Campus ID News
Card, mobile credential, payment and security
FEATURED
PARTNERS
UT card 1

Another student editorial calls for mobile IDs at UT Austin

Andrew Hudson   ||   May 10, 2019  ||   

With more campuses now testing the waters with mobile credentials, the buzz has circulated across the campus card industry and its professionals. But students have also taken notice of the new credential technology and seem eager to get their hands on it.

An editorial published in the University of Texas at Austin's student publication late last year called for the university to implement some form of mobile ID. Now, a second Daily Texan editorial has been penned, again calling for the university to issue some form of digital credential to UT students.

The editorial, in part, rationalizes the deployment of mobile IDs because "almost everyone has either lost their own ID card at some point or knows someone else who has." Echoing the same message that has been core to mobile credentials thus far. This reinforces the message that students will forget a wallet or plastic ID card, but are far lass likely to forget their phone. Moreover, the phone can be more easily tracked if lost.

“They [mobile IDs] are convenient for students and they also have operational benefits for the university,” said Prabhudev Konana, associate dean for instructional innovation at UT Austin in a Daily Texan interview.

The author also posits that with digital IDs students could "avoid waiting in long lines to upgrade their UT IDs at orientation and quickly make any updates to their information."

Some at the university are so keen to have mobile IDs that the author even suggests turning to undergraduate students themselves to develop the technology and infrastructure. “Technology is so advanced today that undergraduates themselves could come up with the digital interface needed for mobile student IDs,” added Konana.

While this isn't a viable way forward, it does show that students are paying attention to the credential technology available to them, and reinforces demand among students for more aspects of campus life to go mobile.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

RECENT ARTICLES

Video camera with Visa Gift Card in foreground
Apr 09, 26 / ,

Join CampusIDNews for a video interview at NACCU and score a $50 visa gift card

Share your story with colleagues and peer institutions by participating in a 3-5 minute video interview during the NACCU Annual Conference. The CampusIDNews team will be conducting interviews with campus representatives in our exhibit hall booth (#116). Brag about your program, share something interesting your team has done, describe a challenge you are facing, or […]
interior hallway with security doors
Apr 07, 26 / ,

Beyond exterior locks: Strengthening campus security with interior corridor doors

A security threat has breached the exterior doors of a campus building – what now? In a modern security environment, electronic access control (EAC) can quickly, remotely close and lock doors to secure specific areas. This only works, however, at the enabled access points. Interior doors strengthen campus defense if an exterior door has been […]
Chef with food in AI scanner
Apr 02, 26 /

Measuring for a greener future: Why data is the cure for campus food waste

April 29 marks Stop Food Waste Day, a global movement that highlights a simple but powerful truth: what gets measured gets reduced. For campus leaders, this day serves as more than an environmental reminder. It is a strategic call to address the "data gap" in auxiliary services. While universities have digitized almost every other facet […]
CIDN logo reversed
The only publication dedicated to the use of campus cards, mobile credentials, identity and security technology in the education market. CampusIDNews – formerly CR80News – has served more than 6,500 subscribers for more than two decades.
Twitter

Great inverview on the Public Key Open Credential (PKOC) standard with ELATEC's Jason Ouellette, Chairman of the Board for the @PSIAlliance.

Attn: friends in the biometrics space. Nominations close Friday for the annual Women in Biometrics Awards. Take five minutes to recognize a colleague or even yourself. http://WomenInBiometrics.com

Load More...
Contact
CampusIDNews is published by AVISIAN Publishing
315 E. Georgia St.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
www.AVISIAN.com[email protected]
Use our contact form to submit tips, corrections, or questions to our team.
©2026 CampusIDNews. All rights reserved.