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Inside Iowa State
April 18, 1996

Faculty, staff carded next

by Linda Charles
Faculty and staff will start getting the new ISUCard identification at the end of this month. The new ID card, which will replace the current card on June 7, will offer several new services, including banking options and a cash stripe.

Firstar Bank, which received the five-year contract, was the only financial institution to bid on the card, said Joan Thompson, ISU treasurer.

"I personally called the financial institutions in Ames and asked them to bid on the banking options of the card," Thompson said, "but this is a new product. The financial institutions were not ready to bid on this product at that time."

Card holders who decide to open a free checking account with Firstar Bank may use the cards at ATMs or businesses that display SHAZAM or CIRRUS symbols.

Students are the primary target for the checking accounts, Thompson said, because beginning fall semester, the university will electronically transfer student refunds to checking accounts of those who sign up for direct deposit. The checking accounts may be through either Firstar or any other financial institution in the United States.

The banking options offered with the card are strictly voluntary, Thompson added.

One financial option of the new card that does not require a special bank account is a cash stripe. Card holders may deposit up to $50 in special machines around campus and then use the card to make purchases at vending machines, the Memorial Union food court, the University Book Store and other locations on campus.

There will be no safeguards, such as a PIN number, used with the cash stripe. "If you don't wish to activate the cash stripe, you don't have to," Thompson said.

The photo on the new card will be digitalized and stored. It is hoped that the digitalized images will be available online to advisers next fall, she said. They will replace the Polaroid shots normally clipped to advisees' folders.

The ISUCard will be used to access various university services and facilities, including library checkouts, the Lied Recreation Athletic Center and AccessPlus information kiosks. In the future, the cards may be used for door access for new security systems, Thompson said.

Faculty and staff should have received an application form for the ISUCard in campus mail over spring break.

Extra copies of the applications will be available at the re-carding site.

Faculty and staff should get their cards in the Memorial Union northwest study hall (enter the west door, go up the stairs and turn left) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. according to a schedule based on the first letter of the last name.

Last name: Re-carding dates

A-F April 29-30, May 1

G-L May 1-3

M-S May 6-9

T-Z May 8-9

Faculty and staff who cannot meet the schedule may make appointments to receive their cards from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays or 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. If these times do not work, or to make an appointment, call 4-2727.

"You do want to get your card before June 7," Thompson said, "because you will have a difficult time getting university services after then."

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URL: http://www.iastate.edu/general/Inside/1996/0418/isucard.html< br>Revised 4/18/96