Card, mobile credential, payment and security
A glimpse at the future student mobile app
The foundations for this future vision can already be seen today.
Students rely on their university-issued ID card to facilitate the many services they need, but the mobile app is providing a platform to expand these services.
“With an app, students can transact anytime, anywhere. It offers that service through a device students treat with great care and is often protected with a lock screen, which adds a layer of security,” says Sarah Ledwith, product marketing manager at CBORD. “The app also drives revenue by giving students another easy way to make purchases from their campus card accounts.”
In Ledwith’s experience, universities want to offer card functionality through a single, mobile experience, rather than offer different services piecemeal through multiple apps.
“Although universities are often siloed, most recognize the need for a consistent student experience,” she says. “They don’t want one app for account management, another for ordering, and so on. One app that covers a variety of related services is a much more popular idea.”
According to Fred Emery, vice president of OneCard sales at Heartland Campus Solutions, the use of mobile apps is actually extending the lifespan of the physical cards. “We’ve seen a decrease in damaged cards on the campuses using the app,” he says. Since a replacement app can be provided to the student at no cost, the capital expenditure on the part of the card office changes.
“Transaction volume increases which leads to an increase in revenue since it is often more convenient to use the app then take your card out of your wallet,” Emery adds.
Best of all, the mobile app can provide all these student services and campus benefits without requiring additional personnel.
This ideal of a true companion app is a work in progress, but campuses and campus card providers have already made strides.
Heartland Campus Solutions offers its OneCard Mobile app. “We have found that campuses want something that will act as their central hub for student information as well as campus card transactions,” says Emery. “They would like the ability to configure the look and feel of the app as well as add other campus information such as athletics and cultural events, dining hall menus, bus schedules and even the ability to contact campus safety.”
While the student will be the focal point for the campus mobile app, the campus card vendors haven’t forgotten about the administrators that make these functions run. It will be vital for card administrators to have certain features and functions available to them to help facilitate the student mobile experience.
CBORD has considered the university administrator perspective in building out the company’s app. “We have employee-facing functionality that turns your smartphone or tablet into a point-of-sale terminal to accept card payments, and we also offer virtual security tracking when students are walking alone,” says Ledwith.
Heartland, meanwhile, has a stable of admin-facing apps designed to make administrative functions easier. The standalone admin app, called OneCard Mobile Admin, enables campus card office managers to check accounts and conduct system management. “You can do pretty much anything that a card administrator could do from their desktop including the ability to take a student photo and submit it directly to print,” says Emery.
Heartland offers other admin-facing apps including mAuthenticate and CheckIN that turn smartphones or tablets into transaction terminals. These apps enables campuses to use non-proprietary hardware to accept their campus card or a mobile device for meal plans and financial purchases as well as event entry and time and attendance verification.
Emery goes on to explain that the number of implementations is on the rise. “Almost every new campus is planning to include the app as part of its initial launch or in a phase two expansion,” he says. “It’s becoming somewhat of a standard.”
Fellow campus card vendor, CBORD also offers a campus mobile app. “We offer the ability to open doors, make purchases, complete vending transactions and pay for laundry from a mobile device,” says Ledwith. “We also offer account management, deposits, online ordering and marketing, through a single mobile experience.”
CBORD’s Mobile ID app has tallied some 20,000 downloads to date, she says.
Blackboard sees a promising future in the mobile app, as well; particularly as college students continue to turn to mobile devices to complete daily tasks.
“With such a high percentage of students toting smartphones, it just makes sense to allow mobile devices to perform all the same functions that the campus cards can do,” says Dan Gretz, senior director of product marketing at Blackboard. “And as more campuses become NFC-enabled, students are using their mobile devices for all of their transactions, with dining halls, vending, bookstores, laundry and access control being the most prominent.”
The campus card has added a number of functions to its repertoire over the years, and the mobile app would be wise to take note. One major component to the companion app of tomorrow will undoubtedly include physical access control, an idea that Gretz and Blackboard are keen to develop further.
Near field communication on mobile devices will enable students to access facilities, Gretz says. Door access will be vital because it’s one of the most important and frequent tasks for students, and as Gretz explains, shifting door access to a mobile app is already piloted.
Blackboard is working with schools to ease the process of placing IDs on to mobile devices. “Once a student logs into their campus account via a smartphone, their campus ID is securely loaded to the device over the air, after which the phone can function securely as the ID card,” explains Gretz.
