CardSmith to launch campus ID card program for UNF
25 June, 2008
category: Education
An upgraded ID and verification process and “Ozzie Bucks,” a pre-paid flexible spending account, are among the new services that will be rolled out to students, faculty and staff at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville when it kicks off its new ID card program this fall.
Known as the Osprey 1card and developed in conjunction with Massachusetts campus card solutions provider CardSmith, it is designed to bring enhanced services and security to UNF’s 16,000 students, their parents, faculty and staff.
The flexible spending account allows students, faculty and staff to make cashless purchases at campus dining locations, the campus bookstore, laundry rooms, copy machines, networked printers, vending machines and campus offices as well as participating off campus businesses.
“CardSmith is extremely pleased and proud to be serving the UNF campus community,” said Jay Summerall, CardSmith president. “UNF is our newest and biggest customer in the southeast, and we’re looking forward to expanding our presence in the region.”
Students, faculty and staff participating in campus dining plans will also be able to access their meal plan accounts with the new ID card. Cardholders and authorized guests will be able to add value and manage their Ozzie Bucks and meal plan accounts 24/7 from a new Web site dedicated to the program, www.osprey1card.com, which is currently under construction.
“The new Osprey 1Card program will transform the UNF campus into a virtually cashless environment with significantly enhanced services for our students, families, faculty and staff,” said Tully Burnett, associate director of Auxiliary Services at UNF. “Students will be able to use their cards to make purchases at points of sale and services across the campus and have 24 hour, seven day a week on-line access to sophisticated account management tools and services.”
UNF will provide a professional call center and help desk services for students, parents, faculty and staff, including service providers and card-accepting locations on and off campus.
“We’re eliminating the time-intensive and manual processes required with collection and management of cash and off-line payments. This card program takes UNF from being behind the curve to the leading edge in campus card services,” said Burnett.
Launch date is set for late August. Burnett says the University has set an ambitious schedule for the roll-out of the program. “UNF is doing in one summer what might have taken several years to do had we selected a different business partner,” he said. “CardSmith’s managed service has eliminated major cost and operational hurdles for our card program.”