CR80News Spring 2013

CR80News ID TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION - SPRING 2013 - ISSUE 14

CAMPUS CARDS REVOLUTIONIZE EVENT TICKETING CREDIT CARD FRAUD HITS ID OFFICES LOYALTY PROGRAMS UP CARD USAGE ANNUAL BANKING SURVEY RESULTS

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CONTENTS

12 | Cover Story |

PAPER OR PLASTIC?

Student IDs replace paper tickets for campus events

4 | Perspective | Ticketing exemplifies best of innovative card apps

18

32

6 | ID Shorts | News and posts from the web 12 | Cover story | Paper or plastic?

Student IDs replace paper tickets for campus events 18 | Banking survey | Regs, uncertainty bring changes to campus bank partnerships 24 | Fraud | Preventing credit card fraud in a campus card program 26 | Innovation | Enticing students with loyalty programs 30 | Business | Campuses add revenues with passport office 32 | Marketing | Social media key to campus card marketing 34 | Technology | USC deploys fingerprint scanners to secure student residences

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INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 13 Blackboard

21 ITC Systems

www.blackboard.com/transact

www.itcsystems.com

9 CardSmith

31 Off Campus Solutions

www.card-smith.com

www.offcampussolutions.com

35 The CBORD Group

27 SALTO Systems

www.cbord.com

www.saltosystems.com

2 Datacard Group

23 SARGENT

www.datacard.com/cr80

info.intelligentopenings.com/campus

7 Digital Identification Solutions

15 U.S. Bank

www.dis-usa.com/College

www.usbank.com/campus/contour-card

17 Heartland Campus Solutions

5 Wells Fargo

www.hpy.co/MyPayCampus

www.wellsfargo.com

36 HID Global www.hidglobal.com/hdp-ed-cr80

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ABOUT

CR80News EXECUTIVE EDITOR & PUBLISHER Chris Corum, chris@AVISIAN.com EDITOR Zack Martin, zack@AVISIAN.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Andy Williams, andy@AVISIAN.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ryan Clary, Liset Cruz, Jill Jaracz, Gina Jordan, Ross Mathis, Denise Trowbridge ART DIRECTION TEAM Franco Castillo, Ryan Kline ADVERTISING SALES Chris Corum, chris@AVISIAN.com Sales Department, advertise@AVISIAN.com

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ABOUT CR80News CR80News is published twice a year by AVISIAN Inc., 315 E. Georgia Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. Chris Corum, President and CEO. Circulation records are maintained at AVISIAN Inc., 315 E. Georgia Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.

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PERSPECTIVE

TICKETING EXEMPLIFIES BEST OF INNOVATIVE CARD APPS As our editorial team prepared this issue, I was reminded of what first intrigued me about the campus card industry. Exploring how cards can revolutionize event ticketing showcases what these systems deliver: improvements in customer service, data collection, convenience, loyalty, asset allocation, just to name a few.

This straightforward, common sense application of cards in ticketing provides tangible benefits to both the institution and its student.

How do we use ID technology to streamline the delivery of mission critical, yet inefficient services? Alabama, Villanova, Montana, Texas Tech and the other institutions profiled in the article can sure answer that question when it comes to event ticketing.

It extends beyond the simple form factor change that occurs when paper tickets are eliminated in favor of card swipes. Such services can create other opportunities to encourage preferred behaviors and build a more �collegial� environment.

Institutions are rewarding loyal attendance with incentives and perks; encouraging students to donate tickets they cannot use to others; and using card systems to increase attendance for less popular athletic, academic and cultural activities.

A quick benefit analysis of these innovative ticketing solutions highlights just how wide ranging the impacts can be.

Reduce costs

Eliminate ticket printing expense

Ease staffing requirements

Reduce distribution and ticket window staffing levels

Maximize resource utilization

Keep the student section full

Improve visibility and asset allocation

Add pre-game insight into attendance levels to better allocate game day resources and staffing

Improve customer service

Automate previously manual ticketing processes

Build community support

Create opportunities to issue IDs to season ticket holders, welcoming them to the campus community

Ensure resources for student use

Eliminate scalping or resale of student tickets

Promote campus-wide activities

Add incentive programs to encourage attendance at under capacity events

Promote cross-utilization of services

Encourage card usage at the event for purchasing

Build existing programs

Add another app to ID to earn top-of-wallet status

Encourage preferred behaviors

Reward loyal fans by increasing their odds of obtaining scarce tickets

Create wholly new opportunities

Implement loyalty programs and tie those into other behavior modifying actions

Ticketing seems an ideal application for campus cards and it highlights the unique ability card programs have to provide far-reaching benefits across campus constituencies.

Read on.

Do more with your campus card program

Adding banking services to your campus card is a big decision Wells Fargo can help you: n Reduce program expenses n Provide students with the options and conveniences they want n Offer access to money management tools and financial education programs

Why choose Wells Fargo?

We are an experienced and dependable industry leader, with programs dating back to 1995 n We provide customized marketing and local relationship support n With locations from coast to coast, we offer convenience at school, at home, and on the road n We offer a wide array of financial accounts and services to meet the needs of your campus and students n

To learn more about how the Wells Fargo Campus CardSM Program can help your school, please contact: Kevin Duncan – 925-686-7009, kevin.duncan@wellsfargo.com Vernon Sloan – 704-427-6209, vernon.sloan@wellsfargo.com

© 2012 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC.

ID SHORTS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEB

HEARTLAND ROLLS OUT MYPAY WITH YOUTUBE VIDEO Heartland Payment Systems’ Campus Solutions division has produced a YouTube video showing off the features of one of its newest products, MyPay. The mobile application, able to run on Android and Apple iOS devices, enables students and administrators to use their smart phones and mobile devices for oncampus purchases and as a virtual campus ID card.

MyPay enables students to make oncampus purchases at bookstores, vending and laundry machines, dining locations and print and copy stations. It can also reduce wait times, as students can send their payment information to the point-of-sale terminal while waiting in a checkout line.

CARDSMITH ENHANCES FLORIDA LAW SCHOOL ID, SIGNS OTHER SCHOOLS Florida Coastal School of Law and campus card service provider CardSmith announced plans to introduce the “Coastal

Card,” an enhancement to the law school’s campus ID. The CardSmith system replaces an existing campus card system, migrating functionality to the Cloud to facilitate system operations. According to the institution’s Applications Manager Damon Noisette, “we chose CardSmith because of their managed approach to technology and service as well as their expertise in building and transitioning card programs.”

The card offers expanded amenities including: A discretionary spending account that is accepted campus-wide and off-campus.

Access to CardSmith’s Campus Cash network of more than 40 Jacksonville businesses that accept ID cards, a list that includes Gate Petroleum, CVS Pharmacy, Sonny’s BarB-Q, Loop Pizza Grill, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Zaxby’s and Applebee’s Town Center.

Web and mobile cardholder account access and value transfer service, optional parent account access, on-line reporting, on-line administrative access and 24/7/365 monitoring.

RapIDTrack and PocketTracker veri-

fication solutions to support essential campus access and tracking needs.

This replaces a campus-hosted system previously utilized for ID card transaction services.

A cloud-based transaction system, enabling Coastal Law to expand ID card services and capabilities without local systems, software or additional staff resources.

NORTH CAROLINA UNIVERSITY TAPS BLACKBOARD FOR CONTACTLESS CARD SYSTEM Chowan University, Murfreesboro, N.C., selected Blackboard Transact to provide a campus-wide, one card system that includes a contactless student ID to be used for both commerce and door access.

The Hawks Card enables cashless purchases across the campus. It also operates electronic door controls to campus buildings, creating centralized building management for college officials. The university plans to eventually integrate all card features onto mobile devices via NFC-enabled phones.

MYPAY ENABLES STUDENTS TO MAKE ON-CAMPUS PURCHASES AT BOOKSTORES, VENDING AND LAUNDRY MACHINES, DINING LOCATIONS AND PRINT AND COPY STATIONS 8

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ID SHORTS

“We wanted to get aggressive in providing our community with an enterprisewide card system that not only enhanced campus security, but also provided convenience when navigating the college,” said Brandon Zoch, assistant vice president of Student Affairs. “By partnering with Blackboard, we were able to prepare our campus for growth with a technology that not only meets the expectations of today’s student, but also sets us up to grow alongside industry innovations.”

“Utilizing an electronic credential as the center of a student’s interaction across campus directly supports the strategic goals of an institution,” added David Marr, president of Blackboard Transact. “Contactless technology, including ultimately mobile

devices as virtual student IDs, is an innovative way to not only enhance a student’s on-campus experience, but also establish a base from which universities can keep pace with rapidly changing industry.”

contactless transactions. “The system was at the end of its life,’ says a school administrator. “It was time to go out and see what else was out there.”

MASSACHUSETTS’ UCARD SYSTEM GETS A REBOOT

BLACKBOARD UNVEILS MOBILE APP FOR STUDENT DEBIT CARD ACCOUNTS

The University of Massachusetts completed an upgrade of its UCard, making the jump to contactless using HID’s iClass technology and a new campus card system from CBORD. The university replaced magnetic stripe readers at dining services and retail services cash registers, vending machines and laundry machines to enable

Blackboard Transact’s new eAccounts Mobile app for iOS devices enables students to manage their campus ID accounts, check balances, view transactions, make real-time deposits and manage security features.

The eAccounts Mobile app is the latest extension to eAccounts – Blackboard’s

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ID SHORTS

online self-service portal for closed-looped campus debit card accounts that is already used by students nationwide. Users can download their campus-specific mobile app from the Apple iTunes store and seamlessly integrate with Blackboard Transact.

The PCI-compliant portal creates a customizable account management environment that is branded to each institution.

By enabling student-management of card accounts, administrators can provide a more convenient option for students, while off-loading routine transactions from the card office staff.

TWO BOSTON SCHOOLS LAUNCH CAMPUS CARD TAXI PAYMENTS PROGRAM Students at Emerson College and Suffolk University in Boston can now use their campus card to pay for taxi rides. The new program is the result of a partnership between CBORD and Creative Mobile Technologies, a provider of taxi payment solutions.

Students at both schools already use their campus cards for purchases on- and off-campus. Emerson uses CBORD’s CS Gold campus card system, while Suffolk

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uses CBORD’s Odyssey PCS system. Both card systems are integrated with CBORD’s UGryd commerce platform.

Via the partnership, students swipe their cards at Creative Mobile’s in-taxi payment terminals, available in 1,200 of the city’s taxis, to pay for rides and tips using campus card funds. Other campuses may benefit in the future as Creative Mobile serves cabs in 60 cities spanning 35 states.

CARDSMITH ROLLS OUT MOBILE ACCOUNT CENTER CardSmith’s mobile version of its online Cardholder Account Center enables students to use their smart phone to check balances, view transactions and revalue their meal plan or Campus Cash accounts through a scaled down mobile-friendly version. The smart phone interface also enables users to switch to the full Web site if desired.

CardSmith tested the mobile account solution with a number of clients throughout the fall 2012 semester. Since the rollout, the company reports that usage and adoption have been high and performance good.

All CardSmith clients can now add mobility to their cardholder account center

for their programs without incremental charges or fees. Enhancements for 2013 are already in the works and include digital offers/rewards and the ability to pay by phone.

CAMPUSES IN MISSISSIPPI AND MICHIGAN REQUIRE STUDENTS TO WEAR ID Students at University of Detroit Mercy have mixed reactions about the school’s new rule requiring students, faculty and staff to wear their ID badges while on campus.

The ID policy is part of a broader security system, said Tamara Batcheller, associate vice president for facilities management.

“I don’t think any one thing is going to get us the perfect security system and I don’t think there is such a thing as perfect

STUDENTS AT NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP THEIR STUDENT ID IN PLAIN SIGHT OR FACE A $25 FINE security.” Still, she notes, campus security will be significantly increased by the ID requirement.

No specific incident prompted the new rule, but Batcheller said that thefts on the campus indicated there was a need for greater security.

Taking this requirement one step further, students at Northeast Mississippi Community College are required to keep their student ID in plain sight or face a $25 fine.

The policy is intended to keep students safe while being able to easily spot nonstudents.

“They give several warnings before they actually give a ticket. Once they hit you with the ticket, then you’ll be fined $25,” said a student.

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ID SHORTS

STUDENTS TAP THEIR CONTACTLESS ID CARDS ON A READER AS THEY ENTER A CLASSROOM, WHICH REGISTERS THE STUDENT’S ATTENDANCE. MICHIGAN, MIAMI UNIVERSITY RECEIVE INNOVATION AWARDS

mandates requiring schools to track the actual time a student is present in class in addition to basic attendance.

The time a student spends in class is now CBORD recognized two organizations part of a teacher’s performance review for outstanding achievements in 2012 durin some areas. Without automation these ing the company’s annual User Group mandates are difficult and expensive to Conference in Atlanta. implement. ScholarChip automates the colThe first award lection of this classroom data went to the Univerand supports integration with sity of Michigan’s student information systems.

Residential Dining Students tap their contactServices, which less ID cards on a reader as NUMBER OF MEALS is made up of 17 they enter a classroom, which SERVED ANNUALY dining and retail registers the student’s attenBY MICHIGAN DINING operations serving dance. With the new mandates, approximately 3.5 students also need to tap when million meals a year. The dining service leaving class (for example to attend a meetfeatures integrated CBORD software and ing with a guidance counselor) and tap hardware solutions for dining, housing, again when re-entering the classroom. campus ID access control, catering and The time a student is absent from class nutrition education. is recorded.

Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, won The ScholarChip solution is supported the Visionary Award for its access control on three platforms: a browser based serand campus card installation. The univice; a mobile Android App available for versity implemented CBORD’s CS Access use with NFC-enabled tablets and smart solution together with more than 4,200 onphones; and a platform that is designed to line electronic locks, all within 90 days. The operate with a wall-mounted smart card new service offers text-messaging features reader inside a classroom. such as Open MyDoor for residence hall room access and MasterKey that enables students and staff to manage access control UNIVERSITY DEBUTS WOLFIE from their phones.

WALLET DEBIT CARD

3.5M

PROGRAM

NFC-ENABLED CLASSROOM ATTENDANCE SYSTEM RELEASED ScholarChip, a provider of smart ID solutions for schools, updated its classroom attendance solution to meet certain state

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Stony Brook University in New York rolled out the Wolfie Wallet, a debit account linked to the campus ID card designed for both on and off-campus use.

It replaces the university’s Campus Cash program, says Angela Agnello, director of marketing and communications for the

Faculty Student Association. “The program was implemented to use one tender with the Stony Brook ID card at merchants both on and off campus,” she says. “Changing to a new system has allowed the Faculty Student Association to add many more merchants on and off campus for greater flexibility for students, faculty and staff.”

Off-Campus Advantage, a wholly owned subsidiary of CBORD, runs the program.

ARGENTINA UNIVERSITY SMART CARD CELEBRATES TENTH ANNIVERSARY Argentina’s University Smart Card is observing its 10-year anniversary. The cards are issued by Banco Santander and used by 270,000 students and faculty at 25 universities. More than 40% of the universities in Argentina issue the smart card, each designing and establishing functions based on the needs of the specific campus.

Argentina’s Business University was the first school to issue the smart card in 2002. It is one of the biggest private universities in the country serving 21,000 students and 4,000 teaching and administrative staff. Since the smart card’s inception, the university has incorporated debit card functions, access control, library loans and attendance records.

Banco Santander has issued 5.4 million of these smart cards at more than 250 universities in 11 countries since its debut in Spain in 1995.

ID SHORTS

PENN STATE COMMENDED FOR MAKING STUDENT IDS ACCEPTABLE FOR VOTING Penn State University was commended by the secretary of the commonwealth for making the school’s student IDs acceptable for voting under the new voter ID law. Beginning with the November 2013 election, Pennsylvania voters were required to show a valid photo ID to cast a ballot. A number of IDs are acceptable, including student IDs, as long as they also contain an expiration date that has not passed.

Penn State added expiration dates to ID cards for incoming

PENN STATE UNIVERSITY WAS COMMENDED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH FOR MAKING THE SCHOOL’S STUDENT IDS ACCEPTABLE FOR VOTING UNDER THE NEW VOTER ID LAW. students starting in the 2012 summer term, and made stickers available for returning students, to ensure all Penn State students were able to vote. “Penn State is our state’s largest university, and this action made sure any of the school’s 90,000-plus students who don’t have other acceptable IDs can vote using their student ID,” Aichele said.

SAN FRANCISCO LIBRARIES TAP ITC SYSTEMS FOR PRINT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION The San Francisco Public Library deployed a cashless system from ITC Systems and Konica Minolta. The library system required self-service print release stations, card readers, revalue equipment as well as support for accepting payment cards.

The project extended throughout San Francisco’s 28 library branches, ultimately supporting more than 300 workstations and 112 printers.

The ITC Systems solution involved a PrinterOn Web-Based program that enables patrons to send print jobs directly to their chosen hub through the library’s wireless network.

Users can now view hot spots directly from the library’s home page. ITC ensured the entire project would require minimal training for staff and patrons and would comply with the City of San Francisco’s “green” mandate.

BLACKBOARD SUPPORTS MIFARE, ADDS PERSONA INTEGRATION The Blackboard Transact campus card suite now supports MIFARE contactless technology enabling partner institutions to choose either MIFARE or FeliCa contactless when issuing NFC-compatible student IDs. The Blackboard Transact platform also added integration with Assa Abloy’s PERSONA access control software to enable administration and management of Assa Abloy Group brand door locks from

Corbin-Russwin and SARGENT. With the expanded integrations, security personnel are able to configure and manage critical campus functions, such as security monitoring and alarm notification, on a single console.

LEFTOVER CAMPUS CARD DOLLARS BRING NEW DINING OPTIONS TO AUBURN Use it or lose it pretty much sums up on-campus meal plans at most universities. If a student doesn’t use all their meal plan dollars, the leftover money reverts to the school or food service provider. But at Auburn University students are seeing some benefit from these lost funds. That is because the money from a sweep of unused dining dollars is being used to improve the dining experience for students.

According to the school’s student newspaper, the Auburn Plainsman, Auburn students leave an average of just 2.4% of their meal plan dollars for dining services at the end of the year, compared to the national average of 10%. That still amounts to a chunk of change – in this case, about $376,000 – that can be used to bolster the school’s dining opportunities.

Explore online for up-to-the-minute news and insight on identity and security technologies for the campus and university market. Articles, podcasts and videos are added daily at CR80News.com

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PAPER OR PLASTIC?

STUDENT IDS REPLACE PAPER TICKETS FOR CAMPUS EVENTS ANDY WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, AVISIAN PUBLICATIONS

The campus ID card is replacing the paper ticket for entrance to sporting events and other activities at universities across the country.

One of the more elaborate systems comes from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, which was one of the first schools to move their paper football tickets to the campus card. That means

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a student only has to show the campus ID to gain entrance to a football game.

But many schools offer similar services, some pre-dating Alabama’s heralded program. The reasoning is simple: it’s easier to manage, keeps seats full, students happy and gives staff an overview of how many students are expected at any one game.

The methods used for ensuring students get their campus card-based sports tickets range from basic firstcome, first-served solutions to lotterybased systems.

Bama went the ticketless route in 2008, enabling students to access their tickets online. Originally called MyFootballTicket, the program was renamed

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In campus card point-of-sale and security solutions

attend the game because someone else has donated their ticket to the pool, says Brooks. “As long as you see your ticket balance is equal to one, you can show up at the game,” says Brooks. “Every student who wanted to go to the game has gotten into the game. It may not be until game day but we’ve been able to accommodate everyone.”

She says the system has been a success. “It allows us to manage a limited resource of seats in the most effective way. Students have been very complimentary of the system.”

VILLANOVA TICKETING

this year to simply MyTickets since it now covers a host of other events as well, says Jeanine Brooks, director of the university’s Action Card.

While the number of students the school can accommodate in its stadium hasn’t changed – it has 17,000 seats in its student section – the number of students eligible for a ticket has grown from 27,000 to 33,000 in recent years.

The school rewrote the ticketing program when it moved from Blackboard Unix to Blackboard Transact, says

ALABAMA NOW PENALIZES STUDENTS WHO OBTAIN A TICKET BUT DON’T SHOW UP FOR THE GAME Brooks. “We added new functionality, moved it to the campus portal (MyBama) and changed the name.”

The portal is directly interfaced with Blackboard Transact and didn’t require any special integration, says Jeff Staples, vice president for market development at Blackboard.

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In the spring, students can reserve a ticket package covering all the home games in the fall. Once they get the tickets they then show up for the game and swipe their card to gain entrance. If they don’t want to attend the game, they can let the university know and their ticket will be added to a pool for distribution to another ticket seeker. Alternately, the student can opt to transfer the ticket directly to a student of their choosing.

One of the most notable changes is that the university now penalizes students who obtain a ticket but don’t show up for the game. It’s based on a point system. All students who have a positive numeral one in their campus card record are eligible for a ticket for the next home game. If they have a ticket but don’t show up, that positive numeral becomes negative.

“Students only receive a ticket the week of the game. Since we have such high demand, students who do not use their ticket and neglect to donate it or transfer to someone else are penalized 1.5 points,” says Brooks. “If you have more than three (penalty points) you’re not eligible for post season games or for tickets next year,” adds Brooks.

Those on the wait list can be notified as late as game day that they’re able to

At Villanova University, basketball is just as popular as football is at Alabama.

Villanova’s arena has a student section that seats just 1,500 but more than twice that number want to attend games. In fact, of Villanova’s 8,000 undergraduate students, about 3,500 want the tickets.

To deal with the issue the school deployed a ticketing lottery system from its campus card provider, The CBORD Group.

Every student starts the season with 100 points, explains John Bonass, operations manager for University Card Systems at Villanova. Point totals adjust based on three factors: winning a lottery and attending the game, entering a lottery and not winning, and winning a lottery and not attending the game, says Bonass.

Here is the breakdown in point changes for each event: 1. Winning lottery and attending: 30 Points will be added to a student’s weight.

2. Entering lottery and not winning: 30 Points will be added to student’s weight.

3. Winning lottery and not attending: Deduction of 40 points from a student’s weight.

“If you win a ticket and attend the game, it increases your chances for the next game because we want to reward loyal fans,” says Bonass.

Student government wanted the weighted process to make it fair for all students. “If you win a ticket and don’t use it your chances of getting a ticket for the next time go down,” says Bonass.

Originally, Villanova created it’s own lottery system but after some problems, Bonass approached CBORD. “We were having issues with our lottery process and we went to CBORD and asked them if they could create one,” says Bonass.

“We worked with a development team and our student government to design the process.”

CBORD was already on campus working with the school on a Web interface for laundry, says Bob Lemley, CBORD’s director of software development. “They outlined what they needed, we took their proposal and developed the solution.”

The idea for the weighted system

came from student government. “You first need to sign up for the lottery.

There’s a registration period for each set of games,” says Lemley. “If you win tickets to undesirable games in your package it’s to your benefit to attend all of the games in order to improve your chances later in the season.”

Then there’s a transfer period where the student can give his ticket to someone else or throw his ticket back into the pool, says Lemley.

At the arena, student ID cards are read via door readers or handheld devices to verify that access should be granted.

Before the CBORD solution, no one knew how the weighted system worked and the point process was confusing, says Bonass.

The lottery system also did away with the problem of students selling tickets online, says Bonass. “The student

government association loves it and administrators love it,” says Bonass. “We can see how many sign up for the game which allows us to move manpower around based on people who will be entering the building,” adds Bonass.

FOOTBALL-CRAZY TEXAS Texas Tech University in Lubbock has been using its ID card for football tickets since 2004. Students pay an athletic fee per semester that, among other perks, grants them access to football games. But it’s a first-come, first-served basis meaning that for the big games, some students could end up camping out the night before the game.

Still it has only been an issue for one game a couple years ago, says Dolores Harper, director of the university’s ID system. “We’ve never closed the gate,” she says. And even if the student section

MORE SCHOOLS KILL PAPER TICKETS IN FAVOR OF CARDS UNIVERSITY OF IOWA STUDENT TICKETS GO ELECTRONIC The University of Iowa abandoned traditional paper sports tickets, opting instead to electronically add the tickets to students’ campus cards. The paperless jump began with the basketball season at the close of 2012 and will continue into 2013 football season.

Season tickets for the student sections are distributed electronically to student ID cards, and on game day ticket-takers use handheld scanners to check the electronic tickets.

This saves the university’s printing costs plus the hours spent distributing the tickets. Now, students will only have to remember their IDs to get into the games.

Students that do not have season tickets can buy single game passes for the student section if seats are available. Those tickets can be printed off or picked up at the window on game day and presented at the gate with a student ID. Students will also be allowed to go online and transfer their ticket electronically to another student’s ID.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CONSIDERS CAMPUS CARD TICKETING The University of Minnesota may soon join other Big 10 schools – such as Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Nebraska – eliminating printed football tickets storing them instead on student IDs. Associate athletics director Jason LaFrenz said he didn’t know when the switch would occur, but that the university is researching requirements. He said the school should be ready to make a formal decision early this year.

Currently, students pick up their football and basketball season tickets using their student ID. Each student is given a barcodeequipped season pass for access to all games, LaFrenz said. The pass has the student’s name and customer number on it.

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY GOES PAPERLESS FOR STUDENT TICKETS Students at Florida State University no longer have to print out their football tickets from home. Using the new system, the ticket is linked to the student ID and a simple card swipe at the stadium grants entrance.

Students must still request tickets in the same way as in prior years – beginning at 5 p.m. on the Sunday before the game. “[We] wanted to make the process as easy as possible,” said an FSU athletics official. “By having the ticket delivered directly to the students’ FSU ID it makes it easier for students to simply show up at the game and have their card swiped for entry rather than picking up or printing out a physical ticket.”

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is full, the school has the capacity to open up a grassy area overlooking the stadium.

This year, more than 28,000 students paid the athletic fee, says Harper. That’s more than double the 12,000-seat capacity for the student section.

When students pay the athletic fee, their record is flagged indicating eligibility to attend football games. The student swipes the card for admission at one of the 15 readers at the stadium. Each is monitored to make sure the student isn’t passing the card to someone else in line and to make sure the card is valid, says Harper. A green light on the reader will tell the checker that the student can enter.

“When a student comes up to the reader and the card doesn’t work, we have a little booth set up with access to the university ID system where we can look up the record to determine the reason for the decline.

They may not have paid the athletic fee or they may not be enrolled,” says Harper.

There’s also a counter attached to the ID system so that when a card is swiped, it increments up so the school knows when the student section is full.

“Students are really good about coming in early before the game starts. They know if they come in late their chances are not good,” says Harper.

MONTANA FOLLOWS SUIT Operating in a similar fashion to Texas Tech is the University of Montana, Missoula. Their students also pay an athletic fee as part of their tuition, which then flags their card to indicate eligibility for football games, says Maggie Linder, program coordinator at the university.

“On Monday a student can go to the student center and have the card swiped, indicating intention to attend next weekend’s game,” says Linder. The athletics department has people at each student entrance to verify that the student has a ticket and that the photo matches the individual entering the stadium.

Again like Texas Tech, it’s a first-come, first-served basis, says Linder. The school has 15,000 students and 3,300 tickets for them. This year the university added a season ticket option to the four-year-old program. Students can pay an extra $50 to have the new privilege added to the ID card.

Using the campus ID as a ticket enables the school to be more efficient. More importantly, it ensures that the student section is always full to provide that sought after home team advantage.

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ANNUAL CR80NEWS CAMPUS CARD BANKING SURVEY

REGS, UNCERTAINTY BRING CHANGES TO CAMPUS BANK PARTNERSHIPS ANNUAL SURVEY RESULTS FLAT, PREPAID LEAPS AS FEES FALL Zack Martin, Editor, Avisian Publications

T

he traditional model of banks partnering with colleges and universities to offer an all-inone campus ID and bank card may be shifting.

A 2012 report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group raised concerns about some of these program’s practices and the fees charged to students. Many of these concerns were unfounded or misplaced and most of the programs provide good value for students and institutions, but still the report brought new pressures. In the months that followed, members of Congress met with vendors and financial institutions offering the products while the U.S. Department of Education began crafting regulations to govern these programs.

Concerns stemming from the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI) also seem to be affecting the combined ID and bank card model as some campuses consider separating the functionality onto two cards.

It’s too early to tell how these regulations will impact the market, but 2012 was a stagnant year in terms of overall new agreements, as many institutions seem to have taken a wait-and-see posture.

For the first time since CR80News initiated the survey a decade ago, there was no net increase in the total number of campuses with bank card partnerships.

MOVE TO PREPAID? A bright note comes in the growing trend toward prepaid. A significant rise is occurring in the number of campus banking

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partnerships issuing prepaid accounts rather than traditional checking accounts with associated debit cards also known as demand deposit accounts or DDAs. Some insiders believe that use of prepaid rather than debit may stem criticism from regulators because it can eliminate the much-maligned non-sufficient funds (NSF) or overdraft fees.

“Students like the prepaid option,” says Terry Maher, a partner at Baird Holm LLP and general counsel for the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association. “It’s a good tool from the bank perspective and the customer perspective because it keeps the student within a budget and away from fees.”

Budgeting is easier with a prepaid account, says Ben Jackson, senior analyst at Mercator Advisory Group. If the money isn’t in the account a transaction won’t be approved. This removes the chance of charging overdraft fees.

Prepaid cards have not always had the best reputation because the cards often came with high fees and major limitations. This has changed with many of the modern prepaid programs. “More people looking at prepaid because you can get a no cost or lowcost account,” Maher says. “If you have money direct deposited into the account and don’t access funds at out-of-network ATMs they’re inexpensive and safe.”

Traditional debit accounts are subject to many more regulations and disclosure requirements, says Jackson. With traditional debit cards the issuer must maintain a separate account for each student.

Prepaid programs, on the other hand, may pool funds in a single account, he says.

This helps keep operational costs lower for prepaid. A checking account can cost a bank as much as $200 a year but the prepaid account is much less expensive, Maher says A properly run prepaid program can offer students the same benefits as a checking account, Maher says. “It comes down to

ease of access,” he explains. “ATM accessibility is key.”

While prepaid might be making a splash now, it’s difficult to see whether it’ll be a lasting trend. “It’s too early to tell if prepaid will replace the banking models out there now,” says Whitney Bright, senior vice president for Campus Banking at U.S. Bank.

U.S. Bank implemented a prepaid program linked to the student ID at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The school wanted to have a Visa or MasterCard branded card so students could make purchases anywhere. At N.C. State prepaid made the most sense because U.S. Bank doesn’t have branches in state. U.S. Bank also issued its Contour prepaid product at two additional campuses. The Contour offering serves as a financial aid dispersal tool for these campuses.

Prepaid is frequently used for aid dispersal and perhaps it is there that its move to campus really began. Blackboard, Heartland Campus Solutions and Sallie Mae – in addition to U.S. Bank – have all issued prepaid accounts as a means to ease financial aid distribution processes at partner campuses. By offering Visa, MasterCard or Discover branded cards as the access point for these distribution programs, the prepaid account has morphed to be virtually indistinguishable from traditional bank card offerings for most student accountholders.

Blackboard’s BbPay offering automates financial aid dispersal and provides students with a Discover-branded prepaid card.

Today, 25 institutions use the BbPay service. The company believes prepaid is the way of the future for campuses because, if implemented correctly, it can offer comparable services at far lower costs while keeping regulators at bay by minimizing cardholder fees.

“The accounts are FDIC insured, include provisions to shelter against fraudulent use, eliminate NSF fees, offer widespread low or no cost ATM access and can be used to make purchases anywhere branded payment cards are accepted,” says Jeff Staples, vice president of market development, Blackboard Transact.

In the early days, prepaid was hampered by higher fees and lower access. “Today, it has come out of the shadows as progressive

issuers allied with payment and ATM networks to up the number of access points and eliminated of unnecessary, burdensome fee structures,” adds Staples.

INDUSTRY STILL OPTIMISTIC A year ago, the 2011 CR80News Banking Survey suggested that the biggest issue for banks with campus partnerships was maintaining a positive revenue stream in light of the changing banking climate. Regulators had clamped down on cardholder and merchant fees, changing the profitability matrix dramatically.

In 2012, for the first time since the survey’s creation in 2003, there was no net gain in the total number of partnerships. Though some blame the PIRG report for the lack of growth, others see it as a more holistic change.

During the year, Wells Fargo saw several campuses either change from a combined card to separate cards or discontinue the banking functions.

“In some instances the school stopped offering that specific functionality but are offering different products,” says Stephen Nixon, vice president and manager of Wells Fargo’s Campus and Workplace Banking Programs. “There weren’t questions or aspersions about what was offered, but more that institutions wanted to go in a different direction.”

The relationship also extends beyond the immediate student and university needs, says Nixon. “We’re interested in serving the higher education market with a broad range of financial services products,” he adds. For Wells Fargo, this meant losing some schools combined campus ID and payment cards in favor of alternative products.

Heartland Campus Solutions remained steady with its number of campus partnerships, but the PIRG report has impacted new business, says Bill Norwood, chief architect at the company. Vendors and universities are expecting regulations from the Department of Education and are hesitant to make a move until then. “They’re

CAMPUS CARD BANK PARTNERSHIPS: 2011-2012 QUANTITY COMPARISON

51 / 55 43 / 46

2011 2012

23 / 23

23 / 26

NA / 25

3/2

3/3

5/5

BLACKBOARD

WELLS FARGO

U.S. BANK

TCF

SUNTRUST

PNC

HEARTLAND

COMMERCE

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STATES SERVED BY FINANCIAL PARTNERS SUNTRUST

TCF

U.S. BANK*

PNC

WELLS FARGO

COMMERCE

PREPAID OFFERINGS* Such as those provided by Heartland, Blackboard, U.S. Bank’s Contour offering and others are available nationwide.

not sure which way to go,” he explains. “They don’t want to pick a system and then not have it be compliant.”

Commerce Bank realizes that the retail banking model is changing but is working to maintain the same types of services to schools.

There is a caveat, however. If Commerce can’t institute sensible fees it might not be long for the campus market, says Don Becker, assistant vice president for Student & Prepaid Card Partnerships at Commerce.

“Future restrictions on our ability to assess fair and reasonable fees could limit our ability to maintain campus card partnerships and provide students with the level of convenient campus banking that they’ve come to enjoy,” Becker explains.

On the positive side, U.S. Bank has seen continued interest in campus banking partnerships, says Whitney Bright, senior vice president for Campus Banking at the financial institution. “Since the beginning of 2013 we have seen a lot of activity and are seeing continued demand,” she adds.

While fee revenue is declining from these types of accounts, some banks continue to pursue the partnerships because of the potential to build a life-long customer, Bright explains. “We want to develop the relationship and expand it with them,” she explains.

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CHANGING WINDS AT UCF SunTrust, insiders suggest, may be exiting the campus banking business, ending its partnership with the University of Central Florida, one of its three programs. Executives from SunTrust did not respond to interview requests.

Fairwinds Credit Union jumped into the campus banking market when it signed with University of Central Florida, previously a Suntrust partner. The ID card is linked to the credit union checking account, can be used as an ATM card and to make purchases on and off campus with a PIN, says Kate Renner, vice president of marketing at Fairwinds. The credit union also has a branch on campus that opened in January.

PCI FEARS LOOM In addition to the bad press and pending additional oversight from the past year, the existing PCI regulation is adding increased pressures. This comes as administrators realize that combined campus and payment cards might swim in murky waters when it comes to PCI compliance.

If the same ID number that is used for payments is also used for physical access, library functionality or stored in campus databases there are PCI requirements that schools must take to protect that data. However, industry sources say these precautions aren’t always taken. Fear of PCI fines and confusion over how to fully comply, is leading some institutions to separate the campus ID from payment card thus segregating the student ID number from the bank card number altogether.

Wells Fargo has taken precautions to keep its campus partners safe. “The bank card number and the student ID number are entirely different,” Nixon says. “On-campus functionality is driven by student ID or other access ID number, which is typically encoded on the cards in addition to the debit card number. This enables on-campus card readers for, say, door access to read specific positions on the mag stripe to verify student ID.” In some cases the data is further segregated by having two magnetic stripes on the same card – one for on-campus functions and the other for banking functions, Nixon explains.

This two-stripe solution has become more and more common as campuses across the country struggle to stay clear of PCI. The pressure to take that final step and segregate the functionality to completely independent pieces of plastic is growing at a number of colleges and universities. This could ultimately change the

very nature of campus card bank partnerships. While it would not necessarily mean the end of campus bank partnerships or the services currently offered, it could remove campus card programs from the equation migrating the services to other functional areas within the institution.

WHAT LIES AHEAD? Between regulations and critical reports, the last couple of years have been a time of flux for banks with campus card partnerships.

Financial institutions face declining fee income and regulatory scrutiny while campuses grapple with PCI compliance, negative press and the emergence of prepaid and multi-card options.

By all accounts, more oversight is almost certain to come. The U.S. Department of Education is creating regulations that will very likely impact campus banking partnerships and financial aid dispersal products, and sources say, nothing is off the table.

Agency officials would not comment for this story but industry executives familiar with the process say that new regulations could be released before the end of the year.

Only time will tell if this myriad of pressures changes the face of campus card bank partnerships or if the old model soldiers on.

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CAMPUSES WITH BANK PARTNERSHIPS Commerce (3) Fort Hays State University, KS Pittsburg State University, KS The University of Kansas, KS Heartland (23) Bastyr University, WA Clearwater Christian College, FL College of the Holy Cross, MA Colorado Christian University, CO Concordia University of Wisconsin, WI Harrisburg University, PA Hillsborough Community College, FL Florida Coastal School of Law, FL John Carroll University, OH Lebanon Valley College, PA Manhattan College, NY Mississippi Delta Community College, MS Mount Holyoke College, MA North Central Missouri College, MO Northwest Florida State College, FL Palm Beach Atlantic University, FL Pittsburgh Technical Institute, PA Reinhardt College, GA Slippery Rock University, PA St. Thomas Acquinas, NY Tompkins Cortland Community College, NY University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA Waukesha County Technical College, Wa PNC (26) Allegheny College, PA Arcadia University, PA Bowling Green State University, OH Carnegie Mellon University, PA Case Western Reserve University, OH Cornerstone University, MI DePaul University, IL Duquesne University, PA Edinboro University, PA Florida Institute of Technology, FL Georgetown University, DC Grove City College, PA Indiana University of Pennsylvania, PA Marymount University, VA Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA Morgan State University, MD Mount St. Mary’s University, MD Olivet Nazarene University, IL Penn State University, PA St. Joseph’s University, PA Saint Xavier University, IL Temple University, PA University of Cincinnati, OH University of Delaware, DE University of Pennsylvania, PA University of Pittsburgh, PA SunTrust (2) Florida State University, FL Mary Baldwin College, VA

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TCF Bank (5) Northern Illinois University, IL St. Cloud State University, MN University of Illinois, IL University of Michigan, MI University of Minnesota, MN U.S. Bank (55) Austin Peay State University, TN Bellevue College, WA Benedictine University, IL Bethel University, MN California State University Fullerton, CA California State University San Bernardino, CA Capital University, OH Carroll University, WI Central Washington University, WA College of Mt. St. Joseph, OH Colorado State University Pueblo, CO Concordia University Chicago, IL Creighton University, NE Drury University, MO Everett Community College, WA Gonzaga University, WA Hamline University, MN Harris-Stowe State University, MO Henderson State University, AR Iowa State University, IA John Carroll University, OH Johnson County Community College, KS Kirkwood Community College, IA Metropolitan State University of Denver, CO Milwaukee Area Technical College, WI Minnesota State University Moorhead, MN Missouri Baptist University, MO Missouri Western State University, MO Morehead State University, KY Normandale Community College, MN North Carolina State University, NC North Dakota State University, ND Northern Kentucky University, KY Northwest Missouri State University, MO Northwestern University, IL Oakland Community College, MI Pacific University, OR Saint Louis University, MO San Diego State University, CA San Jose State University, CA Seattle University, WA Southwest Minnesota State University, MN St. Cloud Technical & Community College, MN Thomas More College, KY Truman State University, MO University of Central Missouri, MO University of Denver, CO University of Missouri Kansas City, MO University of San Diego, CA University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, WI University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, WI Washington State University, WA Waukesha County Technical College, WI Wisconsin Lutheran College, WI Xavier University, OH

Wells Fargo (36) California State University-East Bay, CA California State University-Los Angeles, CA California State University-Sacramento, CA California State University-Stanislaus, CA Colorado Mesa University, CO El Paso Community College, TX Elon University, NC Fayetteville State University, NC Florida A&M University, FL Florida International University, FL Georgia Perimeter College, GA Guilford College, NC Mercer University, GA Midwestern State University, TX Minnesota State University-Mankato, MN New Mexico State University, NM North Carolina A&T State University, NC North Carolina Central University, NC Northern Michigan University, MI Riverside Community College District, CA Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, TX Texas State University-San Marcos, TX University of Arizona, AZ University of Florida, FL University of Nebraska-Kearney, NE University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE University of Nevada-Las Vegas, NV University of Nevada-Reno, NV University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC University of North Texas, TX University of Northern Colorado, CO University of Texas-Arlington, TX University of Texas-Dallas, TX University of Texas-El Paso, TX Villanova University, PA Virginia Commonwealth University, VA Blackboard (25) *Note: With the addition of prepaid accounts to the survey, 2012 marks the first year Blackboard’s partnerships were included.

Alcorn State University, MS Arkansas State University, AR Bainbridge College, GA Bowie State University, MD Bradley University, IL Central Virginia Community College, VA Clark Atlanta, GA Coastal Bend College, TX College of Coastal Georgia, GA Concord University, WV Georgia Gwinnett College, GA Georgia Southwestern University, GA Georgia State University, GA Hamilton College, NY Johnson and Wales, RI Jones County Junior College, MS Murray State College, OK Quinnipiac University, CT Salt Lake Community College, UT Southside Virginia Community College, VA University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, AR University of Texas at Tyler, TX Connors State College OK Chowan University, NC Central Wyoming College, WY

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PREVENTING CREDIT CARD FRAUD IN A CAMPUS CARD PROGRAM $19,000 THEFT PUSHES ONE CAMPUS TO DESIGN NEW SAFEGUARDS ANDY WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, AVISIAN PUBLICATIONS

In today’s campus card programs, students and parents are often encouraged to use credit or debit cards to load funds into a student’s campus card account. But what happens when stolen cards are used or when the card is used without the owner’s permission?

Just ask the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where such a scenario occurred to the tune of $19,000.

Many times it takes something like that to show a hole in your system, says Shira Fogel, the school’s business officer.

As colleges expand the use of card systems, they must recognize that they are entering the realm of high finance and must protect against the same risks faced by other card-accepting merchants. Moreover, when the card serves an expanded off-campus debit function – just like Visa or MasterCard, but backed by the university rather than a bank – the campus must be hyper vigilant.

UAB’s problem started with a student we will call Susie. Susie’s boyfriend, not a UAB student, obtained his parent’s credit card and gave it to Susie. She used it to add money to her Blazer Bucks account – a stored value account where parents and students add funds for discretionary spending on and around campus.

Susie was depositing $800 at a clip to her campus card account. “We’ll see that at the beginning of a semester,” says Fogel, but otherwise such

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deposits are atypical. “Not only was Susie making large deposits but she was doing so frequently.”

A normal deposit rate is no more than three per week. Susie was making 10 or 11 deposits per week and actually made 22 deposits in a single 14-day period, explained Fogel during a presentation to the National Association of Campus Card Users. “Unless you have a process in place to identify something like this, the school could be in trouble,” says Vogel.

UAB began receiving charge backs, eventually totaling $19,000, once the boyfriend’s parents caught on to the fraudulent card usage. Until these hit, the school had no way to suspect something was amiss.

The Blazer Card program, like many campus card programs, had no weapon to highlight such activities. “Prior to this we had no reason to suspect someone of doing something like this,” says Fogel.

After the charge backs started coming in, the school looked at Susie’s account to see where she was spending the money, says Fogel. Many transactions were occurring at local pharmacies with one transaction reaching $800. What can one

buy at a pharmacy for $800? The next best thing to cash … prepaid gift cards.

Siphoning money from a misappropriate credit card to a limited-use

IT TOOK HER JUST SEVEN WEEKS TO LOAD UP HER CAMPUS DEBIT CARD WITH $19,000 AND 14 MONTHS FOR THE UNIVERSITY TO GET THE MONEY BACK campus card is good for a fraudster, but converting it to cash is even better.

Campus cards, however, don’t typically offer ATM withdraws or other cash-out

options. But prepaid gift cards – like the American Express cards hanging on Walgreens or CVS racks – are almost as flexible. They are anonymous and can be used virtually anywhere.

Eventually Susie was arrested. One of the terms of her plea agreement was that she repay the university, a condition she successfully met in 2012, says Fogel.

It took her just seven weeks to load up her campus debit card with $19,000 and 14 months for the university to get the money back, says Fogel. After the Susie incident, the university had to decide how to monitor such transactions to avoid a repeat performance.

With the help of transaction system provider Blackboard, the school developed daily reports to monitor deposit and spending activity with an eye toward out-of-norm practices.

“These reports are sent to me daily and created within Blackboard’s reporting system,” says Fogel Besides developing tighter reporting requirements, the campus considered other methods to prevent reoccurrences.

It could, for example, limit what a student could purchase at an off campus merchant in the same manner other programs use to forbid tobacco and alcohol purchases using the campus card.

By prohibiting certain product identification codes in the point of sale system, gift card and prepaid debit card purchases could be eliminated.

But UAB elected not to pursue this route. “We didn’t want to punish the entire student population for what one student did,” says Fogel.

The school also considered putting limits on the number of deposits, but again that would penalize all students for the actions of one, she says.

While there isn’t a way to categorically eliminate credit card abuse there are safeguards that can be deployed to catch it earlier, says Fogel. “We put a

fraud prevention procedure in place which is part of our campus card Red Flag policy.”

It’s designed to identify abnormal transaction activity and alert system administrators. More than three deposits in a two-week period or individual deposits greater than $300 … that’s abnormal except at the start of a semester when students need extra cash for books, she explains “Had I been running this new report when Susie did her thing, I would have caught it earlier. She made 22 deposits in a two-week period,” says Fogel. “When she reached the four deposit mark I would have started looking at her.”

With the new system in place, if an anomaly is seen the student is contacted by phone and email and their account is frozen. Since the reporting system went into operation the school has caught other students attempting card fraud, Fogel says.

UAB isn’t alone in implementing programs to detect fraudsters like Susie. Mark McKenna, manager of the University of Vermont’s CatCard Service Center, is in an unusual situation because not only does he manage his school’s campus card account, he also does it for three nearby institutions.

The university uses the CatCard for everything, including access control, meal plans, library patron identification, fitness center access, as well as on campus purchasing and acceptance at 175 off-campus merchants. In addition, the university hosts cards from St. Michael’s College about five miles from the university, Champlain College adjacent to the university and Norwich University, a military academy in central Vermont.

All four campuses utilize CBORD’s WebCard Center service. The WebCard Center was designed to give universities a way to provide students access to

information about their account activity, says Bob Lemley, CBORD’s director of development. It can help protect the student and at the same time the university, particularly if the student is using a stolen campus card.

WebCard Center can give students access to their balances and history.

“They can also report lost cards and it allows them to set up their own fraud alerts,” says Lemley. For example, students can receive a text or email message for a transaction over a particular dollar amount.

“We also have different kinds of fraud alerts built in, focused on cards being lost or where the card is used too frequently over a specified time period,” says Lemley. The WebCard Center alerts the student if the card is being used in a suspicious manner, for example an alert could be configured if there is more than $10 in spending within 10 minutes at a vending machine. “Its all configurable,” says Lemley.

At the online WebCard Center, the student selects notification preferences and is walked through the process of setting up alerts. The student supplies a phone number and the preferred method of notification – text or email.

Students can also text the word “balance” and it will tell them how much money or how many meals they have left. “There are a lot of ways we use texting within the system,” says Lemley.

All students are encouraged to sign up for WebCard Center to get that text message or an email for a threshold greater than say $10, says McKenna.

He stresses that getting staff and students engaged in the system and utilizing programs like the WebCard Center is critical.

Fraud can be a problem on campus but with the proper education, safeguards and technologies in place the risks can be managed and minimized.

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ENTICING STUDENTS WITH LOYALTY PROGRAMS CASH BACK, POINTS TOWARD SCHOLARSHIPS PROMOTE CARD USAGE More and more universities are launching loyalty programs that encourage students to use their cards beyond the dorm and dining hall. From LoboPerks to airline-style loyalty programs, program administrators are searching for ways to give students more mileage from the student ID. LoboPerks, named after the University of New Mexico’s wolf mascot, is a discount program featuring more than 100 Albuquerque merchants. That’s quite a feat, considering the program started with just 19 in August 2011.

The program serves 29,000 students and has an impressie range of merchants, including restaurants, beauty salons, cell phones providers, computers shops, furniture rentals and fitness facilities, says Carolyn Hartley, manager of ID Card Services at the university.

Discounts can be hefty, including halfoff deposits at apartment complexes or a $100 discount on used car, says Hart-

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ley. The loyalty program also serves faculty, staff and employees of the university hospital.

The LoboPerks Web site lists all participating merchants, and a student needs only present the Lobo Card to take advantage of the discounts.

Currently, the school receives nothing from the merchants, says Hartley. In fact, it costs the merchant nothing to participate in LoboPerks, other than the discounts offered.

“We are hoping to get some small revenue stream by increasing marketing opportunities for vendors but we haven’t come up with anything yet,” says Hartley.

The program includes a weekly email, an online ‘spotlight’ vendor of the week and an email list to let students know of new vendors or changing discounts.

She points out that the school doesn’t divulge the student email addresses to vendors. “It’s not intended for students to be solicited,” says Hartley.

The program is not tied to the school’s LoboCash declining balance program so students can pay for discounted services however they choose, says Hartley.

Hartley modeled LoboPerks after a program at Indiana University-Purdue University. “I saw this at the NACCU conference and said this is way cool and we should have

something here. I never in a million years thought this program would grow as quickly as it did.”

Advertising the program was not as difficult as she first thought. “Marketing is not my forte, but I did what I knew how to do. I talked it up, even to total strangers.”

Hartley created a business card about LoboPerks that she includes in the envelope that contains the Lobo Card when students first register. “I’m getting the word out one perk at a time,” she jokes.

CRIMSON SPIRIT POINTS Instead of going with a discount program, the University of Alabama recently rolled out Crimson Spirit Loyalty Points, a system similar to airline miles. Molly Lawrence, associate vice president of student affairs, says the school was looking for a way to encourage students to participate in events that are more academic in nature rather than athletic or social.

“Students receive points for attending events like plays, athletic events with low

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student participation and academicallyoriented events,” says Lawrence. “At the end of every semester prizes are awarded.”

All students have to do when they attend the event is swipe their ID, says Jeanine Brooks, director of the university’s Action Card program.

At each event, student staffers equipped with iPods or iPads swipe student ID cards. The iPod Touch 4 fits into a sleeve that enables the card to be swiped. For an iPad, a reader is attached to the device. In either case, an app is downloaded from Apple’s iTunes store to power the service.

“The reader can be used all over campus with WiFi,” says Brooks. “We hand students the iPod, show them where the app is and they swipe cards.”

It works well and the university doesn’t have to worry about losing a $3,000 reader.

“We’re giving them $500 worth of equipment instead,” explains Brooks.

The school publishes a list of events where students can receive points. “Students can go online to view their point total,” says Lawrence.

Since the points system is new, it’s too early to measure results. The school is starting a marketing push in the spring, says Brooks, which is when the program will officially launch. “We’ve been testing it on several events, specifically student government events,” says Brooks.

“SGA will take the lead promoting Crimson Spirit,” says Brooks. “We do

an electronic newsletter and we’ll also utilize the school newspaper and use social media.”

Prizes will include rewards such as $100 scholarships that can be used to purchase books and related equipment, says Lawrence.

FIVE PERCENT DISCOUNTS AT CANADIAN UNIVERSITY Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada offers a loyalty program similar to

LoboPerks, except its discounts are capped at five percent. Its 23,000 cardholders include staff, faculty and students.

Lisa Boutilier, manager of the DalCard, says the ID enables students to earn five percent off purchases at specified off-campus merchants and at most on-campus locations.

STUDENTS RECEIVE POINTS FOR ATTENDING PLAYS, ATHLETICS WITH LOW STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND ACADEMICALLY-ORIENTED EVENTS. AT THE END OF EVERY SEMESTER PRIZES ARE AWARDED 30

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“Purchases made at the bookstore and at food locations qualify for the five percent discount,” says Boutilier. The only thing not covered is groceries. Already more than 20 off-campus merchants offer discounts for DalCard users.

The five percent goes into what Boutilier calls the “loyalty bucket.” Each week the card office runs reports showing what the cardholder has earned. The funds are then deposited back on to the card and used for the next transactions. The next time the cardholder makes a purchase using the

card, the first purse accessed is the loyalty account, says Boutilier.

The loyalty program was first established in 2000 to encourage students to use the DalCard as more than just an ID, says Boutilier. “Use of the DalCard keeps the line moving in the cafeteria and is quicker than debit or cash,” she adds.

There are several purses on the DalCard: including a convenience account, FoodBucks, bookstore and the loyalty account. When a student earns five percent in the bookstore, it goes into the bookstore account, which means it can only be spent in the bookstore, says Boutilier.

LOYALTY INITIATIVES POPPING UP ON CAMPUSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY NORTHWESTERN REWARDS FREQUENT DINERS In an effort to encourage students, faculty and staff to eat at campus dining facilities, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., initiated a loyalty program that provides free meals.

Sodexo, the school’s food service provider, piloted the program at one of the school’s eateries over the summer and installed the iPad-based system in all the dining halls for the fall quarter.

“We didn’t have a true loyalty program,” said a Sodexo spokesperson.

“We used the same thing as everyone else, punch cards or buy one get one free.”

The loyalty program is run by Belly, a Chicago-based company that services businesses nationwide. It uses a scanning system to award points that can be redeemed for free meals or even a full catered lunch at one of the university’s six dining halls and some retail locations on campus.

Users create an account by downloading the program’s smart phone application or registering a swipe card. When entering a participating location users swipe their card or scan their smart phone at the iPad. Each visit earns a specific number of points redeemable for various rewards at that location.

Nearly 97% of loyalty dollars earned are redeemed. “That’s phenomenal,” says Boutilier. “The program is obviously working.”

Heartland Campus Solutions, which provides campus card solutions for Dalhousie, is seeing increased interest in loy-

GEORGIA TECH DISCOUNTS VENDING PURCHASES FOR CARD USERS To ease the pain of a price increase on vending machine items, Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, is offering a five percent discount on all vending purchases made with the student’s campus card.

The discount was put in place at the beginning of the fall semester to help offset its first price hike on snacks and drinks in four years. Drink prices increased by 25 cents and snack items went up from five to ten cents per item.

To get word out of the new promotion, the university is placing signs on the vending machines to notify students of the discounts.

CAMPUS ID IS TICKET FOR SAVINGS AT ONE CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY School Savings ID, created by a student attending Chapman University, Orange, Calif., provides students with discounts up to a 20% at participating merchants.

Business major Jason Cunningham started the service early this year to help connect local businesses with the university community. “It’s a win-win

alty programs across its client base, says Fred Emery, vice president and general manager at the company. The types of programs are different depending on the school. “Sometimes we provide discounts off the purchase automatically,” he says, “most doing like five percent.” He sees

for both the businesses who participate … and the students,” he said.

“Businesses enlarge their customer base and students can purchase goods and services locally on a student budget.”

It costs businesses $40 to participate.

For that, they’re listed on the School ID Savings Web site and promoted through social media, campus flyers and word of mouth. So far, 20 businesses ranging from taxi services and dry cleaners to yoga studios and restaurants have signed up, offering discounts from 10% to 20%.

All students and faculty have to do to claim their discount is present their student ID.

STUDENT DISCOUNT CARDS RETURN AT MARYLAND UNIVERSITY The Student Government Association at Towson University in Maryland is re-issuing student discount cards that provide savings at a variety of local businesses.

The SGA produced the cards through collegediscountcards.com, which provides similar programs to colleges throughout the U.S. The company lines up the businesses in the area and negotiates a deal. At Towson, 23 partnerships were secured last year.

more and more schools considering a points-based system as well.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to enhance the program to get students to keep using the card,” says Emery. “They really seem to love it.”

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CAMPUSES ADD REVENUES WITH PASSPORT OFFICE CARD PROGRAMS IDEAL FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, PHOTOS, DOCUMENT PROCESSING

Campus card offices typically run on tight budgets, putting strain on the day-to-day operations. However, some universities have found an inventive solution to bring in some extra revenue.

Card offices looking for extra income might want to consider adding a passport acceptance center so students and the local community can apply for the identity documents on campus. The demand for the travel documents has never been higher as required usage has expanded to include land border crossings, cruises and more.

An acceptance center is a location approved by the U.S. Department of State to facilitate the passport application process. The actual passport documents, however, are still issued by the Department of State at centralized production facilities.

Even if a school doesn’t make a profit, it’s still building good community relations and providing a valuable service to constituents. Campus card programs can be ideal as most already possess key elements and skills such as photo capture and printing equipment, skilled customer service professionals and application handling processes.

ESTIMATED STARTUP COSTS FOR PASSPORT ACCEPTANCE

CAMERA & PRINTER..............$1,500 DIE CUTTER..............................$100 EMBOSSER SEAL........................$40 SAFE FOR TRANSMITTALS......VARIES

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The University of Kentucky in Lexington started its passport program in January 2010, says Karen Doyle, the university’s student affairs coordinator for the Office of Student Involvement.

The University of Nebraska, Lincoln, began accepting passport applications in May 2009, says Julie Yardley, manager of the school’s NCard and Passport Acceptance Office.

At Nebraska the idea came from the school’s chancellor, explains Kim Phelps associate vice chancellor for business and finance. “Of the numerous reasons we had for pursuing this activity, the most important was meeting the needs of a student body and faculty members involved with study abroad programs and international student recruiting,” says Phelps.

So what must one do to become an approved acceptance center? Location, it seems, is key because the State Department doesn’t want too many facilities operating in close proximity.

Then there’s the training. “We started the process in 2009 and it took us nine months to go through the process,” says Doyle.

Both Yardley and Doyle found that only trained, full-time employees could handle passport applications and operate the center. “You couldn’t hire a temp or a student worker,” says Doyle.

The offices can take walk-ins, but they may be in for a wait if the correct staff members are not available. Thus, both offices encourage applicants to set up appointments.

To save time, Kentucky encourages

applicants to fill out the paperwork online, print it and bring it to the office. “They must come to the facility,” says Doyle.

Passports cost the same whether you apply for one at a post office, the campus card office or another approved center.

Each document costs $110. If you want to shave several weeks off the process and receive it in two to three weeks, instead of five or six, tack on an additional $60 plus $12.85 if you want the passport returned by overnight delivery. If you want a passport card – good for ground transportation only between Mexico, the U.S. and Canada – that’s $30.

There’s also the $25 execution fee or agent-processing fee, which is where a card office or any passport acceptance center, makes its money. This is paid separately from the regular $110 passport application fee.

Another revenue opportunity for schools is with passport photos. Kentucky charges $10 for a set of photos while Nebraska charges $7.50. That compares to $15 charged by the post office or $8-12 that local retailers often charge, explains Yardley. “We didn’t want to drive anyone out of business.

We wanted to be competitive and it more than covers our expenses.”

Nebraska has taken 4,200 sets of photos since it launched the service, says Yardley. She says people also use their photo service for visa applications or for graduate students submitting testing applications.

STATE DEPARTMENT RULES FORCE LOCATION CHANGE When Kentucky University first opened its passport acceptance center, the facility was housed in the card office. That changed in January 2013 due to State Department’s “operational” changes that restricted passport centers from sharing space with student ID or other service locations, says Doyle.

The major ongoing cost is employee salaries. “When we added this to existing employees duties, there was no additional overhead. It was done during less busy hours of the day and month. If someone was hired to do just passports the salary would have to be covered completely by these revenues. So, it’s a good idea to add it to an already existing office or service,” says Doyle.

The first year the University of Kentucky offered passports, it processed

more than 600, with 700 the following year and more than 1,000 in 2012, says Doyle. The school made $13,000 the first year, $15,000 the second year and projeced $18,000 to $20,000 in 2012, says Doyle.

The university of Nebraska has processed 3,176 passport applications.

That’s a $25 per application profit, or about $79,000 since the university started processing passports in 2009.

The application process takes 10 to 30 minutes depending on the complication of the application, says Doyle.

“A person brings a birth certificate and old passport if he has one. We witness the signature and send the package on to the regional center where processing occurs. The completed passports are then mailed back to the individual. We don’t retain any information about that person,” says Doyle.

“It provides a wonderful service for the university, the faculty and staff

and the community at large … and it increases good will,” says Yardley.

“It’s really not that hard to add this to our duties. We’re already a printing and copy center.”

If Yardley had it to do over again, she says she would have spent the initial couple of days at a post office observing the staff processing passport applications. “The first few times I was a little nervous, but after that it got better,” she says.

As to what Yardley can offer other schools considering becoming a passport acceptance facility: “Find your regional passport office, that’s your starting point.” She says it’s possible a school can get turned down if the Department of State believes there are enough agencies in the area already.

But if your card office is approved, it can be a great add-on service and revenue opportunity. “It has been a great experience,” says Yardley.

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SOCIAL MEDIA KEY TO CAMPUS CARD MARKETING FACEBOOK, TWITTER MAIN CHANNELS FOR COMMUNICATION WITH THE MODERN STUDENT ANDY WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, AVISIAN PUBLICATIONS

What did anyone do before Facebook? It’s long been the go-to place for teens and college students, and now universities are adding the social networking giant to their marketing arsenal.

Marketing the campus card is crucial because very few students know all the card’s uses. “A lot of students use their card for one thing, but we find we can increase the perceived and actual value if we make them aware of the different services available,” says Maggie Linder, program coordinator, the Griz Card Center, the University of Montana.

When students knows what’s available they use the card more.

For Linder, it’s all about being creative, since the school doesn’t have a budget for campus card marketing. Facebook is the Griz

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Card program’s primary marketing tool, she says.

It took some convincing five-years ago when the school first considered using Facebook as a marketing medium. Today it is well accepted and extremely popular. “For three years we’ve been building our Facebook page,” says Linder.

Linder handles the majority of the postings but does enable some students to post. To keep the schools content current, she uses Tweetdeck, a social media dashboard application for management of Twitter and Facebook accounts. It allows her to schedule posts to run throughout the week.

The school highlights card functions on the page, such as: “Did you know you can rent DVDs from the library?”

SOCIAL MEDIA IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO SPOTLIGHT THE WORK THAT CAMPUS SERVICES DOES IN A POSITIVE WAY They also run contests to generate interest in the card.

“Where’s Monte’s Griz card” was a contest that saw students searching for an ID card with the school’s grizzly bear mascot.

Another contest had students photographing their card with famous people and at interesting locations. “Last year, our winner was someone who took a picture of the card on a glacier,” she says.

CARLTON COLLEGE WILL SOON HAVE AS MANY FANS AS STUDENTS Another strong believer in Facebook is Carleton College, a 2,000-student school in Northfield, Minn. “If you want to market your card, go where the students are,” says Julia Burmesch, director of Campus Services.

“Our Facebook page, called Carleton Update, is sort of our command central,” says Burmesch. “That’s where we run our information posts, contests and drum up interest among new students before they arrive on campus. We send them to our update page in July so they’re familiar with the OneCard and how important it is to them.”

The schedule is extremely tight during orientation, so the card program does not have a lot of time to market its services.

This is why Facebook is so important, says Burmesch.

Before Facebook the school tried printed materials. “We did posters that were professionally designed. We tried to send regular email communications announcing deadlines, such as meal plans. They weren’t getting the message. We know they’re more likely to share something they’ve learned from Facebook than something they got in an email,” says Burmesch.

The comment section on Facebook is monitored in case there is a need for clarification or a follow-up post.

The school currently has 1,265 fans on its Facebook page, says Burmesch.

“For a small school we’re very proud of that number.”

When the page first went up a few years ago it was an experiment. “We almost gave up. We tried to make it all about the card, It was administered by someone who reports to me. We struggled to find time for it and for things to talk about. We decided to expand it and involve students. That’s what got us going – students talking to students,” says Burmesch.

“Using social media has been such a windfall for us,” says Burmesch. “It’s an effective way for us to spotlight the work that campus services does in a positive way.”

In recognition of their efforts, Carlton College was awarded the 2011 interactive marketing award from the National Association of Campus Card Users.

SYSTEM PROVIDERS AID IN SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Card provider CBORD offers marketing support and design services to all its customers, says Sarah Ledwith, CBORD’s marketing manager for colleges and universities, “This can range from designing a simple flier to card design to drafting articles and emails for campus communication,” says Ledwith.

More and more, its social media that’s seeing the most growth, she says. “Card offices are running Facebook pages, tweeting, publishing videos, and finding a lot of innovative ways to keep students thinking about their campus cards.”

Despite the success of its social cousin, traditional marketing hasn’t fallen out of favor. “We still see a lot of paper or digital ads in high-traffic areas, and they still work,” says Ledwith. “I’ve even heard of schools considering putting their marketing messages on the floor with stickers since that’s where students’ eyes are

pointed when they walk around looking at their smart phones.”

Ledwith says card office managers understand that they are competing for their students’ attention. “If they want students to use their cards to make more purchases, they need to give them a good reason to have it at the top of their mind.

If they can make it a habit, they’ve done well,” says Ledwith.

According to Donna Franklin, marketing manager at CardSmith, the company’s marketing offering can create a turnkey solution for card program clients. “If the campus is looking for something comprehensive it is the best way to do it,” she says.

CardSmith will help the campus with ID card and logo design and naming all the way through building awareness of the program on and off campus.

CardSmith offers a package to schools and card marketing is usually priced separately, says Franklin. “We will design their marketing package to the specific needs of the campus,” adds Franklin.

The end result of any good marketing program is driving awareness, says Lori Caffrey, CardSmith’s marketing manager.

“We want to have everyone rally around the card,” she adds.

CardSmith also believes in the power of Facebook. “We view it as another communication channel to educate cardholders in the campus community,” says Franklin.

They create a Facebook page – such as Campus Cash Boston or Campus Cash Jacksonville – to promote their multicampus, citywide merchant programs.

“We post relevant information for all our campuses in those areas,” she explains. “It is an effective communication platform and our merchants see a lot of value in it.”

That seems to be a consistent message from many campus card forays into the world of social media – when done right, it is effective for the institution and provides real value for the users.

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USC DEPLOYS

FINGERPRINT SCANNERS

TO SECURE STUDENT RESIDENCES

T

he University of Southern California, a private, not-for-profit school in central Los Angeles, recently installed fingerprint scanners in each of its 14 dormitories to better secure access.

Prior to the fingerprint scanner installation, a simple swipe of the student’s ID card was all it took to gain entry to a dorm, says Keenan Cheung, housing director at USC. Some students had no problem letting others “tailgate,” a process by which persons gain entry by following immediately behind a valid entrant. “One will swipe and four people will walk in behind him,” explains Cheung.

The theft of laptops, cameras and other valuables from dorm rooms led to the need for the added security. Thanks to surveillance cameras some burglars

vember 2012, 16 fingerprint scanners were deployed at 14 dormitories. Two dorms have two entry points, Cheung explains, while the other dozen buildings have just a single entry point.

USC purchased fingerprint scanners from Virdi, and opted to use campus staff rather an outside contractor for installation to keep costs down, explains Cheung.

After the scanners were installed, students were given one week to enroll their fingerprints and photo in the system. Though there are 17,000 undergraduate students, only about 3,500 live on campus – a manageable pool of enrollees.

I CAN TELL YOU I FEEL When a student enters a VERY COMFORTABLE THAT dorm, the ID card is swiped (SINCE DEPLOYMENT) WE to gain entry to the lobby.

HAVEN’T HAD A LAPTOP An additional fingerprint scan is required for access STOLEN BY SOMEONE beyond the lobby. Students OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSITY don’t need to pass fingerprint inspection to check were caught but it demonstrated that mail in the lobby or access common areas. tailgating by non-students was a real “But if you want to get into the residenand present danger. tial portion of the dorm, then you need a Cheung knew they needed to do more fingerprint,” says Cheung. The process to secure the residences. takes about three seconds, he explains.

After researching and visiting other Each entry point is monitored by a memcampuses around the country, USC staff ber of Cheung’s staff on weekdays from 8 opted for fingerprint biometrics. In Noa.m. to 8 p.m. At night and on weekends

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a private staffing company mans the fingerprint scanner locations.

Guests are welcome but must be accompanied by a resident. Each guest must sign in and leave an ID in exchange for a guest pass, with the ID only returned upon checkout.

Seeing the success, other facilities have jumped on board with the technology as well. The new athletics center has a fingerprint reader and several sororities have deployed them as well, says Cheung.

Not surprisingly, there was some push back from students on the new access procedures. “We’re changing student behavior, and requiring them to get fingerprinted,” he says. “Students tend to rebel against authority.”

“Most students have accepted it,” says Cheung. “They realize we’ve put a lot of time and money into trying to make their environment as secure as possible. As an urban university, we need to do it.”

Though promising, it’s still too early to determine how well the new program is working. “We don’t have stats back yet on number of thefts since the scanners were first installed, but I can tell you I feel very comfortable that (since deployment) we haven’t had a laptop stolen by someone outside the university,” says Cheung.