transact, he previously served as vice president of global product delivery at Cubic Transportation Systems, an engineering manager at Lockheed Martin, and a software engineer for the Central Intelligence Agency.
In his new role at Transact, Behrooznia will expand his focus on growing Transact’s campus ID solutions business and partnerships, and on delivering the company’s solutions to clients.
Transact recently announced its appointment of Mechelle King as vice president for inclusion, diversity, and engagement. King brings nearly 30 years of human resources expertise in the technology, healthcare, and financial services industries.
Most recently, King served as vice president, human resources business partner at Caliber Home Loans, Inc.
In her new role at Transact, King will guide the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and programs internally, and will play a key role in growing client outreach and engagement programs for the company.
“Mechelle’s broad human resource and DEI expertise, together with her experience in technology, healthcare, and financial services industries, will play a key role in delivering on our vision and mission,” says Nancy Langer, Transact CEO. “Under her leadership, we will shape an engaged and empowered environment for our employees and help provide the best solutions and service to the clients we serve.”
Xavier University has become the latest campus to partner with Transact to provision a mobile credential to its campus community. The university's new Xavier One Pass app enables students to access their All Cards -- Xavier's student ID -- from their smartphones and smartwatches.
As reported by Xavier Newswire, the NFC mobile credential initiative is a collaboration between Xavier Auxiliary Services and Transact. To get started, students first visit the Auxiliary Services page on the Xavier website to download the Transact eAccounts app. Once downloaded, users are prompted to sign-in with their Xavier account to then add a virtual version of the Xavier All Card to their mobile wallets.
Xavier's mobile credential enables students and employees to use a digital version of their All Card on their iOS, Apple Watch and Android devices. Students can use the mobile ID to access both X-Cash and Dining Dollars -- the university's declining balance and flex accounts.
Students can also use their mobile credentials to access campus buildings such as residence halls, libraries and dining commons, as well as make secure payments and transactions at campus retail stores.
“The mobile ID creates security, convenience and a seamless user experience for those using it,” says Bill Moran, senior director of Auxiliary Services at Xavier.
University officials hope the move to mobile will make previously card-based interactions more secure, and remove the need for students to take out a physical ID card or present their ID to complete a payment or action. The program also aims to minimize the chance of students or staff losing their physical All Cards.
“We probably make 1,000 replacement All Cards in a year,” says Moran. “With this technology, we don’t see that many people losing their phones. We think that this is going to benefit people in that they’re not going to have to keep track of a physical ID.”
Over the next two years, Xavier Auxiliary Services hopes to eliminate printing and issuing physical ID cards for university students and staff by switching entirely to the mobile credential format.
In preparing for its move to mobile credential, Xavier replaced more than 2,000 card readers across campus with contactless, NFC-capable readers — in total, an estimated $2 million investment.
The mobile ID is now available to use in most locations across the Xavier campus, including the All for One shops, the Pizza ATM, Burger 513, Currito, Fujisan, campus dining commons, the campus mail center, campus library and student concessions in the university's basketball arena.
A new identification system at Western University in London, Ontario is providing university branded lanyards and hard plastic Western ONECard holders to every main campus student, employee, and campus visitor.
According to a Global News report, the lanyard and card holders are for visual identification only, with no connection to vaccination status or other factors, and are optional.
“We wanted to create a visual way to help identify who is on our campus at any given time, including visitors to campus,” said Sarah Prichard, acting provost at Western University, in a statement to Global News.
Joining the lanyard initiative will be a new visitor management system beginning in January 2022. Similar to the ID card initiative, visitors will register through an online portal and be provided with black “Campus Visitor” lanyards and large visitor identification badges to be worn while on campus.
“We know anything new like this will take some time to take hold,” said Prichard. “We’re strongly encouraging everyone to pick up their lanyards and wear them. The more people that wear them, the stronger the program.”
The university says it plans to continue the system as part of its ongoing safety program. Since the start of the lanyard initiative on November 8, however, there have been mixed reviews from students and a faculty union.
Criticism from the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) included concerns over a lack of rationale for the system, the potential security risk posed by having a name, face and ONECard identification number on display when wearing the lanyards in public, and a risk to the town-and-gown relationship by having campus visitors wear the lanyards.
The university maintains that the visual ID measures are intended to create a convenient, secure and accessible way to hold campus credentials. The university also says that hundreds of Western ONECards are lost each year, with 1,600 cards replaced in 2020 alone.
Western ONECards display a student’s full name, student number and a photo, with similar information found on employee versions of the cards.
By Jeff Koziol, business development manager of campus software partners, Allegion
In-person classes resumed at most campuses this fall. After spending more than a year concentrated on the health risks of the coronavirus, focus is shifting back to physical security and summoning up conversations of campus lockdown protocols.
Hostile intruder situations are often top of mind when discussing a lockdown, but there are several reasons why universities need to button up security across campus or at specific locations. Pandemic-related closures, social unrest and civil disturbances, and even severe weather can lead to lockdown. It’s important that your campus security is prepared to respond in any situation.
One of the biggest reasons college campuses are so difficult to secure is because they’re intentionally open, operating more like a small community than an impenetrable facility. Unlike K-12 facilities, where you traditionally have a single building to secure and students’ movements are heavily restricted within set hours of operation, a college campus is comprised of several disparate buildings and students are free to come and go at any time. Most of this is possible thanks to a campus card that controls access while giving students a sense of freedom.
"One of the biggest reasons college campuses are so difficult to secure is because they’re intentionally open, operating more like a small community than an impenetrable facility."
Regardless, the core goal is the same: keeping students, staff and faculty safe by preventing people from accessing places where they shouldn’t be. One of the best ways to achieve this is by performing a campus security audit. I recommend bringing together all your stakeholders to get a holistic picture of security on campus and figuring out how credentials play a role in lockdown protocols.
It also helps to think about it in layers. The outside layers, the building perimeters, are likely secured through an access control system. From there, address the layers inside of those buildings in places where students learn or gather. Classrooms, offices, lecture halls and assembly areas—all of these need to be included in your lockdown plans.
Following high profile mass shootings over the last 15 years, many colleges and universities wanted to be able to initiate a universal lockdown that could secure an entire campus with the push of a button.
Your campus probably has something like this in place today, where certain critical doors are put into lockdown remotely by a system administrator. Usually, this will restrict most individuals' credential access to those spaces, with the exception of security, campus police and first responders.
"Performing a campus security audit can provide a holistic picture of security on campus and show how credentials play a role in lockdown protocols."
Over time needs have evolved, and campuses are looking to supplement lockdown procedures with more immediate options. That was the case at a large university in Indiana, which uncovered the need for manual, local lockdown on campus in its larger lecture halls. Doors to these spaces had electronic latch retraction for daily access control purposes. But in an emergency, the university wanted students and staff inside the classroom to have a way to override the retracted latch and prevent an intruder.
In response, Allegion introduced the Von Duprin Emergency Secure Lockdown (ESL) to overcome this challenge and provide students and staff assurance that they are safe in times of distress. If lockdown is necessary, students or teachers can turn the thumb turn or cylinder key of the ESL installed in the exit device. This action will electronically extend the latch bolt and prevent it from retracting if an intruder tries to gain access with a viable campus card.
Going back to the layered approach, it’s important to address both local and universal lockdown needs at each of the layers, identifying how campus cards might come into play. At the interior layer, smaller classrooms and offices often have mechanical door hardware that can be locked from inside the room so students can easily secure the door in event of an emergency.
"The core goal is always the same: keep students, staff and faculty safe by preventing people from accessing places where they shouldn’t be."
Larger spaces with electronic access control hardware -- like the lecture halls described above -- are easy to secure remotely but lack a more immediate solution. This can leave occupants vulnerable to intruders that have campus credentials until administrators initiate a lockdown through the access control system.
It’s been a while since universities have had their full student populations roaming about campus. Now, more than ever, institutions of all shapes and sizes should ensure they have emergency preparedness strategies in place and that students, staff and faculty are aware of what to do in the event of an emergency that requires a lockdown.
Allegion has a team of experts available to help develop a strategic plan that fits your campus. Contact us to get started today.
The NACCU Technology Research Committee recently conducted a survey gauging institutional interest in mobile ID, gathering responses from campuses in all stages of the implementation process. The results are in, and respondents painted a complex picture of the the desire for mobile ID, and the hurdles in facing on the road to deployment.
As outlined in a recent NACCU Positive IDentity blog post by Swarthmore College's Anthony Condo, the survey was made available to NACCU Institutional members and garnered 121 responses. The basic demographics of the respondents included an institutional enrollment ranging from under 5,000 to over 20,000, with 70% of respondents from public institutions, and 30% from private.
Results of the survey indicated clearly that the responding institutions are in varying stages of the evaluation and deployment process for mobile credentials:
The deployment timeframe for respondents also varied, with 15 institutions (12%) anticipating being ready in the next 12 months, 37 (31%) in 1-3 years, and 19 (16%) in 3-5 years.
A core component of the mobile transition discussion is the hardware and necessary infrastructure that a campus needs to have in place. It's a lengthy process unto itself, with some campuses needing significant planning and install work to prepare its environment for the arrival of mobile ID.
"Having the required infrastructure in place is a critical component to this process, and could, in itself, be the determining factor of whether or not this project gets off the ground," writes Anthony Condo, Director of Central Services at Swarthmore College. "A clear understanding of your infrastructure requires assessing the current access control in place on campus as well as the types of readers currently deployed."
With regard to an access control assessment, 49 responding institutions (40%) have already completed this process, while 32 (27%) have not. A further 40 respondents (33%) stated that they did not know if an access control assessment had been completed.
The survey also asked respondents about their knowledge of current reader inventory on campus:
Each campus will have its own set of challenges and barriers to implementing mobile ID. Respondents' comments reflect this, but when asked about the biggest challenge to planning for access control upgrades, institutions reported a lack of funding, lack of leadership interest/understanding, and lack of knowledge of current and needed infrastructure as top challenges.
"Usually, the last major hurdle to overcome for mobile deployment is getting buy-in from the leadership at your institution," says Condo. "There will need to be a clear understanding of the value that adding a mobile credential will bring."
While the survey consists of just a sliver of institutions, the responses do help to paint a more vivid picture of the interest in mobile ID, as well as the concerns and challenges campuses are facing as they move closer to a mobile deployment.
"When asked the general question about the biggest obstacle to migration, there was a close consensus regarding infrastructure upgrades, recurring costs of credentials, project management and support, access management upgrade and overall leadership buy-in," says Condo. "The results of this survey seem to clearly indicate that careful consideration and planning must be in place in order to make the migration to mobile."
This is just a snippet of the full report compiled by The NACCU Technology Research Committee. For more on this survey, visit NACCU.org.
