HID Global will be busy at this year’s NACCU Annual Conference, presenting on some important trends and topics in the campus card space. One of the company’s most interesting sessions will feature an in-depth discussion with campuses about their experiences with mobile ID, and will include card transaction system administrators from Vanderbilt University, the University of Illinois and George Mason University.

HID’s panel discussion, titled “The rise of the mobile conversation on campus,” will take place on Monday, April 25 during the 1:15-2:00 p.m. time slot.

Leading the discussion will be Tim Nyblom, End User Business Manager – Higher Education, PACS at HID Global. Nyblom will work with the university panel to discuss where each of the institutions are in their respective mobile conversations on campus.

“I’m excited for the audience to hear from the panel on how they view mobile credentials for their campus,” says Nyblom. “Everywhere you turn mobile is front and center in our lives today, so how can mobile transform the student experience on their campus. What does this really mean to them?”

As mobile continues to be a hot and debated topic within higher education, institutions seem to want mobile, students are demanding mobile, and deployments are growing across all markets.

To help make sense of these trends, the university panelists will answer questions from the audience while sharing information about their views on mobile conversations with key stakeholders, why they have or have not deployed a mobile solution, and the perceived impact that mobile credentials would have on their campus department moving forward.

“Every day when I’m speaking with universities on the mobile topic, I learn new ways that can help propel a mobile project forward or uncover challenges that lead to potential roadblocks,” says Nyblom. “The audience will be able to hear directly from their colleagues on these topics which may give them some fresh ideas or solutions they could take back to their campuses.”

Panelists will also cover key questions surrounding:

• The universities views of mobile
• Where is support for mobile is coming from on campus (community, departments, leadership)
• How cards and mobile will co-exist on campus
• Plans to address individuals potentially carrying multiple credentials
• Steps taken to prep campus infrastructure or systems for mobile.

“Each of our panelists have unique views on mobile and are at different stages of the process,” says Nyblom. “What type of conversations are they having on campus? Who are the stakeholders at the table?”

Vanderbilt University is one of the universities participating in HID’s session at NACCU. Representing Vanderbilt on the panel is Mark Brown, who worked closely with the team at HID to make mobile a reality on campus.

“Moving to a mobile credential was something our students had been asking us for,” says Mark Brown, Director of IT, Division of Administration, Vanderbilt University. “Coming up for almost two years later the numbers speak for themselves – it’s been an incredibly successful program with a very high level of participation across all areas of the university.”

“While it was a lot of work and planning to get launched, the level of vendor support was unlike any other project we’ve worked on,” adds Brown. “We learned a lot, and we wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”

Vanderbilt's Brown will be joined by fellow university admins John Ealy (University of Illinois and Danny Anthes (George Mason University).

For Nyblom, who works closely with a number of HID’s campus clients, the messaging has been clear that mobile has a role to play in the industry going forward.

“The market for mobile credentials is forecasted for explosive growth over the next 5 years. We are seeing a trend and believe that an increasing number of our clients will choose to migrate from plastic to mobile credentials because of the value it delivers to their business,” explains Nyblom. “We believe the higher education market is positioned to continue to lead this charge and we are investing heavily to ensure that HID customers and partners have an easy path of transition at their own pace.”

For more information regarding HID's session and for the full slate of presentations, check out the schedule for this year's NACCU Annual Conference.