Card, mobile credential, payment and security
The first wave of mobile credential adoption is behind many institutions. Mobile IDs are live, students are tapping their phones at residence hall doors, and card offices are fielding fewer walk-ins during orientation.
But for many campuses, that progress has stalled at the door. The broader campus ecosystem – dining, recreation, printing, events, administrative systems – still runs on plastic cards, separate workflows, or manual processes.
The question campuses are now asking isn’t whether mobile credentials have a place across their institution. It’s what it actually takes to get them working everywhere they should. That answer is part infrastructure, part planning, and part prioritization.
Before expanding mobile credentials, it helps to map the full landscape of where credentials are used and where they need to be used.
Physical access touchpoints like doors and building gates represent just one layer. Equally important is the logical access layer: the systems and services where a credential authenticates a transaction or verifies identity.
Physical access touchpoints like doors and building gates represent just one layer. Equally important is the logical access layer: the systems and services where a credential authenticates a transaction or verifies identity. Think POS terminals at dining halls, secure print stations, event check-in, library services, and shared computing labs. Vending, parking kiosks, and athletic event management often surface during migration planning as well. These systems may not have been part of the original access conversation but rely on the campus credential all the same.
A useful starting exercise is an access audit: catalog every location where a credential is used today and assess the current technology at each point. That inventory becomes the foundation of a realistic expansion roadmap, revealing dependencies that would otherwise create surprises mid-deployment.
One of the most practical questions in mobile credential expansion is whether your readers can support it. Not every reader deployed for door access is suited for the full range of campus use cases. Understanding the hardware layer matters before committing to an expansion plan.
Campus environments require readers across a spectrum of deployment contexts. A dining hall POS terminal has different constraints than classroom attendance, a temporary event, or a shared computer lab. The hardware layer needs to flex accordingly. Several characteristics are worth evaluating:
Once an access audit is complete and the hardware layer is understood, the next question is where to begin. A few criteria help prioritize:
Campus-wide mobile credential expansion rarely happens in a single deployment cycle, and it shouldn’t. A phased roadmap tied to the criteria above allows teams to learn and adjust before scaling. A few considerations for the planning process include:
The campuses realizing the most value from their mobile credential investments share a common trait: they have a clear picture of their access ecosystem, a hardware layer capable of supporting campus-wide deployment, and a prioritization framework that builds momentum one use case at a time.
A student whose phone unlocks a residence hall door should be able to use that same credential at the dining hall, the print station, the recreation center, and events.
Mobile credentials have earned a place at every campus access point. A student whose phone unlocks a residence hall door should be able to use that same credential at the dining hall, the print station, the recreation center, and events. Getting there is largely a planning and infrastructure challenge. The technology is ready. The question is how methodically your campus is building toward it.
Learn more about how flexible, interoperable access strategies are helping institutions create freedom to campus experiences at rfideas.com/industries/education.
In this episode of CampusIDNews Chats, Anthony Condo, Director of Campus Services at Swarthmore College, discusses NACCU’s SAGs (Standards and Guidelines) program – how it helps institutions and administrators identify campus card best practices to evaluate and improve their card office operations through a structured industry assessment.
The SAGs program is a 10-month online course made up of 12 modules covering topics such as marketing, finance, leadership, legal considerations, and technology. Participants meet roughly every three weeks and complete assignments designed to assess how their institution aligns with current industry standards.
Rather than serving as a “how-to” course, the program is intended to help institutions embark on a deeper exploration of their existing operations.
Rather than serving as a “how-to” course, Condo explains that the program is intended to help institutions embark on a deeper exploration of their existing operations.
“It’s meant for you to evaluate your program,” he says. “You’re really taking an internal look at what you’re doing – what you do well and what you have to work on.”
A major part of the program is the executive summary participants complete at the end of the course. The summary highlights operational strengths, identifies areas for improvement, and can help institutions justify requests for additional funding, staffing, or resources.
The institution benefits most because you're really taking an internal look at what you're doing, what you do well, and what you have to work on.
Participants are required to provide documentation supporting their assessments, including marketing materials, policies, and technology plans.
Condo recommends the program for professionals who already have some industry experience and enough time to fully engage with the coursework. While SAGs does not provide a formal certification, he says the knowledge gained through the process can provide long-term value for both individuals and institutions.
TRANSCRIPT
The SAGs program was developed by NACCU faculty and staff as a means to evaluate card office programs. SAGs stand for standards and guidelines.
It's an online course. It lasts roughly ten months. So normally it starts in late May and it'll run through February.
There are modules that you work through, basically looking at all aspects of a card office operation.
You're going to you're going to have a unit on marketing a unit of finance and technology, and legal. Anything that has to do with the card office you're going to have a module on that. It meets, roughly every three weeks. There's a down time, a month of August, normally just to allow schools to get to, to let their students come back and everything. Then it'll start right back up again.
The ultimate goal is you're going to write an executive summary, so you know how you've done and how you've rated your program. Maybe pull out the outliers, the things you're doing really well, maybe things that you need to work on because you want to have something to present to your leadership to show them, hey, we do really well in this area, but these are some areas that we need to focus on based on what the industry standards are.
Hopefully if you need to get resources or funding, you can use this as backup to get whatever it is that you need.
So again, there's modules.
You're looking at marketing and it'll ask you things like where can you find information about your meal plans or where could you find information about how to upload your photo? Or give your headshot or your office hours and where are your offices? Finance, maybe it'll ask you to explain how funds are allocated for your program. Do you have enough funding
There's a module on leadership that'll look at your office structure and what your reporting structure is and who's in charge of your office. Who is the leader of your card office program and how long have they been in that role?
You know, legal that's a huge module, because there's a lot of aspects to a card office program with regard to legal issues. Technology is another one, it'll ask you what kind of card readers you're using, and what kind of servers and how you back up your servers etc.
We’ve gone through eight SAG cohorts. We're about to start the ninth cohort.
Then one thing that we've been talking about the past few years is we've had all these people go through the program and put in all this work, and what can we do next with them?
So that's probably something that's on the horizon, starting to reel everybody back in and say, tell us about how your executive summary went and what were some of the challenges that you noted that you had to address and where you're able to address them?
Were you able to get the funding that you needed or the staff that you needed? I think we're going to be seeing more of that coming down the pike.
I think who benefits most is the institution, because you're really taking an internal look at what you're doing and what you do well and what you have to work on. We always like to tell the students going through SAGs, it's not a poor reflection on you.
If there's a certain area where you didn't meet the standards, you're not going to fail. It's just good that you were able to recognize that and now you have some points that, you have to work with.
I think you can certainly justify it to your leadership because the ultimate thing is you're going to really take an introspective look at your program with the goal to make sure that you're meeting the industry standard.
Some advice I would say is you want to have been in the industry, for a couple of years. Or at least have attended the Industry Essentials Institute, so you have some knowledge. You probably don't want to walk into this being brand new in your role. You want to have some card office experience.
You want to make sure that you're going to have some time to do this because there is homework, so every unit you have to do some homework, you have to provide documentation for everything you do. The homework entails rating yourself on the different standards within each module. But you can't just say yes, I meet the standards, you have to prove it. Show us that you meet the standard, show us the documentation.
Taking that into account, make sure you have enough time to get some homework done. If you're if you're going to be working on a larger project, you know, maybe you're going to launch mobile or something, maybe you want to wait till after that.
You have enough time to put towards this program so you can get the most out.
I think you can certainly justify it to your leadership because the ultimate thing is you're going to write an executive summary, and it's going to really take an introspective look at your program with the goal to make sure that you're meeting the industry standard.
I think it's money well spent. Yeah. I wouldn't call it a certification. You get a certificate saying that you completed the standards. You certainly get some bragging rights. I think what you learn going through it and what you discover about your card office – it's not all about finding things that are that are wrong.
You might find things that you do really, really well and you can build on that too. I think the knowledge that you gain going through the program will certainly benefit you.
Let’s face it – no one enjoys a parking lot. But what could have previously been written off as a minor daily annoyance has real and measurable consequences for students. According to a study in the Journal of Urban Mobility, campus parking challenges extend far beyond moments of frustration. Tardiness, commute times, and stress levels all increase, which could lead to lower student and professional performance.
Space is at a premium on campus, and students are noticing. “Nearly half of respondents (46%) cite the lack of available spaces as their top concern, while 60% spend 5-15 minutes searching for parking during a typical campus visit,” according to the 2025 T2 Systems Campus Parking Reality Report.
The time lost searching for a spot is significant, and it reflects in overall student wellbeing.
Nearly 75% of respondents noted they felt anxious due to parking uncertainty and some will even skip class if parking is too difficult.
Anticipatory anxiety is a major strain for students at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), according to a 2025 study where nearly 75% of respondents noted they felt anxious before leaving for campus due to uncertainty around parking availability. For students already managing chaotic schedules and academic demands, the unpredictability of parking steals mental focus and can impact their ability to succeed academically.
The strain is already changing student behavior. The same study from BGSU suggests students will skip class if parking is too difficult or incur additional charges for short-term parking despite already holding a permit.
At many institutions, enrollment is rising, though the increases are often driven by non-traditional students such as those pursuing undergraduate certificate and associate degree programs.
Traditional full-semester permits are losing relevance with the rise of hybrid and part-time learners.
“After four years of consecutive growth, there are now 752,000 enrollments in undergraduate certificate programs at community colleges, an increase of 28% from fall 2021,” according to National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Traditional full-semester permits are losing relevance with the rise of hybrid and part-time learners. Even where the number of students living on campus has not increased, commuter students are often left feeling disadvantaged from limited access.
At BGSU, nearly 60% of commuter students said they experienced a disproportionate impact on parking access, and seven in ten respondents felt the university oversold parking permits. The perception that policies prioritize revenue over student wellbeing adds to discontent on campus, so it can be beneficial to involve students in the process of finding solutions.
The path to a successful, accessible parking system faces a number of hurdles. There will always be a finite number of spaces available, and expansion isn’t always possible.
Babson College, for example, is surrounded by protected wetlands and bylaws prevent further building, explains Meghan Rosenberg, Associate Director of Parking Management Services. As enrollment increases, her office is looking to digital credentials and compliance enforcement to free up space and prioritize students with active permits.
Our biggest thing is we need data, because we need to know how many visitors are coming on campus.
In the past, first-year students at Babson were allowed to bring a car to campus but rising enrollment and the strain on parking have forced a change in that policy.
Rosenberg says they are using technology to make it faster for enforcement officers to determine which vehicles are not authorized to be in a certain lot or space. In addition to aiding in enforcement, digital permitting, pay stations, and mobile pay options help provide visibility into who is on campus.
“Our biggest thing is we need data, because we need to know how many visitors are coming on campus,” she says. “With the mobile pay stations and the mobile pay app, we can better track that data than we could when we simply had a permit.”
For many institutions, the campus card still plays a role. Using the card or mobile ID to access lots via gates or other authentication methods restricts unauthorized access. This switches some portion of the enforcement effort from staff to technology.
Flexible and demand-based pricing are newer options for campuses facing space restrictions. The T2 Systems Campus Parking Reality Report found that 70% of campus parkers would pay a premium for guaranteed or closer parking, with 87% of reporting that they would pay at least $5 for the benefit.
70% of campus parkers would pay a premium for guaranteed or closer parking.
Research in the Journal of Urban Mobility suggests that flexibility is a high priority for student parkers. It recommends varying permit prices by associating convenience with cost. They found that students were open to the idea of tiered pricing systems.
Smart technologies and live-tracking parking systems have proven invaluable as short-term solutions, but looking long term requires a higher level of investment, including alternative transportation options. Concerns of sustainability emerged from students interviewed for the Journal of Urban Mobility, with interest in creating more bike racks, electric vehicle charging stations, and carpool parking areas.
Whether the solutions are found in policy or technology, they should focus on accessibility and equity for all constituents. Better parking options set students up for success in the classroom, foster a friendlier campus environment, and shift interests toward a more sustainable future.
As the need for mental health assistance continues to expand, Sodexo Campus is working to make it more accessible to students. Through a new partnership with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (NCMW), the food service leader is helping to create welcoming, supportive dining locations. Across 300+ colleges and universities, the two are bringing mental health support straight into campus dining halls.
Staff will be trained through a NCNW program called Mental Health First Aid. It was developed to equip individuals across industries with the skills to recognize signs of mental health challenges and respond appropriately until professional help is available. The training in campus dining locations will begin in summer 2026, with full implementation expected by the start of the Fall 2026 semester.
The training will be integrated directly into Sodexo Campus’ dining halls, making it part of the everyday student experience in a routine space they already use.
Project leaders view this initiative as crucial for modern students, and via the partnership they aim to achieve a “home away from home” feeling.
“Food is central to how students interact, connect, and engage on campus,” says Ron Guillory, Chief Operating Officer of Sodexo Campus. “We are cognizant of the critical role we play in making students feel a sense of belonging, because our teams are part of students’ daily lives.”
On campus, the program will be reinforced through daily “micro-learnings” that help dining staff continuously build and retain mental health support skills over time.
Beyond staff training, Sodexo and the National Council will work together to update menus based on student feedback and label foods based on their ability to support well-being. Aspects like protein, focus, energy, and gut health will be labeled alongside other nutritional elements, showing how food is connected to one’s overall well-being. The ultimate goal is to help students make informed decisions.
“Students rely on their campus community to provide the support they need when they are feeling vulnerable, stressed, or overwhelmed,” says Chuck Ingoglia, President and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. “With a partner like Sodexo, they have direct access to support where they spend a significant amount of time.”
Dining halls are key spaces where students interact and connect so they are ideal environments for early support.
By embedding mental health awareness into dining facilities, the importance of early intervention and increased visibility is reinforced.
In its first year, the initiative will focus on building a strong foundation by training campus dining staff and establishing consistent use of the Mental Health First Aid training. It will start with an initial cohort of around 300 institutions, but the program is designed to scale, with plans for expansion in future years.
To measure the program’s impact, the organizations will track key, measurable outcomes to understand the use of the skills, confidence in the training, and campus partner satisfaction. They will also assess longer-term changes, including reductions in stigma and shifts in campus attitudes toward mental health support.
Mental health concerns among college students have been rising in recent years, with more than one-third reporting symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other challenges that can affect academic performance and daily life. While the demand for campus counseling services has increased, barriers like stigma and time constraints prevent some students from seeking help.
Early intervention programs like Mental Health First Aid are designed to recognize warning signs sooner and connect individuals to support before situations escalate.
The Sodexo initiative ultimately brings the focus back to students, reframing dining halls as more than just places to eat. Instead, they are everyday community spaces where support can naturally exist. The hope is that as mental health awareness is threaded into these routine environments, conversations around wellbeing will be normalized and students can engage with them without stigma.
Keeping campuses safe is a top priority for colleges and universities, and securing student rooms, classrooms, labs, offices and storage areas is central to that mission. Institutions can choose from traditional mechanical locks, wired electronic access, periodic Wi-Fi locks, or real-time connected locks as part of an electronic access control system that combines hardware with electronic credentials.
There are plenty of misconceptions about real-time connected electronic locks, such as cost, battery life and what happens when network links fail. Modern online systems deliver many advantages – strong, flexible security, fast incident response, streamlined operations, and actionable usage data that help facilities and security teams make smarter decisions. When evaluated thoughtfully, real-time electronic access control can make campuses safer, more responsive and easier to manage.
Truth: Student room doors are a key point of security on any higher ed campus, and electronic locks bring benefits that go beyond what traditional mechanical locks can offer in certain settings. For one, electronic locks provide advanced control over who can access each room. While mechanical locks and electronic locks are similar in that access is granted to a student residing in their respective rooms, traditional brass keys can be misplaced, swapped, borrowed or stolen, potentially allowing access to anyone who holds it and requiring costly rekeying.
Credential Options: With electronic locks, credentials can be issued in the form of campus ID cards or digital (mobile) credentials tied to a student’s phone that are approved and issued by the campus. Students are much less likely to misplace or lend their phones to friends. If a student does lose their phone, various features allow them to quickly locate and disable their phone.
Reducing Lockouts: Other benefits of digital, phone-based credentials are reduced lockouts. While students may be prone to temporarily or permanently losing brass keys or campus ID cards, students are much more attune and responsible with their phones.
“These lockouts can range from several instances per night to 1-2 per month when using keys and traditional locks,” said Olivia Renaud, Allegion group product manager, credentials. “By using electronic locks and mobile credentials, the frequency of lockouts can be significantly reduced, minimizing disruptions and reducing the workload on housing services."
Cost of Keys: While electronic locks require a higher upfront cost, mechanical and brass key solutions may come with year-over-year costs and work that many college or university personnel wish to avoid. The distribution and recollection of brass keys to students, summer campers, and conference guests is a constant battle for labor-tilled housing staff. The avoidance of lost building or campus master keys by staff members can easily help provide justification to fund the move from mechanical to electronic access-controlled student rooms.
Truth: It’s easy to think periodic connectivity is good enough – but campuses often discover real-time communication matters once they need quick, actionable information. In an always‑connected world, the ability to get immediate status updates from student room doors becomes important for things like wellness checks, reports of forced doors, use of mechanical override keys or low/critical battery warnings. Waiting for a lock to check in at its next scheduled interval can delay responses which may impact security and maintenance risks.
Real‑time connected solutions maintain a constant, direct connection to the campus network, giving security teams and facilities managers live visibility and control. Locks that stay online let you immediately enable or revoke access, check door status, and monitor critical alerts. That immediate stream of information enables fast, proactive responses. For higher education campuses where safety and operational efficiency rely on timely information and rapid response, real-time connectivity can provide significant advantages.
Periodic Wi‑Fi systems require less infrastructure (no access panels or transceivers) than real-time connected solutions by putting the device into a mode where it only wakes on a set schedule – between four to six times per day – to upload access logs, receive configuration changes or update permissions. This intermittent communication introduces delays in transmitting data. Because the lock is offline between intervals, security teams cannot receive real-time alerts or make instant access changes, which may limit responsiveness in urgent situations.
Truth: The cost difference between periodic and real-time connected locks is often less than many expect. While real-time locks may involve a modest increase in upfront investment, the operational benefits bridge the gap in this additional expense, making them a worthwhile consideration for many campuses. For one, installation time and complexity are comparable between periodic and real-time locks, so campuses should not see much difference in labor costs at setup.
Optimized Power Management: Many manufacturers of real-time connected locks design their devices with energy-efficient components and advanced firmware enabling short-range data transfer with minimal energy consumption, even when maintaining a constant connection to ensure that the locks remain responsive without unnecessarily consuming power.
Predictive Battery Alerts: Real-time connected locks include features that monitor battery life and send alerts when battery levels fall below a certain threshold. With efficient power management and predictive alerts, battery replacements can be scheduled less frequently and on an as-needed basis instead of all on the same interval, reducing maintenance labor and battery costs.
Increased Operational Efficiency: Because real-time connected locks can be monitored and managed remotely, they reduce the need for in-person lock checks, troubleshooting visits and manual data collection. This remote capability translates into labor time savings and the ability for facilities staff to allocate more time to other tasks and faster issue resolution, which can offset the modest upfront costs over time.
Put together, the modest extra upfront investment in real-time locks is often offset by fewer in-person service calls, better resource allocation, fewer emergency lockouts and fewer surprise battery failures – making them a cost-effective choice for many campuses.
Truth: Real-time connected locks are designed to operate securely even when the campus network experiences temporary outages. Each lock stores a local database of authorized users and access credentials, allowing them to continue functioning independently of network connectivity. When the network is restored, these locks automatically synchronize their stored data with the central management system, helping ensure that all information remains current and accurate.
Offline Access Capability: Real-time connected locks authenticate users locally using stored credentials, so users with authorized credentials can still gain access without interruption. Even without network access, they verify user credentials and enforce permissions, helping ensure security is not compromised during outages.
Data Synchronization: When connectivity is restored after an outage, the lock seamlessly synchronizes its data with the central system. This process updates access logs, permissions, and other relevant information that may have changed during the outage, ensuring that the system remains accurate and up to date. This synchronization also helps ensure all activity is properly recorded for audit and compliance purposes.
Emergency Protocol: The ability to operate securely offline helps ensure continuous access control during network failures, power interruptions, or other disruptions. This feature not only enhances security but also supports operational continuity, giving campus administrators peace of mind knowing that their access control system can still operate under unforeseen issues.
Truth: While technology does move fast, modern access control solutions are built to evolve rather than be replaced. Manufacturers and systems integrators design with open standards, modular hardware, and remote update capabilities so locks can adapt to new credentials and communication methods without a full hardware swap, and older physical cards and newer mobile credentials can coexist along the way.
Hardware that allows for diverse choices of software partners means greater flexibility in future-proofing investments. Firmware and security updates that can happen locally or pushed remotely let vendors address vulnerabilities, add new features and maintain compatibility as standards evolve or offer end-of-life policies so campuses can plan phased migrations rather than costly urgent replacements. Cloud or centralized management platforms streamline this process, so locks stay secure and functional throughout their expected lifecycle.
Real-time connected electronic locks represent a significant innovation in campus security, operational management and the student experience. While some myths might make them seem expensive or tricky to maintain, they can also offer a higher level of control, fast response times, and reliable performance, even if the network goes offline temporarily. For higher education institutions committed to safeguarding their communities, increasing operational efficiency, and improving the student experience, embracing real-time connectivity may be a worthwhile consideration.
We live in a world where real-time connectivity and feedback are expected when we check a financial account balance, the shipping status of a purchase, or a score and stats of a sporting event. Real-time electronic locks offer the ability to enjoy such features within campus access control systems.
See how real-time connected locks can safeguard your campus. Connect with Jeff Koziol for a focused discussion tailored to your needs. Explore more case studies, expert articles, and campus-ready solutions here.
Customers ordering from a multi-concept dining location in Green Brook, NJ are having their food delivered through the skies. It’s a pilot project between food delivery company Grubhub, its parent company Wonder, and drone developer Dexa.
This spring, customers within a 2.5-mile delivery radius of the Wonder location began opting for drone delivery in the Grubhub app – with food delivered faster and at no additional cost beyond standard delivery fees. The three-month program marks the first time Grubhub and Wonder have offered drone delivery to customers.
Wonder operates a multi-restaurant model, where diners choose from a dozen or more concepts prepared to order from a single location. According to Grubhub, “the blend of culinary variety, quality, and operational efficiency creates a seamless experience that pairs naturally with the speed and precision of drone delivery.”
Campus dining facilities are similar to Wonder locations because food preparation and delivery can initiate from a single point, thus streamlining drone delivery.
The drones are Dexa’s DE-2020, a fully automated delivery aircraft designed to transport goods directly to customers. Dexa is one of four U.S. companies that both manufactures and operates Federal Aviation Administration–certified delivery drones.
According to Dexa, it is transforming last-mile logistics through autonomous commercial aviation to help restaurants, retailers, and enterprise partners deliver products faster and more efficiently via airborne delivery. By combining advanced aircraft design, FAA-certified operations, and deep operational expertise, Dexa is making autonomous drone delivery a practical, everyday reality.
Before each flight, Dexa’s flight crews verify that orders are packaged to meet food‑safety standards.
Using “advanced autonomy and secure communications technology … deliveries follow approved flight paths designed to prioritize safety and minimize noise and disruption to surrounding communities,” says Grubhub.
We are fully autonomous, but we always have a pilot at the controls ... monitoring and able to steer the aircraft.
When the drone reaches the delivery point, it places the order on the ground via a tether system.
Company officials say the drone goes about 40 mph but add safety comes first, says a CBSNews report. "We are fully autonomous, but we always have a pilot at the controls, always monitoring the aircraft, and always able to steer the aircraft," says Joe Houghton, Dexa COO.
In the same way that it does with traditional or robot delivery, the Grubhub platform tracks orders and communicates with customers. Diners and restaurant staff receive real‑time GPS tracking, estimated arrival notifications, and order confirmations.
“By connecting Grubhub’s marketplace expertise, Wonder’s innovative mealtime platform, and Dexa’s expansive drone technology, we’re proud to introduce a faster and more efficient [food delivery experience],” says Abhishek “PJ” Poykayil, SVP of Customer Delivery Operations at Wonder and Grubhub.
Grubhub drone delivery coming to campus?Grubhub says that following the three-month test program, it will explore expanding drone delivery.
Though there has been no specific reference to campus expansion, the higher ed model fits well with the New Jersey pilot.
In both cases, food preparation and delivery can initiate from a single point – Wonder’s multi-concept restaurant or a campus multi-concept dining facility. In normal food delivery scenario, however, orders are picked up from locations spread throughout a city or region. In this scenario, drones would have to be dispatched to the field for pickup, then delivery, then ultimately returned to the operations center. This adds significant complexity and cost.
The tight geographic delivery area also makes a campus ideal for drone delivery. The current pilot is limited to a 2.5-mile radius. Limiting the flight distance keeps aerial delivery costs down, potentially making the business model competitive with other delivery modes. The compact area of a traditional campus fits this profile perfectly.
Keep your eyes to the skies.
The University of Arizona (UA) pioneered a different approach to managing credentials as well as the integrations with downstream services such as access, housing, dining, events, and parking. Instead of relying on systems primarily controlled by a single vendor, they sought a more agnostic approach that put the university at the center.
The success of the project led to the formation of a private company, intent on bringing the solution to other campuses.
The project leaders – both from UA’s auxiliary IT team – Senior Director of IT Joe Harting and IT Project Manager Chris Augustine – traded in their university hats to found FutureState. Harting is the new company’s CEO and Augustine serves as Head of Development.
The company announced that two new hires, each well-known from their successful careers on the vendor side of the industry.
Tim Nyblom, who most recently served as HID Global’s Director of Higher Ed End User Development, is FutureState’s new Head of Business Development.
“Tim is one of the most knowledgeable and genuinely respected names in credentialing and physical access security,” says Harting. “He doesn't just know the industry, he knows the people in it, and they trust him.”
Outside vendors controlled the integration layer and this handcuffed the institution. At Arizona, we are the first university to not use a one card provider for our mobile IDs.
Jeff Staples is the company’s new Head of Market Development. Staples has been instrumental in numerous pioneering campus card initiatives, including Transact’s (then Blackboard) development and launch of the industry’s first mobile credential offering.
“Jeff understands this industry inside and out – the platforms, the politics, and the possibilities,” says Harting. “His decades of experience bring the structure, focus, and executive-level frameworks that will help us scale without losing what makes FutureState different.”
The team at Arizona created a software layer that sits between its credential issuance systems and the various services that consume the physical card or mobile credential. What is unique is that typically this function falls to outside vendors, which Harting says leaves institutions beholden and locked in.
He’d experienced it throughout his 20-plus years in university IT leadership at both Northern Arizona University and UA. One card vendors and access control providers controlled the integration layer, he says, and this handcuffed the institution.
“We wanted to break this cycle and what we did gave us flexibility in our mobile credential rollout as well,” he adds. “We are the first university to not use a one card provider for our mobile IDs.”
At UA, when a mobile ID is issued the credential manager passes the information to a software layer called CardSync. When a physical card is issued, the same process is triggered.
In addition to this tie-in for credentials, CardSync serves as the connection point for cross-campus service integrations. The various departments on campus continue to manage their own systems – adding and removing users and privileges – but their data is now linked in real time through CardSync.
When you change a vendor, the old integration is replaced – via an API – with the new one, and no other systems are impacted.
“Because every system connects through CardSync, the university avoids vendor lock-in,” Harting explains.
When a department changes a vendor, the old integration is removed and replaced – via an API – with the new one. No other systems are impacted, and the process can take just days.
According to Harting, this ability to replace vendors even extends to the credential manager and transaction system provider. These too are simply connections to CardSync just like housing, dining, or the array of other services.
The second piece of the solution, CardPulse, provides dashboards and views into the CardSync data. CardPulse is a single point for admins to manage credentials across the enterprise. Users can view credentials to troubleshoot issues, populate credentials into newly onboarded systems, make exceptions to rules, and generate metrics.
While the FutureState solution is ideal for mobile credential implementations, institutions don't need to be undergoing an immediate migration for this to work for them.
Institutions can start with physical card production, and when the time is right onboarding the mobile credential manager of choice is simply one more integration.
“CardSync and CardPulse deliver value today,” says Harting. “Institutions can start with physical card production and begin pushing credentials downstream in real time, monitor the health of their systems, apply lifecycle management rules, and troubleshoot or fix issues for individual cardholders.”
Once this foundation is in place, when the time is right onboarding the mobile credential manager of choice is simply one more integration into CardSync.
According to the company, the success of the UA project has led to significant attention and interest in FutureState’s offerings, with strong interest and strong pipeline growth, including high profile institutions from across the country.
“Over the past several months, interest in FutureState has grown faster than even we had anticipated,” says Harting. “As we move to meet that demand, I'm thrilled that we will soon announce successful early funding rounds, additional new hires, and outreach to campus colleagues in a major way.”
CampusIDNews is celebrating its 25th year supporting the campus ID and auxiliary service industry. It would not be possible without all the campus and vendor friends we've come to know over the years, so come out and join us for an evening of fun and camaraderie. The venue is an indoor pickleball facility with great viewing areas, a bar, and a private room for hanging out. If you play or want to learn, bring athletic shoes and clothes (we will have paddles, balls, and people to help you learn). If you prefer to watch and socialize, come on out for some food and drink.
Tues., April 21 | 6:30-9:30 pm
Pickle Lodge Lunken Landing (indoor facility)*
669 Wilmer Avenue | Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
*The location is 8 miles from the convention center. There are multiple Pickle Lodge locations so be sure to specify Lunken Landing.
If you can attend, please RSVP to [email protected] with your name and the names of any guests. The more the merrier.
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) has implemented Apex food lockers in The Den, providing a fast and efficient option for student dining. The new system reflects a growing shift toward automation in campus dining, aimed at reducing wait times and accommodating high volumes of mobile orders. By integrating app-based ordering with quick, contactless pickup, the university hopes to improve convenience for students navigating busy class schedules.
The Den often receives more than 100 mobile orders per hour. Before the lockers, that volume created long lines and crowded waiting areas.
With the massive shift to students relying on mobile apps to order ahead, traditional counter service often creates bottlenecks. CWRU’s move to smart lockers reflects an effort to keep up with student expectations for speed and flexibility while easing pressure on dining staff.
According to Apex, these smart food lockers are designed to “streamline food order pickup, reduce congestion, and enhance the student experience.” The system at CWRU does exactly that. Students order at The Den’s through a mobile app, and when their food is ready, kitchen staff load it into a locked compartment. Students then receive a unique code via the app and simply scan it at the locker unit to access the compartment.
Students order through the Transact app and pickup at the locker. The whole retrieval process takes less than 10 seconds.
During peak lunch and dinner rushes, The Den typically sees 110 to 125 mobile orders per hour. Before the lockers, that volume created long lines and crowded waiting areas. Now, students can pick up their meals without interacting with staff, freeing up space and reducing chaos in high-traffic zones.
The solution integrates directly with the Transact mobile ordering app.
“Students place their order through the app, and when their order is complete and loaded into a compartment, they receive a code to scan at pickup,” says Ashley McNamara, Vice President, Global Marketing for Apex. “The whole retrieval process takes less than 10 seconds.”
The University specifically chose to implement the OrderHQ Flow-Thru model, which “allows The Den’s kitchen staff to load orders from the back of the unit while students pick up from the front. This keeps the order handoff clean and the counter clear, even during busy periods,” says McNamara.
With 23 individual compartments at CWRU, the system can handle multiple orders simultaneously without creating backups. Each compartment stays locked until the correct code is scanned, adding a layer of security that has already reduced incidents of stolen or misplaced orders. The Flow-Thru setup also improves hygiene and organization, as food never sits exposed on a counter.
For dining services staff, the lockers mean less time spent managing lines and more time focused on food preparation and quality.
The installation of the Apex smart lockers is more than just a convenience upgrade; it signals how campus dining is evolving to meet the needs of today’s students. For example, a recent survey from PYMNTS.com found that 45% of Gen Z restaurant customers placed their most recent food order for pickup rather than delivery. While delivery remains strong, this suggests pickup is crucial, especially among younger demographics.
Campuses are being asked to do more with access than ever before. What once centered primarily on opening doors has expanded into a broad ecosystem of physical and digital touchpoints that shape daily campus life. From dining and retail to printing, events, and administrative systems, access now plays a direct role in student experience, operational efficiency, and institutional security.
As campuses modernize, the question is no longer whether access should evolve, but how to do so in a way that balances innovation with flexibility. Institutions are discovering that long‑term success depends less on choosing one “right” credential and more on designing access strategies that can adapt over time to meet the needs of multiple stakeholder groups.
Historically, access conversations focused on physical entry points such as residence halls, classrooms, and campus facilities. Today, that definition has expanded.
Now the access infrastructure conversation must include logical access, the ability to securely interact with digital systems and services across campus.
For student’s, the distinction between physical and logical access is invisible. They simply expect their credential to work wherever they are.
From the student’s perspective, the distinction between physical and logical access is invisible. Students simply expect their credential, whether a magstripe card, mobile credential, or smartcard, to work wherever they are.
This broader view of access reflects how campus life actually functions. Students move fluidly between spaces and systems, often dozens of times a day. Modern access infrastructure must support that reality without introducing friction or confusion.
Student expectations are accelerating mobile adoptionMobile credentials are gaining momentum across higher education, and in many cases, student demand is the driving force. In discussions with institutions, they’ve reported that mobile initiatives are often sparked not by policy mandates, but by student advocacy.
One campus leader described their experience this way:
“It wasn’t the university or even me driving mobile credentials. The students drove the whole thing. The student government association went to the chancellor wanting a mobile solution.”
Beyond convenience, campuses cite tangible benefits. Mobile credentials can reduce reliance on plastic cards, lower fraud risk, and streamline card office operations during peak periods like orientation. From a security standpoint, phones are less likely to be shared than physical cards, and mobile credentials allow for remote provisioning and revocation when needed.
Despite growing interest in mobile access, it’s understandable that most campuses operate within complex credential environments. Many support a mix of magstripe, low frequency prox, high frequency smartcards, and mobile credentials simultaneously. Each option brings its own cost, infrastructure, and lifecycle considerations.
Magstripe and prox credentials may be economical but lack encryption. Smartcards provide stronger security but require compatible readers. Mobile credentials add new considerations related to device compatibility, provisioning workflows, and user support.
Rather than pursuing immediate, all‑or‑nothing mobile rollouts, institutions should adopt a phased migration strategy. This allows campuses to modernize while preserving stability.
Additionally, the higher ed environment produces its own set of challenges. Student populations turn over annually, which affects card production, replacement cycles, and administrative costs. At the same time, access control systems are among the most significant infrastructure investments on campus, often maintained over many years. These realities make a rapid, campus‑wide transition difficult for many institutions.
Rather than pursuing immediate, all‑or‑nothing mobile rollouts, it’s advised that institutions adopt a phased migration strategy. This approach allows campuses to modernize while preserving stability.
Your campus can support a phased migration by:
These are just a few guiding principles that give schools room to learn, adjust and scale at their pace. It also allows campuses to accommodate users who rely on physical credentials while gradually expanding mobile access where it delivers the most value.
One challenge campuses consistently encounter is discovering how many systems rely on the ID credential. Dining systems, printers, bookstores, event access, and administrative tools often surface during migration planning, reinforcing the need for flexibility.
Interoperability and consistency build long‑term confidenceAs credential ecosystems become more diverse, interoperability and consistency increasingly work hand in hand. Campuses need access solutions that can support multiple credential types, integrate across physical and logical systems, and behave predictably as they scale.
Interoperability allows institutions to introduce mobile credentials without abandoning existing investments or locking themselves into a single future path. At the same time, consistent access behavior across departments and systems reduces operational risk by limiting exceptions, workarounds, and one‑off integrations.
Rather than trying to forecast which credential technology will dominate next, campuses that prioritize interoperable access are ready for whatever comes.
When access works the same way across dining, academic systems, events, and administrative applications, IT and security teams gain confidence in the environment they manage. This predictability strengthens security, reduces technical debt, and makes it easier to extend access into new use cases without disruption. Rather than trying to forecast which credential technology will dominate next, campuses that prioritize interoperable and consistent access ensure today’s decisions leave room for whatever comes next.
When access systems work well, they fade into the background. Students move through campus without interruption. Staff focus on service rather than troubleshooting. IT teams gain confidence that their systems can scale and evolve.
This type of experience is the freedom to campus. The freedom to modernize without disruption. The freedom to support multiple credential strategies. The freedom to extend secure access beyond doors and into every corner of campus life.
Learn more about how flexible, interoperable access strategies are helping institutions create freedom to campus experiences at https://www.rfideas.com/industries/education
