There’s no escaping it, Gen Z – those born 1995 or later – now make up the majority of the college students. And it seems that a rising tide lifts all boats, as colleges and universities nationwide continue to adapt to the behaviors and preferences of this new generation.
One way that campuses can meet these evolving needs is to reimagine their orientation and card issuance, along with the technology that supports these efforts. Specifically, making the process a more seamless, customer friendly experience could be the difference between a good service and a great service.
To shed more light on the topic, Blackboard has partnered with Entrust Datacard to deliver a free webinar on Tuesday, September 18 at 1:00 PM EST. The webinar, entitled “Get Ready for Gen Z: The Future of Orientation ID Issuance,” will discuss ways campuses can:
- Streamline the card issuance process
- Reduce student wait times
- Ensure systems can flexibly adapt to new demands
- Issue more advanced ID credentials
Moving to a new issuance system can seem daunting, but Entrust Datacard says its TruCredential software changes all that.
“The migration from IDWorks — our legacy card issuance software — to TruCredential is pretty straightforward,” says Jeff Meier, Director, IAM Solutions Marketing, Entrust Datacard. “It’s a simple three-step process: Export from ID Works; import into TruCredential; and start using the designs.”
One of the common pain points for a card system migration are the established card templates that many universities will have used for years, Meier explains.
“Often campuses are unsure how to revise these templates and this can cause stress. But existing templates can be easily imported into TruCredential,” he says. “You only need one install on the server for all workstations to access the updated templates. It saves IT and card administrators a significant amount of time in regular updates and changes to card designs and software updates.”
Another trend that Gen Z students have grown accustomed to is customer service supported by mobile devices. For campus card offices, tablet-based capture and issuance fits this bill.
“Tablet-based issuance enables card administrators to extend the reach of their card office by supporting ID photo and data capture at satellite locations like a cafeteria, bookstore or dorm,” says Meier. “Card offices can either bring a single-wire card printer to the location, or batch print back to a central card office for student pick up.”
Even if you don’t use the tablet-based capture, TruCredential can still benefit a card office with traditional capture stations.
“Imagine a busy day with multiple students waiting to get their cards when one of your printers goes down. In a traditional setup, that capture station would be completely offline and the office would have to revert to using just one station, working at 50% capacity,” explains Meier. “With TruCredential – that office could still use both capture stations and simply route both card enrollment workflows to the one printer that is still working, allowing the office to keep things moving smoothly.”
To hear more about how your campus can prep for the Gen Z student, and how to deploy the technology that supports these expectations, register for Blackboard and Entrust Datacard’s free webinar.
