3--28--96
Contacts:
Joan Thompson, Treasurer, (515) 294--4363
Tony Hotchkiss, Firstar Bank, (515) 232--8200
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294--3720
ISU FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS GET NEW, IMPROVED ID CARD
AMES, Iowa ---- The ISUCard has arrived.
The ISUCard is Iowa State's new, improved faculty, staff and student identification card. All faculty, staff and students will be required by have the new ID card by June 7, which is when the old cards officially will be invalid. Students will receive the ISUCard during a recarding process in April. Faculty and staff will be recarded during the first two weeks of May.
"The ISUCard will provide all the services of the old ID card, as well as several new ones," said Joan Thompson, ISU treasurer. "Our goal is to provide faculty, staff and students with one card that will do everything."
The ISUCard, which will be cardinal red, will provide expanded services. Through a bidding process, the university has contracted with Firstar Bank to provide optional banking services associated with the card. If they choose, ISU faculty, staff and students can have their ISUCard also serve as an ATM card. To do this, an ISUCard holder will have to open a checking account or already have one with Firstar Bank. Firstar also will offer overdraft protection.
"Firstar is excited to be part of the ISUCard project and we look forward to being of service to the faculty, staff and students of Iowa State," said Tony Hotchkiss, president of Firstar Bank, Ames.
The ATM feature will turn the ISUCard into a shopping card, which can be used at the book store and other businesses where you see the SHAZAM or CIRRUS symbols displayed, said Thompson.
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The ISUCard also will carry a cash stripe. A cash stripe account can be activated by depositing up to $50 at cash--to--card machines throughout campus. By activating the cash stripe, the ISUCard acts just like money and can be used at a variety of on-- campus locations, including vending machines, the Memorial Union Food Court and the University Book Store.
"It always is important to take care of your ID card, but with the expanded services of the ISUCard, it is even more important," said Thompson. "When you use the cash stripe feature, you are putting money on your card. Lose the card, lose the money."
During the recarding process, Iowa State will offer students the opportunity to sign up for expanded direct deposit services. Iowa State already provides direct deposit for university paychecks, and will now offer direct deposit for accounts receivable refunds, such as financial aid refunds.
The ISUCard will provide all the traditional services of a university ID card. It will carry a photo of the cardholder, as will as a university ID number. Photos for the new ID cards will be taken during the recarding process with a video camera. The image will be digitized and stored. If a card is lost, university officials will not only be able to verify the identity of the person seeking a replacement, they will be able to quickly produce a new card. In the past, lost identification cards required retaking the photograph.
The ISUCard will be used to access various university services and facilities, such as the Lied Recreation/Athletic Facility, AccessPlus, check cashing and reduced ticket prices for some campus events. The ISUCard will be a meal card for students with residence hall meal plans. It also will serve as an ISU Library card.
Several university departments hold ID cards when equipment or materials are checked out, such as microfilm at the ISU library or basketballs through recreation services. Because the new ID card could act as an ATM card or have cash stripe money attached to it, departments will no longer require the holding of a university ID, said Thompson.
While most faculty, staff and students will have the ISUCard before June 7, they are advised to keep their old ID card until that date, said Thompson. Most ISU offices and services will immediately accept the new ISUCard, but some will still require the old ID card, she said.
Anyone with questions about the new ISUCard can direct them to the ISUCard Office, (515) 294--2727.
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Diana Pounds, University Relations, dpounds@iastate.edu
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URL:
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Revised
3/28/96