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.

Social security numbers were used for many years as a form of identifying information on college campuses; the advent of identity theft and nationwide trends toward protecting social security numbers has caused many schools to change their policies to protect sensitive information.