Concerns about identity theft on campus prompts change

Students may soon have the opportunity to purchase new student identification cards without their social security numbers printed on them, a change administrators say was prompted by student concerns about identity theft.

"This is something that we've been dealing with for awhile," said Larry Dietz, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. "When students raise concerns we have to be proactive."

Dietz said within the next week or so, he hopes to have a new procedure in place that would allow social security numbers to be encoded inside student ID cards as opposed to being displayed on the front of them. Through this new procedure, Social Security numbers would only be able to be decoded with a card swipe reader.

"Things have changed," Dietz said. "Before we had a lot of card swipe readers and electronic application of funds, that was the only way a lot of the facilities could identify who you were. Technology has allowed us to change that."

However, Dietz said encoding ID cards would not change the use of social security numbers in driving the student information system but the University is looking to move completely away from the use of Social Security numbers in the future.

The current student information system, which has been in place since the '70s, depends on Social Security numbers to track student records.

Dietz said a committee has been formed to explore options for a new student information system, which will be purchased when technical support for the current system expires in 2009.

Preliminary estimates for the system are around $4 million. Currently there is no money in the University budget for a new system and Dietz said paying for one might include establishing a student information system fee or a tuition hike.

If given the green light, students who want their Social Security numbers removed from their ID cards will have to pay a $15 replacement fee. Incoming students in the fall of 2005 will not have their Social Security numbers printed on their cards.

John Bowen, a senior in exercise science and dietetics from Fort Collins, Colo., said if given the opportunity to purchase a new card without his Social Security number printed on it, he would.

While Bowen said the $15 fee is a small price to pay to protect your identity, he said he thinks the University should offer current students new identification cards at half price or the original price of $10.

He said he recognizes why the University would not want to purchase a new system but thinks Dietz's proposal is a good one.

"I could understand why they wouldn't change it because of the cost," Bowen said. "But I think giving the current students the opportunity to switch it is a good thing."

Dietz said when the new ID option is available his office will release a statement.