U. reps visit Duke to examine card system

Undergraduate Assembly leaders and University administrators traveled to Duke University this weekend to examine that school's advanced debit and security card system. Four UA representatives and three administrators went to the rural North Carolina campus this weekend for a tour of the system and a meeting with its developers. "I was very impressed with what they do," said Daniel Updegrove, assistant vice-provost for data administration and planning. He explained that the system at Duke, based on a card like the PENNcard, is linked by computer to the dining facilities, residences, vending machines and off-campus merchants. Allowing students to deposit money into special "flex" accounts held by the University, the arrangement frees students from carrying virtually any cash on campus: which provides a big boost to security. "If you were running a parking lot at 10 at night, wouldn't you rather not have $6,000 in your pocket?" Updegrove asked. Jeff Lichtman, the vice-chairperson of the UA's PENNcard Committee said using the card for security and dormitory access is an important feature. "If you lose a key, someone can pick it up and use it," he said. "Once a card is out of someone's possession, it can be de-activated." "The security systems are already partially in place," said Frank Neithammer, the University's director of systems for hospitality services. "The information we could put in place very easily." Updegrove stressed, however, that Duke's system could by no means be transferred wholesale to the University. "Duke is a captive environment," Updegrove explained. "You don't have as many restaurants, merchants and trucks around," as there are at the University. Consequently, he said, Duke did not change the spending patterns of students by introducing the card. The system at Duke, like the one already in place at the University, also incorporates Dining Services on the card. Unlike the University system, however, it includes a separate account from which each food purchase is deducted, rather than deducting entire meals. While the system gives Duke students more flexibility in their choosing their meals, they do not have the "all you can eat" option. The system at Duke also provides students with additional conveniences which the University's does not. By connecting everything from soda and vending machines to the local pizza delivery services to the Duke Card, students carry virtually no cash, even change, on campus. Updegrove said this convenience resulted in a 400-percent increase in volume sales in campus vending machines. He also said that Duke is currently examining the possibility of expanding card services to include washers and dryers and parking services. "The nice thing is you don't have to carry cash around," he said. "You can just flash the Duke Card." He also said that in several important ways, the University's system is already more advanced than the one at Duke. He said information transfers from student records, payroll accounts, the library system, and the gymnasiums to the PENNcard are far more automated than the manual, non-integrated system used at Duke.

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