The price of the SlugCard -- the University of California, Santa Cruz's student ID card -- will increase for faculty, staff, and students to a flat fee of $25 for all card replacements. This marks the first fee increase for replacement student IDs at the university since 2012.

According to an official university release, the change will take effect July 1, 2019 and will apply to to all new and replacement ID cards for students, faculty, and staff. The price for all new student ID cards, as well as faculty and staff badges will also carry a $25 fee.

The new, flat fee replaces a previous pricing structure that charged differently based on the reason for the card replacement. Previously, lost or stolen ID cards carried a $20 cash or check replacement fee, while lost or stolen cards plus a new photo cost $25.

For damaged or broken ID cards, however, the replacement fee was just $10 cash or check to exchange, and $15 to exchange with a new photo. This price was also applied to instances of exchanges for name, college or photo changes.

According to the university's card services website, the new price increase on the SlugCard is the result of investments in new technology, increasing supply costs, and the need to simplify the existing ID card pricing structure.