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The Indiana Daily Student

student life

Campus IDs deactivate at end of June, students need CrimsonCards

IU students from all campuses will be able to use CrimsonCards, the successor to CampusAccess cards. Students must switch over to the new cards before June 30. 

Students, faculty and staff now have less than three weeks to switch their current campus IDs to CrimsonCards.

IU began implementing CrimsonCards last spring to consolidate multiple card systems on IU campuses. They provide access to IU buildings, printing, meal points and payment at some local retailers. 

All old IDs will stop functioning June 30, 2018. 

Approximately 32,000 students statewide still need to complete the free re-carding process, said CrimsonCard Manager Karen Warnsman in an e-mail on April 4.

Warnsman said the University saved more than $102,000 in purchasing a bulk order of CrimsonCards, compared to the total price of ordering different cards for each campus.

“CrimsonCard Operations is a University service, and as such each campus now no longer has to financially support the operations and can utilize the savings to further the educational mission at their respective campus,” Warnsman said in an email. 

Previously, IU used separate ID systems at each campus. These included the IUK Cougar Card, IUPUI Jagtag, IUS UCard and IUB CampusAccess Card, among others. In their place, CrimsonCards will function at all eight IU campuses. 

Rob Lowden, associate vice president of enterprise systems, said CrimsonCards provide greater security than previous carding systems. 

“It’s a physical safety enhancement, first and foremost,” Lowden said. 

CrimsonCards use smart chip card technology, which is the encrypted transfer of data, so they can’t be copied. 

While CampusAccess cards had this feature, most others did not. 

Warnsman said CrimsonCards also create a single branding image, and allow students, faculty and staff to use one card for services and financial transactions across all IU campuses. 

Professors who work at more than one institution now don’t have to manage multiple IDs, and students conducting research across IU campuses can access all buildings through their single card. 

If a student loses their card while on break, Lowden said, they can replace it at whichever campus is closest to home, rather than waiting for school to restart. 

On the Bloomington campus, current cardholders can receive CrimsonCards at offices in the Indiana Memorial Union M090 or Learning Commons 106 on the main floor of Wells Library. 

Lowden said the latter office was moved from Eigenmann Hall last spring in an effort to make the location more central for students. It is now the most active card office on the Bloomington campus, Lowden said. 

Warnsman said the replacement process takes a few minutes, but wait times might increase as the June 30 deadline approaches. 

An online service that started last fall allows new students to skip wait times by preparing their new ID cards online. Following guidelines outlined on the website, incoming students can upload their own photographs and pick up the prepared card at one of the offices. 

Lowden said this allows new students to enjoy more of the fun orientation activities, rather than spending time on administrative duties. 

Students and employees who already have an IU ID must retake their photographs in person at one of the CrimsonCard offices. 

CrimsonCards expire six years from the date of issuance.

Current and incoming freshman are exempt from the re-carding process because CrimsonCards were implemented in March 2017.

Seniors and others leaving IU this year also don’t need to replace their IDs, but they can before graduating if they choose. 

Lowden said some current students would not be affected if they failed to get a CrimsonCard before the June 30 deadline.

If students don’t live on campus, don’t have a meal plan or don’t use their cards for purchases at local retailers, Lowden said, they would only need a CrimsonCard for identification purposes. 

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