By Matthew Purucker · News Editor
Students raised concerns about Grove City College’s plan to implement a digital ID system during a Student Government Association forum Tuesday in Sticht Lecture Hall.
Vice President for Information Technology Vince DiStasi began the forum by describing why the college decided to replace the current physical proximity ID cards with digital near-field communication (NFC) ID on smartphones.
“All we care about as an institution is moving from prox (proximity) to NFC,” DiStasi said to close his background speech. “I’m not going to try to sit here and convince you to use mobile credentials. If you’re happy using mobile credentials in everything else, you’re using it for authentication, you use it with your credit cards or debit cards, then this should not be an issue. If not, you can get an NFC card.”
The college plans to deactivate all proximity cards on Oct. 5.
The digital ID is free for students to adopt. However, if students want to continue using a physical card, they will have to pay a $25 fee.
DiStasi clarified Wednesday that the fee was $25, instead of the $35 he said it would be during the forum. He said this decision is the “cleanest solution,” and it does not affect the replacement card policy.
Students cannot buy NFC cards until the fall semester.
DiStasi explained that the college made this change over three years. It decided to switch to NFC for security reasons.
“The majority of students I see carry their ID cards on their cell phones, and the motion to get into the room or click is basically put your cell phone down. It reads your prox card because it’s on the back of your cell phone, and you get in,” DiStasi said. “Essentially, mobile credentials is identical to that, other than you no longer need a physical ID card. The mobile credentials actually have a stronger security, because most people aren’t going to give their phone to somebody.”
DiStasi also explained the technical details behind the differences between proximity and NFC.
Proximity cards are unencrypted, meaning it is somewhat easy for a reader to duplicate the card and steal the person’s identity. NFC is encrypted and has more security measures, so it is harder for someone to copy.
After the speech, students asked DiStasi about various issues they had with the change. The questions posed were about a variety of concerns, including whether exemptions would apply for students without compatible smartphones, whether mental health was a factor in the decision and whether current and future students could buy NFC cards.
Students could also complete a form with additional questions they had.
In a March 9 email, the Crimson Card Office instructed students on how to set up the digital ID, Crimson Card+.
According to DiStasi, about 20% of students have switched to the digital ID.
Vice President of Student Life and Learning Larry Hardesty, who advises SGA, introduced DiStasi and praised SGA for making the forum a part of SGA’s weekly meeting.
“One of the things that this has made me aware of is that I think that there are populations of our student community that don’t know where their voices can be heard. And I want to encourage you that SGA meetings are open, and this is a place where you can raise concerns as well,” Hardesty said. “I think it’s important for that. I also want to give (SGA) kudos for the way that they’ve engaged this whole process.”
