In concurrency with the new dorm hall openings, phone IDs are being rolled out in waves. Firstly, to New Hall residents, as it is an Apple requirement to test run these new IDs before they can become readily available to all students. Then in mid-February, all students and faculty should have access to the new phone IDs.
The phone IDs will not be completely replacing the physical student IDs.
“While this solution can be a total replacement for physical IDs we know that there will still be a need for them. We have a new card system that we can print cards for individuals as needed,” Director of Technology Operations Ryan Dorshorst said.
While the new ID system is coming into existence within the community of Doane smoothly, that does not mean that there were no challenges in rolling out this new system.
“Finding the right solution that was able to do everything took almost two years, but Transact, our mobile credential provider has proven they were able to make it work the way we wanted,” Dorshorst said.
As with all technologies that are seminew, there are going to be some bugs and challenges, but hopefully within the next couple of years, all of these, or at least a majority can be smoothed out. The building itself is still in its final stages of construction and development, but people are now living there.
The new phone IDs should be rolling out within the next couple of weeks. Moving away from physical IDs has received praise for ease of use and accessibility, while also criticized for not letting people in.