In with the new

VCU is getting a new look – in the area of student ID’s, that is.

New VCUCards are being given out instead of the yellow swipe cards that students currently use.

VCUCard director Sam Kennedy said in the past, the university used a 26-bit format proximity card, which has a limit of 6,535 proximity numbers.

“We hit the limit last year and we ran out of those card numbers,” he said.

What does this mean for cardholders?

The new cards will have to be ordered and people will have to get new cards. For some students, it may be a hassle, but Patti Murdock, assistant director for VCUCard, said the office is trying to lessen the blow.

“Our main concerns are the new students, people in the parking decks and building access,” she said. “We can replace lost cards.”

Kennedy said the new cards are 35-bit format proximity, which can hold up to a million numbers, making them more accessible than the current cards.

“The current card has a magnetic stripe on the back that wears out over time,” Kennedy said. “But with the new prox card, there is really no need for swiping out of anything. Just wave it in the sensors and you have access.”

The new readers will be equipped for many of the buildings on campus, like James Branch Cabell Library and the housing facilities. Murdock said the new card was first introduced in the Student Testing Advising Registration program, or STAR.

“Our first step was to take care of the freshmen, who were issued new cards during the STAR sessions,” she said. “Then we issued it out to any new people for the new buildings.”

VCUCard assured students that the current cards could still be used along with the new cards, except at the parking decks on campus.

“Most of the school is equipped with systems that can handle both the current cards and the new cards,” Kennedy said. “But parking worked with their vendors to see if they can handle both formats, and the system could not.”

In mid-July, the VCUCard office ordered and preprinted cards for parking subscribers.

Currently the new card is in demand for some students, and the orders are coming in faster than the card office can fill them.

Showing a stack of student applications for cards, Kennedy said, “These are students who want the new cards and haven’t gotten them yet. Nothing has changed in the past few days.”

Murdock said the demand for the new cards is understandable.

“I haven’t really heard a lot of complaints about the new card,” she said. “In the past few days, we’ve had a lot of people wanting a new card. One day, we had 798 cards. Another day it was about 400.”

Dennis Wymer, a senior art education major, doesn’t seem to be worried about the new changes.

“It’s nothing really to be complaining about,” he said. “If my old one doesn’t work, then at least I have a new one.”

Murdock and Kennedy said a lot of work has been put into designing these new cards.

“We had Creative Services do the designs for them, and Business Services had a say as well,” Murdock said “Housing was very involved and we (VCUCard) wanted to get a feel for these departments.”

Kennedy said, “We want to make sure we take care of the people who need the cards. We had an advisory group of representatives from (University Police), Business Services, Creative Services and Housing. The housing office served as the representative of student affairs.”

The VCUCard office said it hopes the new cards will reflect the spirit of VCU.

“We had a one-style card for everybody,” Murdock said. “We wanted to create a card that would make our lives a whole lot easier as far as training new students.”

The VCUCard office is in the process of moving from its current location in the University Student Commons to the Technology Administration Building on the corner of Pine and Broad streets, where it will open Sept. 12.