Campus card more than just another ID

[/media-credit] Campus Card Deparment is located next to TCF Bank in SCSU Atwood Memorial Center.

It’s our passport to life at SCSU. It’s that piece of plastic most of us receive upon arriving at SCSU. It’s the Campus Card. Within that little piece of plastic, numerous possibilities are opened to us, and it all starts in a small room in Atwood.

“It’s quick and simple for us to print,” said Jake Larson, a Campus Card employee. “You just need a state or government issued I.D.” Along with your tech I.D. number assigned to you when you enroll at SCSU and basic information, one can obtain one of the necessary tools to life at SCSU.

If the card is lost or stolen, Larson said to “come by and fill out a replacement form. It’s $10 for a replacement.”

The current card form is relatively new for the SCSU campus.  Rory Michaelis, Campus Card Director, said the current plastic form of the card was adopted in 1998, and had undergone only two design changes in its 14-year history at SCSU.

With the campus card, both Larson and Michaelis said people can access certain classrooms, computer labs, dorm rooms, offices, sporting events, ride the bus, and even do laundry.

In addition to being identification on campus, the campus card can also aid students in financing as well. “A lot of students just carry their I.D. and can have access to cash,” said Christine Arend’s, TCF Bank assistant manager at the location in Atwood.

She said the campus card is capable of holding four different accounts.

The first account, Arend said, was the print account. This account, Arend said is “the money the university puts on your card every semester.” That $8 the university puts on the card is a “use it or lose it” setup, Arend explained.

The second account that can be used on the card is Campus Cash. Arend said this is “what you would use for laundry, vending machines and copies.” Campus Cash can also be used at the value transfer stations located in Atwood and the Miller Learning Center. She said if a student was out of printer money or campus cash and had wished to use their card, if the bank was not open, students could just feed money into the machine and it would reload on to their Campus Cash account.

Students can sync their TCF checking account to their campus card. However, this card, Arend said, “is not a debit card.” This ATM portion of the card, Arend said, is protected by a PIN number. According to Arend, TCF Bank also helps manage munch money and meal plans, set up with Sodexo vendors.

For those lacking transportation off-campus or those looking for a ride on the Husky Shuttle from K and Q lots to the main campus, the campus card is almost a necessity.

“We started the Free Ride U-Pass program in 2004,” said Tom Cruikshank, director of planning and marketing for Metro Bus. “SCSU ridership increased nearly 50 percent the first full year of the program due to the ease of use and students no longer needing to purchase semester passes, but simply using their student I.D. to ride the bus.”

Cruikshank said the purpose for the partnership with the campus was to make it easier for students to ride the bus. Cruikshank also said without the student I.D., students would have to pay $1.10 for each ride.

Metro Bus’s partnership with the campus card has increased the bus service tremendously. According to Cruikshank, the data supports this. From October 2011 until September 2012, nearly 850,000 SCSU IDs were swiped.

Yet another thing students can count on their student I.D. getting them is free admission to every home sporting event. When it comes to other events on campus like speakers and concerts, depending on the event, they will either be free or significantly discounted for those who show their I.D.

With a Campus Card, students receive free admission to many activities inside the Campus Recreation Center. There is a main gym and a pool that are available for free use during open hours. The Halenbeck South Fieldhouse is also available to those with a Campus Card.

Not only does the Campus Card have benefits on the SCSU campus, but also in many places off-campus.

Students who are looking for discounts on a haircut can go to City Looks, Final Cut Sports Barbershop, Great Clips, Mastercuts, and Mia and Maxx Hair Studio.

Although discounts can be found at all of these salons, every discount varies for each specific location. Also, presenting a Campus Card at the Nail Studio in the mall will get you some type of discount, depending on what is done to your nails.
Aside from personal grooming discounts, select restaurants in the St. Cloud area offer discounts to students who present their I.D.

Texas Roadhouse in Waite Park said they offer student discounts on Tuesday nights, giving college students that bring their I.D. in the early dine price of $7.99 all day long. Fifth Avenue Grill offers a 10 percent discount to students with SCSU I.D.s, and Pacific Wok also offers a $5 Specialty Bowl on Tuesdays with a Campus Card. St. Cloud newcomer Brother’s Bar & Grill also said they are currently running a special where a student can get a 15 percent discount when they present their student I.D., and Star of India gives 10 percent off when the Campus Card is shown.

The campus card may seem like just another piece of plastic to carry around. However, that little piece of plastic can open up another world for students at SCSU.