TL20040311_001 "The Tauterlinhb Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com km Jew Thursday, 3/11/04 Global women's issues in focus HIV test results come overnight Cast talks about making 'Sunshine New releases in Pat McGee set Departments Opinion 2 News Nation Police blotter.... Arts Now showing.... Sports 20 In this corner. 20 Bank Shots 18 Classifieds 16 Revamped OneCard revealed New cards to be issued by fall use seven-digit student ID instead of social security number Sarah Breitenbach The Towerlight When students return to Towson for the Fall 2004 semester, their current OneCards will be obsolete. In its place will be a new card created to direct the University away from an identification system based on social security numbers. New OneCards will identify students with a seven-digit student ID number printed on the card for easy reference. The student ID number, first issued when the University transitioned to the PeopleSoft system last spring, will replace social security number identification. Joe Oster, associate vice president for auxiliary services, said that because new ID numbers will be used, current OneCards will no longer work with University scanning devices after the transition. """"Basically the technology is not changing. We're still going to be reading data off the magstrip, it's just what data we're reading,"""" he said. """"That requires the card to change."""" Getting the new ID will require some students, faculty and staff to get photos retaken. Images of the current freshman and sophomore classes are on record thanks to software the University purchased two years ago. However, juniors and faculty photographed prior to July 1, 2002 will need new photos. The expected date of transition isn't until July 4, but officials are urging students and faculty to retake photos this spring. """"We're going to try to do as much of that as we can here at the latter part of the semester,"""" Oster said. """"We need those juniors who haven't lost a card and got a new one, or those transfers to come down so we capture their images. The last thing I want is to have 1,000 people standing in line come Fall semester."""" Robert Campbell auxiliary services Photos can be taken in the auxiliary services business office on the first floor of the University Union. Freshmen and new transfer stu- TOWSON H.C. Byrd Undergraduate 234567 1 lllllllllllllllllllllll meW Photo illustration by Saul Stoogenke/The Towerlight Cards featuring a library barcode and seven-digit ID number will be issued to students and faculty in the fall. dents will be photographed during TU CARES, and cameras will be taken around campus to take faculty pictures, Oster said. New OneCards will be available for pick up when students return to campus in the fall, while faculty and staff identification cards will be mailed. Auxiliary services has a budget of $50,000 for the project, and new ID cards will be issued free of charge. However, the $10 replacement fee still applies for lost cards. Bob Campbell, director of finance and information systems for auxiliary services, said that getting students' pictures taken is the biggest challenge the University faces in updating the OneCard system. """"We need those juniors who haven't lost a card and got a new one, or those transfers to come down so we can capture their image,"""" Campbell said. """"The last thing I want is to have 1,000 people standing in line come Fall semester."""" Oster said that as long as students retake their picture before they leave campus for the summer, the system change will go smoothly. """"The biggest challenge is going to be students who do nothing and come back Aug. 25 and try to eat, buy books ? with the old card and it won't work,"""" he said. Students who take care of getting a new OneCard will find the ID boasts several new features. Library bar codes will be printed on cards, eliminating the need to register with the library every year. The new card will also be more """"durable."""" """"We want it to last,"""" director of auxiliary operations Jim McTygue said. The card will contain a PVC/poly- ester blend to enhance its lifespan, he added. """"It will also make it more elastic so if somebody puts it in their wallet and sits on it, it's not going to have a permanent dent,"""" McTygue said. A """"Duraguard"""" covering will also protect the picture and any writing on the card, McTygue explained. Finally, the updated design will feature an image of Stephens Hall and the University's new motto: """"Maryland's Metropolitan University."""" While the card is changing, its See CARD, page 6"
