Managing costs

Regardless of the scenario, re-carding an entire campus population is an expensive undertaking, but there are ways to minimize costs.

As Emery explains, costs associated with a re-carding project will vary depending upon the scope of the event, time frame, card technology, and any additional equipment that may be needed to conduct the work.

“Planning ahead keeps costs under control so you don’t have last minute expenses,” Emery adds. “I recommend a campus explore the different options – evaluating the time it will take, equipment required and staff workload for each – and do a side by side comparison of costs.”

A university needs to be conscious of the obvious costs – the physical supplies such as card stock and printer supplies – but also acknowledge other cost considerations that are often overlooked, Gretz explains. Examples include costs for personnel, marketing and customer awareness as well as opportunity costs from lost progress on other projects.

“Probably the single most important cost-saving action by a university is having experienced staff manning the printers,” says Gretz. “Particularly when re-carding with a contactless credential that can cost several dollars each, educated staff can help eliminate scraps and re-prints.”