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New AppCards create secure solution |
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Tuesday, 06 March 2007 |
by HEATHER SANDERS
News Reporter
Appalachian State University students will have to line up to replace their AppCards, beginning March 19.
The AppCard Office will activate new cards with a banner identification number, instead of the Social Security number currently encoded.
“The university has, for several years, been trying to get rid of
Social Security numbers,” Food Services Director Ron Dubberly said.
However, North Carolina passed a law stating the university system has to stop using Social Security numbers as identifiers.
Don R. Rankins, university registrar, said the Social Security number
can only be used for legal purposes, such as financial aid or payroll.
According to North Carolina Session Law, a Social Security number
cannot be imbedded on any card required for access to government
services.
The deadline for the change is July 1.
Dubberly said the upcoming deadline is why students must replace their
cards now. From March 19 to April 20, students will go on their
assigned day to the AppCard office in Trivette Dining Hall.
While graduating seniors do not need to replace their cards, Dubberly
said the card of any returning student, faculty or staff member must be
replaced before this deadline, even if their identification number is
not their Social Security number.
If an individual’s current card is not replaced before the deadline, it will be deactivated July 1.
The Office of Extension and Distance Learning will send cards to extension and distance learning students.
Dubberly said students should bring their old AppCard when they come
for a replacement or else pay a $15 fee. He said students will also be
able to take a new picture at this time by request.
However, students may face a few problems after receiving their new
AppCard. Because places like parking decks and residence halls store
the identification number of every card that is swiped, these locations
do not connect immediately to the campus system.
Dubberly said a student will not be able to get into the parking deck
until the next day and will not be able to get into their residence
hall until after 15 to 30 minutes. He said Food Services cash registers
and vending machines are linked to the campus network and will work
immediately.
He said there may also be a glitch in adding money online to an
AppCard, but said it should be resolved in a few hours. Parents will
have to know their student’s banner ID to put money on their cards
online.
Rankins said he hopes the university can figure out a way that students will never have to use their banner ID.
“We don’t want it to be a memorized number,” Rankins said.
He said he hopes most businesses on campus can use an alternative form
of identification, such as using the e-mail and password for online
services. At places like the Pizzeria, he said asking the student’s
name, not their Social Security number, and swiping their card at
pick-up could confirm identification.
Rankins said he will talk with all parts of campus to figure out an alternative to memorizing the banner ID.
“It’s time we replaced our student system,” Rankins said. “One of the things we know is better
protection and less possibility of abuse of Social Security numbers.”
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