Believe it or not, even though summer weather is in full blaze, the new school year is right around the corner. Schools across the country are gearing up to greet students, and that often means issuing new ID cards.

Purdue University is using a new method for distributing season tickets to students attending football and basketball games. Now students have the convenience of their university ID cards being preloaded with tickets for home games.

Missouri Southern State University is introducing a multifunctional student ID card that will make accessing campus resources more convenient. The new card has a variety of uses around campus including access control and cashless payment.

Elementary school students in Prosper, Texas are being issued free, voluntary ID cards by the town’s police department. Each card features identifying details as well as an ID photo.

With its advanced printing capabilities, security features and impressive efficiency, the brand new Magicard Rio Pro is ideally suited for producing student ID cards. The Rio Pro can print full-color cards in just 23 seconds and monochrome cards in only 6 seconds. Batch printing is a breeze with a 100-card input hopper and 70-card output stacker. For large schools that will be printing bigger runs of ID badges, batch printing is an incredibly useful feature. The Rio Pro also supports one-off printing with hand-feed capability.

In the heart of the Mississippi Delta is the town of Greenville. Home to about 35,000 people, Greenville is a smaller town that values school security. Recently, schools superintendent Harvey Franklin Jr. announced that district middle school students will now be assigned ID badges.

With an ever increasing emphasis on security, schools of all shapes and sizes are turning to ID card programs to provide students, faculty, and administrators with a solution for increased security and efficiency. Once mostly found on college campuses, school ID programs are now commonly in use at high schools, middle schools, and other K-12 institutions as well.

Deciding to re-card an entire college is a daunting prospect, but that’s exactly what Emerson College set out to do this year when they replaced their old ID card system with contactless card technology. Located in Boston’s theater district, the school’s eight buildings on campus see thousands of visitors walk by every day. The new contactless system provides the school with increased security and greater flexibility for access control, information management, and cashless payment.

Universities and towns around the world are using RFID tags to combat bicycle theft. At Ohio State University, students, faculty and staff can have their bikes tagged free of charge in the Bug-A-Bike program.

Universities across the country are launching bike sharing programs using their school ID cards to facilitate bike rentals. Campus bike sharing programs bring a convenient and eco-friendly form of transportation and recreation to universities.

With a new school year comes new functions for student ID cards at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. Expanding on the current services offered by the Maverick Card, the school’s ID cards will now serve as both a debit card and a parking card allowing room for more versatility for students.

With the new school year comes new ID card services for students at University of Central Florida. The school is expanding their student card offerings to give students more options for using and managing their ID cards, especially when it comes to the cards’ cashless payment function.

School buses in Dubai are gearing up for a new school year with smart card readers. Approximately 800 buses will be outfitted with the readers. Each of the 40,000 students who travel to and from school every day on the buses will be issued a smart card that will be used to check students on and off the buses.

Beginning this fall, the University of Iowa will incorporate student ID cards into a new controlled access system for certain campus recreation buildings. The goal is to ensure students have first dibs on using these facilities, while faculty, staff and the public must purchase entry. The change came about after the school opened a new Campus Recreation and Wellness Center that resulted in each student paying an additional $219 in fees. Because of the extra costs the school felt it would be most fair if only students were granted free admission to these facilities. The best solution was to develop an access control system using student ID cards to grant entry.

The University of Virginia recently deployed a new, card-based access control system that uses wireless locks and dual-credentialing technology. Students can now use their campus ID cards in combination with a unique PIN number to gain access to residence halls and rooms. As an added security benefit, the locks are online and wireless, which allows school officials to create immediate lockdowns and update access control permissions.

University ID card programs come with significant benefits for students. The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota has come up with a new way to protect one of those benefits, university sponsored transportation, using already existing student ID cards.

At the University of North Texas, athletic teams go by the intimidating moniker of The Mean Green. These days, that emphasis on green extends well beyond a team name, and straight to the school’s recent push towards more eco-friendly operations. One example of that commitment is UNT's decision to print student IDs on biodegradable PVC cards.

Students at the University of Central Florida will soon see a major change in their student ID cards. UCF Card Services is overhauling the student ID program by going digital to add increased functionality. Along with serving as a recognized form of photo identification, the new student ID cards will function like debit cards for cashless payment. Students will be able to use their IDs to pay for laundry, snacks from campus vending machines, printing, restaurants, and even to pay their tuition.

It's fairly common for student ID cards to also serve as passes for public transportation. Often times the card will have a special sticker, or in some cases, the student ID itself is all that's required. As transit payment programs become more advanced however, some schools are changing the ways they integrate student IDs into these systems. Utah Valley University, for instance, is incorporating contactless card technology so that student IDs can function with new card readers installed in Utah Transit Agency (UTA) vehicles. This allows students to carry a single card that works for school applications as well as UTA's new smart card transit pass system.

Vanderbilt University brings us another unique use of student IDs. The school's student government recently unveiled a taxi payment system that enables students to swipe their university ID cards to pay for cab rides. About 200 taxi cabs will be equipped with special card readers for use with the program. 20 cabs will be outfitted with readers for a test run this summer, while the full-blown program will launch in the fall.

Tulane University is preparing to roll out an updated student ID program when fall semester rolls around. Tulane's new "Splash Card" is designed to better protect sensitive information, and offers a host of new features and functionality not available with the school's current IDs. Current ID cards used by Tulane students are linked to their social security numbers. This limits them to on-campus-use only because of the threat of identity theft. The new student card system will solve this issue by featuring unique ID numbers rather than social security numbers.

Students and staff at American University may soon be able to ride DC trains and buses using their school ID cards. A pilot program is in place to test American University student IDs that are compatible with the SmarTrip tap-and-enter technology currently used for Washington DC Metro riders.

University ID cards often perform a variety of functions beyond simple identification. One of the more common applications is integration with meal plans and cashless payment. Indiana State University is just one of many schools now providing students with the ability to use their school ID cards for not only dining hall meals, but also off-campus feasting.

Northern Michigan University recently upgraded their security systems in residence halls with a new card access system that links student access to their Wildcat Express student ID cards. The university decided to implement the new system to increase efficiency and security for the on campus buildings. Using student IDs as access cards makes it easier for university officials to manage the locking system for exterior doors to the residence halls.

Like many schools, Cal State Fullerton is finding new ways to increase the functionality of its student ID cards. This year, students can use their TitanCards for a variety of services including cashless payment, discount and rewards programs, and even keyless entry to dorms and other school facilities.

It's not uncommon for colleges and universities to integrate their student ID cards with the local public transit system. Having one card act as both student ID and bus pass adds convenience, and it's a great way to encourage students to use public transportation more frequently. At Western Washington University, a project lead by the school's Sustainable Transportation Program aims to create an “all-pass” that combines these two elements. The new ID cards would include two magnetic stripes: one for housing and dining, and one for transit.

The University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) has updated its student ID cards with a fresh look, and some exciting new functionality. Like many campus card programs, UTSA student IDs are used for much more than basic identification. The cards earn students discounts at a variety of locations both on and off campus, including restaurants, movie theaters, retail shops, even nightclubs. The new and improved IDs can also now carry "Rowdy Dollars." (Just a quick explanation here: Rowdy the Roadrunner is the school's mascot.) Students can use Rowdy Dollars to make purchases at dining facilities, vending machines, copy machines, UTSA Bookstores, and other locations throughout campus. Funds can be added to the cards online, or at special kiosks around the school.

Students at the University of Georgia no longer have to pick up paper tickets to attend Bulldog football games. This is a big deal, especially in the Southeastern Conference, where a football ticket on gameday is more valuable than the most precious of jewels. For the first time last Saturday, UGA students were able to attend a Georgia football game simply by having their student IDs scanned at the gate. The new system is electronic. Students purchase their football tickets online, and instead of receiving paper tickets, a record of the transaction is stored in the school's computers. When the barcode of the student ID card is scanned on gameday, the electronic ticket is verified and the student is granted entry.

On a college campus, nothing's more frustrating than trying to do your laundry. Why do you think so many kids choose to haul massive bags of dirty clothes home on the weekends for their parents to deal with? The frustration stems from two key factors: first, you need to have a large supply of quarters on hand, and second, you never know when the machines are going to be available. Some schools, such as Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA, are making things easier by integrating student ID cards into coin-free laundry systems. At Susquehanna, the system is called "eSUDS."

Drury University has installed new card readers in four campus buildings to increase security while granting students 24-hour access. Students can now use facilities such as the school's music building and fitness center all hours of the day and night without having to worry about intruders gaining access.

To increase security on the campus of San Jose State University, 27 buildings are having their exterior doors refitted for use with an electronic access control system. The automated system uses electronic key cards, rather than traditional metal keys, to allow students and other registered users to access buildings after hours and during weekends. These smart card student IDs use RFID technology to broadcast information to a special receiver near the door.

Jones County Junior College (JCJC) has expanded its student ID program to include a bevy of convenient functions and uses going into the new school year. The school uses the OneCard system which provides students with debit card functionality. Now students and their parent can go online to deposit funds into an account that can be used to make purchases at the college bookstore, cafeteria, and other campus locations. There are also plans to expand the program to off campus businesses such as local restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores.

The University of Kentucky has come up with a clever new rewards system that's integrated into its student ID program. Starting this fall, when students use their university ID cards, they'll be eligible to win prizes such as season basketball tickets, or a semester's worth of free books. The aim of the Student Government initiative, dubbed TallyCats, is to encourage more campus involvement from students. And it's a pretty cool idea. Students earn points when they swipe their ID cards upon entering certain campus events. The more points you earn, the better your chances for scoring bigtime swag.

The new school year is brining changes to dining services at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Once confined to the on-campus dining halls, students can now use the revamped program to eat at popular restaurants off-campus with a simple swipe of their student ID cards. The Rensselaer Advantage Dollar works like a debit account, allowing students to add money to their student IDs and use them at the off-campus eateries.

First-year students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh are quickly learning that their new student ID cards are much more valuable than the plastic they're printed on. Like many colleges and universities, Carnegie Mellon has found a way to expand its photo ID program, allowing students to use their cards for a wide range of functions and applications. Some of those convenient uses include keyless access to dormitories, debit card functionality, and the cards even serve as bus passes.

When students walk through the doors of Southeast High School in Arizona this school year they won’t get very far without their ID badges. The school’s new policy requires that all students wear student ID badges on a lanyard around their neck. The program is being implemented in an effort to amp up security at the school, making it easier for school employees to immediately identify who belongs in the halls of the high school.

To students at Elizabeth City State University, a student ID card with multiple functions is standard procedure on campus. Now the card adds another function to its long list of benefits: debit card. The new VikingOne card, free and available to students, employees, faculty, staff and retirees, allows card holders to make purchases around campus.

Smart card technology is at the heart of a new car sharing program for the University of South Florida. The school is joining other colleges across the country in providing communal transportation. The WeCar program provides rental cars for short trips at hourly rates.

EagleCard holders at Morehead State University just got a lot more privileges. More than 220 new contactless card readers have been installed around campus. Students and administrators are seeing the benefits of the new system. Student ID cards can now be used for access control, eating in dining halls, vending machines, copying and printing, and laundry.

Students at Salt Lake Community College are seeing the benefits of their student ID system. Many services are available to them when they flash their OneCard. Upon registration, each student is issued their ID card with their name, picture, and student ID number printed on the card.

Football games are one of the most popular events for undergraduates on college campuses across the country. Making sure that thousands of students get tickets to the games can be challenging. The University of Georgia has developed a new strategy for issuing student tickets using the school’s student ID system. The University Athletic Association is hoping that the new system will help streamline the student ticketing process and help to stop ticket scalping.

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has renewed an agreement that lets students and members of the campus community use their university ID cards to ride city buses for free. They call it the U-Pass program. This type of program is fairly common among colleges and universities, as it boosts bus ridership and lets students extend the functionality of their IDs.

New student ID cards are being deployed at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, New Hampshire. The new ID system allows students to use their IDs in the school’s cafeteria to purchase food. They can also be used in the school’s vending machines.

It's official, Polish students love smart cards. In a recent poll of Polish students in high schools and colleges, 80 percent love the functionality and versatility of their electronic ID cards. They also found the design of the cards aesthetically pleasing. This resounding approval comes after Poland started deploying the student smart cards in large quantities in 2007. As of now 115 high schools and universities are using the smart ID card program, with another 300 schools expected to follow suit in the near future. The card, which allows secure access to school facilities, works on public transit, and functions as a digital wallet, is used by 1.1 million users every day.

Chicago’s St. Xavier University unveiled a new bike sharing program with environmentally friendly goals in mind. The Green Bike Program allows students and faculty to check out bikes using their Cougar cards. Bikes are unhooked from their docks with a swipe of an ID card and renters are allowed to use them for as they need them. Bikes are then returned to their docks. At the moment, rentals are free. In the fall the university plans to make the program free for the first 15 minutes and then 60 cents for every 15 minutes after that. The university hopes that students will ride the bikes in between classes and on errands instead of jumping in their cars and driving, thereby reducing the impact on the environment.

Colorado State University is introducing a new student ID card, the RamCard, which can now be used as part of the university’s new keyless entry system for university buildings. Several of the university’s buildings have already been equipped with the new keyless entries and there are plans to expand the new system. The keyless entries cost about $2,000 per building, and buildings across campus are being equipped as university funding becomes available. Students are able to use their RamCard to gain entry to buildings after hours such as the computer lab. This new service is just another in a long list of amenities that the CSU student ID card offers. The RamCard can also be used for eating in dining halls and the student center food court, athletic events, banking, and laundry facilities in the residence halls. Current students can trade in their current ID cards and upgrade to the new RamCard for free.

Universities all over the country are signing up their campuses for car sharing programs. More than 100 college campuses now have car sharing programs in place. Both U-Haul with its U Car Share and Zipcar are making these services possible to schools and cities across the country. The latest university to jump on board with the environmentally friendly program is the University of California at Berkley.

Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine is in the process of launching a new ID card system in which student IDs will be used to gain access to campus buildings and residence halls. Cards must be swiped through special readers located at the entrance of each building. The system grants access to authorized individuals, and also has the ability to track card-use. A history of card activity is stored on an IT server, where the school can access it in response to specific concerns, for instance investigating cases of theft or vandalism.

Students at Fresno State University are receiving new ID cards this semester with improved functionality, and a new name. The "Bulldog Card" is a student ID that serves as an identification card and as a form of cashless payment. Students can now load up their cards with “Bulldog Bucks” which can be used in the campus food court, at snack shops, and for printing and making copies. The cards can also be used for wireless printing. Each time a card is used to make a purchase, money is deducted from the student's Bulldog Bucks account.

Students at Purdue University are already lining up to vote for the next U.S. president. This year, to make it easier for students, Purdue and Tippecanoe County have established a system that will accept Purdue student ID cards as proof of residence at the polls.

Some schools in the UK will soon be rolling out proof-of-age cards to help cut down on underage drinking. In Herts County, where a reported 40 percent of 16 to 24 year olds don't have a driver's license, the cards can be used to verify age when purchasing age-restricted products such as alcohol and tobacco. Police prefer that young people carry the proof-of-age ID cards rather than their passports.

Here's a new use for students ID cards that we haven't seen before - cashless payment for tanning services. Sounds silly, but in some sun-deprived states I suppose it's a pretty good idea. It's not unusual for universities to link their ID card programs with local area businesses so students can make purchases with their campus IDs. At many universities, students use their cards for on-campus purchases at bookstores, laundry facilities, copy machines, and snack bars, along with participating off-campus businesses such as movie theaters and restaurants. And now it's even possible for some college coeds to get a tan.

Next semester, students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City will receive new student ID cards that include "Roo Bucks." What are Roo Bucks? Quite simple really; they're funds that can be added to a student ID, allowing for purchases at various university facilities like dining services, laundry machines, copy machines, and bookstores. And while I've never visited UMKC, I'm guessing their mascot might be the kangaroo? Anyway, this e-purse functionality is a common feature for many school ID programs, and it gives students a good deal of convenience by enabling them to use a single ID card to perform a number of tasks, including making purchases on campus and even off campus at participating local businesses.

Murcia University in southeast Spain is the latest school to employ HID iCLASS technology for multifunctional student ID cards. In the case of Murcia, a key component of the cards is their ability to serve as transit passes for buses that transport student around the university, and back and forth between its two campuses. The HID iCLASS system makes it easy for students to ride the bus as many times as they'd like, and have their fare payments handled electronically.

This fall, undergrads and faculty at Harvard University will receive new ID cards featuring HID iCLASS technology. These contactless smart cards will not only be used for identification purposes, but also to control access to residential facilities and other campus buildings. The cards are highly secure, and can easily be adapted to new applications as needed.

Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio has a new access control system in place that will use student ID cards with proximity card technology. The card-based system will help control access to campus buildings, including student dormitories after hours. To gain access to their dorms, students must waive their ID cards in front of special proximity card readers located outside entrances. The reader must recognize the student's ID number, which is stored on the card, before allowing entry.

Starting next fall, students at Penn State University will no longer have to present paper tickets to watch their beloved Nittany Lions football team take the field. The University is preparing a new program in which ticket information will be stored on student ID cards. The student ID card will actually carry the football ticket, and will be the only way for students to enter the stadium. This allows students to manage their tickets electronically, and makes it less likely that football tickets will be lost, since students usually carry their university ID cards at all times.

Martel College, a residential college at Rice University in Texas, is testing a new card-based access control system that allows Housing Operations to activate and deactivate access control to rooms wirelessly instead of manually. Now, rather than having to send someone out to change locks any time a student loses a key, the new system allows operators to simply deactivate a student's card, and reconfigure the lock wirelessly, from the housing office.

New College in Oxford is upping the level of security for campus buildings by integrating its student ID cards with an access control system. While the old students IDs featured magnetic stripes, the new cards will use Mifare contactless smart card technology. The access control system has been designed to control perimeter access to main building doors as well as individual student rooms. The system is also easily scalable in case future expansion is required.

Starting this fall, Kansas University students will be able to use their student ID cards as transit passes for riding the university's expanded bus service. Previously, a separate "KU on Wheels" pass was required, but with the new system, students will simply have to wave their student ID to hop aboard.

The Chicago Transit Authority is working with 48 area high schools an ID card program that will provide students with school ID cards that double as CTA transit passes. The students will also receive the benefit of a reduced fare when they use their new cards for riding the bus or train.

Next fall, students attending Memphis City Schools will receive new student ID cards with smart card functionality. The cards must be worn around the neck on a lanyard, and will serve as a form of photo identification, while also helping to track student behavior.

Here's another example of a school rolling out new student ID cards with increased functionality. Pennsylvania's Bucknell University has introduced its new BU ID, a multipurpose student ID card that can be used for a variety of campus services, including bookstore purchases, library checkout, meal plan payments, the campus box office, athletic events, and for gaining entry to dormitories and other campus buildings.

Colorado State University is now issuing student ID cards that include ATM and debit functionality, along with other convenient features. The new "RamCard Plus" is linked to a free checking account for debit transactions and ATM withdrawals. But that's just one of the card's many features. The RamCard Plus also includes a magnetic stripe and bar code for identification, a second magnetic stripe for use with a RamCash account through the university, and a smart chip for keyless entry to campus buildings.

Alabama's Fort Payne Middle School is gearing up to install a new visitor management system that that can instantly run background checks on all visitors, and print out temporary photo ID badges. The school received a grant to acquire the system, which is part of a committed effort to increase school security.

Starting next fall, students, faculty and staff at Harvard University will receive new ID cards that use contactless smart card technology. The new cards will be much more secure than those used currently, and will help to greatly improve the university's access control system.

At a conference to discuss school violence, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller told a group of educators around the state the straight truth - violence is curbed through being prepared.

It was supposed to be a seamless transition - students at Clinton County School District in Clinton County, Missouri, would switch from a lunch system that used encoded cards to one that uses biometric information from student fingerprints.

Students and summer youth employees in Washington D.C. will soon receive new SmartTrip One Cards good for travel throughout the entire Metro transit system. Initially, the One Card program was designed to provide District residents with access to certain facilities such as parks and recreation centers, and libraries. Now, with the cards doubling as SmarTrip cards, students will be able to use a single ID to ride the Metro and access their schools and workplaces.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is introducing a new student ID card with expanded functionality. Affectionately known as the "Wiscard," each student ID will serve a variety of functions, including photo identification, building access control, and debit and meal plan payments.

While it's pretty much a given that student IDs on college campuses will serve a variety of functions beyond identification - for instance paying for meals, checking out library books, making photocopies, etc - elementary school ID programs are typically more simple. But with advanced ID card technology becoming more readily available, and affordable, many schools are re-evaluating their ID card programs, looking for ways to increase security and card functionality. One such school is Tatum Ridge Elementary in Sarasota, Fla. Tatum Ridge is one of a handful of schools in Sarasota County testing out new student ID cards that the district hopes to push countywide beginning in 2009.

The days of simply showing student ID cards to attendants at Middle Tennessee State University's rec center are over. Under a new ID card program aimed at higher security, upwards of 23,000 MTSU students are required to trade in their current ID cards, which simply had magnetic stripes, for new Blue ID Cards, which enable biometric featuers in order to ensure higher security.

Valparaiso University is ending daytime open access to its dormitories and plans on setting up a card-based access control system by this summer or the start of the next school year. The new system will require student ID cards to open all residence hall entrances.

Laundry can be low on the priority list for many college students, with students quoting pressing food and video game issues that supersede clean clothes - but now Drury University students have no excuses for their dirty laundy. New ID card readers on the school's washing machines and dryers in their laundry facilities were recently installed to streamline the laundry payment process.

Ithaca College has begun installation of a new access control system for residence halls. The new system will require students to use their ID cards, rather than keys, to enter buildings. Special key card access boxes on the outer doors of residence halls will read the student IDs to grant access.

Zona Systems, a Seattle-based company, has developed an RFID-based system that aims to enhance security for children making bus trips to and from school. Using RFID technology, the new ZPass system makes it possible to identify when a student boards or exits the school bus. Each student is issued a unique RFID card. A special reader on the bus recognizes the card, even if it's kept in the student's wallet or backpack. No waiving or swiping of the card is required. The system provides parents and school officials with peace of mind by tracking each child's daily journey.

Students, faculty and staff at universities nationwide have been making the switch from social security numbers to 9 digit ID numbers for several years - now it's time for UW-Madison to trade in their cards. Some 9,000 professors, instructors and other university faculty will be turning in their old ID cards in exchange for a new one that features a 9 digit identifying ID number instead of the traditional social security number.

Blackboard Communications Systems, a networking tool used by universities and learning institutions around the globe, announced that it has joined forces with Sony to produce contactless student ID card systems in the United States. Blackboard is an online teaching aid, in which students and professors may share information, lecture notes, upload assignments and communicate online. Now, Blackboard is venturing into the security business. The multi-functional cards Blackboard plans to develop would combine access, data and security systems. These state-of-the-art ID cards would function as debit cards, building entrance cards, class schedule data devices and more. Professors may even use the cards as a way to take attendance for classes.

From Missouri to Utah, parents are learning that it never hurts to be too cautious. Last year’s infamous Michael Devlin kidnapping and child abuse case has spurred a resurgence of child identification database and ID card creation in Missouri, where Devlin held Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby captive in his Kirkwood, MO apartment. While Hornbeck and Ownby were fortunate enough to escape with their lives, the abuse they suffered has left parents wondering what they can do to protect their children—or, at the very least, help get them home safely and quickly—from the nightmare of child abduction.

These days, the typical student ID card carries much more than a name and photo. For students enrolled at Ireland's Mary Immaculate College, the cards now provide access to campus buildings, dormitories, and their dorm rooms. The college recently installed a proximity card access control system that involves wall readers, IP-based door locks, and other integrated security features, all operating across a single network. To gain access to campus buildings, students must now hold their student IDs up to special proximity card reader. The cards provide convenience, enhanced security, and completely eliminate the need to carry physical keys.

Washington University in St. Louis has recently enacted a policy that requires students, faculty and staff to present their student ID cards when entering the Olin Library and the attached Whispers Cafe after 9PM.

Students at Sioux City's West High School must now carry ID cards with them at school after administrators got tired of breaking up hallway fights. Assistant principal Jacque Wyant says the ID cards, along with several other security measures, has reduced the number of physical fights on school grounds. But the ID cards aren't just for security. The ID cards work in conjunction with the school's new freshman mentoring program and the transformation of a locker bay that was once a popular spot for altercations into a student lounge for upperclassmen.

When you're a college student living in the dorms, your ID card can quickly become a center of your universe. That simple ID card can serve as the key to your room, the key to your mailbox, your way to check out library books and other materials, and most importantly - your meal ticket. ID card programs for colleges and universities often incorporate payment options into their student ID cards, which can make mealtime easier for everyone - until their ID card is lost or stolen.

New Jersey's Lenape Regional High School District has installed an electronic visitor management system know as LobbyGuard in each of its four schools. The system is used to monitor visitors on school grounds. Electronic visitor management systems are a major improvement over the traditional paper sign-in sheets of old. With these new systems, schools are able to print photo ID badges on the spot and track visitors, create databases, run background checks, and more.

"Soccer Mom" has a new meaning in South Florida (along with many other places). Instead of ferrying children back and forth to practice and cheering on the sidelines at games, many sports parents have taken an active role on their child's sports teams - volunteering, chauferring teams around, organizing parent activities, and helping coach. And now, along with the requisite station wagon, van or SUV keys and water bottles, team parents are now sporting ID badges when at practices and games.

In Prince William County, which contains the second-largest school system in Virginia, 86 schools have implemented an electronic visitor check-in system to keep tabs on visitors and instantly check them against a 460,000-person-long list of sex offenders from across the country. The system, otherwise known as the Raptor, will note when visitors enter and exit the building and keep registered sex offenders off school grounds. These security systems are not unique to Prince William County, either. In Anne Arundel County, the Raptor has ensnared three sex offenders and led to one arrest. And by the end of the school year, officials in the Loudoun County school district want to install video cameras and intercomes outside school doors so that all visitors would have to be buzzed in.

The primary purpose of most student ID cards is to protect - ID badges help quickly identify students and staff in case of emergency, and they are an easy way to single out who should and should not be in the school at any given moment. Student ID cards can also serve as library cards and cafeteria "money cards" that can be used to pay for hot lunches. Schools most often implement ID card policies to make security and attendance easier. But in Sioux City, Iowa, West High School sees the addition of ID cards to student life as a change in the student culture.

John F. Kennedy Middle School in Enfield, Mass. has launched a unique student ID program that allows students to use their cards not only for a variety of functions at school, but also at the Enfield Public Library. Perhaps the most exciting benefit of the new system is that students can gain entry over the Internet to the library's 11 research databases by entering the bar code number found on their IDs. And students can access all of these resources from their home computers.

Back in May, several Houston area elementary schools, including Allen Elementary, noticed that expensive computer equipment - several servers at $3,000 each - had gone missing. There wasn't a sign of forced entry or any other clues normally associated with a burglary. Investigators dug deeper, and found something unusual.

175 new parking meters were installed on the campus of Lehigh University over the summer. These are no ordinary meters. In fact, no coins are required. The new parking meters operate using smart card technology, meaning payments are made by swiping a prepaid “SMARTcard.”

We’ve talked quite a bit about the different ways student ID badges are being used in high school settings. This year especially, more and more schools are now requiring students to wear photo ID badges at all times while on school grounds. On a side note, I’m guessing the lanyard will start to play a significant role in youth fashion, if it hasn’t already. While student ID programs are typically implemented for security purposes, many schools are finding other way to make use of these new mandatory accessories. One such school is Delaware’s Middleton High. Middleton’s ID cards are now linked to a computer listing that manages the school’s textbooks. It’s an innovative new way to distribute and track student reading materials.

With growing concerns about unauthorized visitors on school grounds, South Carolina’s Spartanburg School District 4 is upping its level of security, beginning with a cutting-edge access control system at Woodruff Primary School. The system, which utilizes proximity card technology, is the first of its kind to be installed in a K-12 school in the state.

Parents, students and teachers are at odds over a new ID card program proposed for the Dover, PA school district. Dover high recently added a comprehensive series of video surveillance cameras - 26 in all - in and around the high school campus. But, school administrators say, that's just not enough.

Thornton, Colorado’s Rocky Top Middle School (Go Grizzlies!) recently implemented a new visitor management system as a way to increase school security. So far, response to the system, know as The Raptor, has been extremely positive.

Student Card Limited and the Jamaican ministry of education have teamed together to create a student ID which is hoped to reduce the amount of cash in the schools. This, in turn, is hoped to reduce the amount of crime committed by students and help administrations increase their efficiency.

Since the dawn of time, schools have been havens for junk food. With hallways illuminated by the welcoming glow of vending machines, and lunch rooms serving up burgers and fries with reckless abandon, the nutritional value of a meal at school is rivaled only by that of dinner at 7-Eleven. In the case of my elementary school, we even had the infamous “Barquito,” a soggy Mexican pizza curiously served within a plastic bag.

Since the dawn of time, schools have been havens for junk food. With hallways illuminated by the welcoming glow of vending machines, and lunch rooms serving up burgers and fries with reckless abandon, the nutritional value of a meal at school is rivaled only by that of dinner at 7-Eleven. In the case of my elementary school, we even had the infamous “Barquito,” a soggy Mexican pizza curiously served within a plastic bag.

A campus-wide system at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay allows students, faculty and staff to use their university identification cards to purchase everything from books, meals and photocopies, to tasty vending machine treats.

Students at Purdue University might soon be able to use their ID cards to make purchases in worlds beyond the freshman dining hall. A student government initiative has proposed that select off-campus merchants be added to the school’s existing BoilerExpress program, which currently allows students to deposit money on their student ID cards and make transactions at businesses run by the University. Enhanced features such as online account management would be added to the cards as well.

http://www.alphacard.com/lanyards.shtmlID cards have been normal at schools for years now. Students keep them in their wallets to use in the lunch line or to check out books, visitors and staff use them for identification. They're such a normal part of most students' lives that Now, in Florida, a controversy has erupted over a teacher  who refuses to wear an ID badge.

ID badges have been commonplace for school visitors for years - but unlike the laminated "VISITOR" squares printed on the construction paper of the past, many schools have adopted high-tech badge policies which require bar codes, visitor names, and sometimes even photos. A Cincinnati area school district has announced that it's taking it one step further.