Technology:
Making A More
User-Friendly Campus
Florida State University
Jackie Deptula
Tom DiCato
Dustin Rollins
ID Card Services
One-stop shopping (meal plan, laundry, vending
accounts, residence hall access, transportation,
library use, academic building/classroom access,
sporting events access)
 Student Identification – trend to move toward
unique non-connected identifiers on card vs.
social security numbers
 Universal Student Identification number (login
for access to Blackboard, WebCT Vista)
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ID Card ServicesOn Campus Living
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Limiting access to residence halls
Less paperwork: turn access on or off immediately
Card Access Bedrooms and Bathrooms (by gender)
Eventually more economical: less money spent on
replacement keys and lock changes
Vending and Laundry Services self-sustained in the halls
Meal Plans/ Dining Services
– Dollar amounts to be used anywhere on campus instead of just
one meal
ID Card ServicesOther Student Affairs Services
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Photo identification (in lieu of drivers license)
Campus building access (example: after hour lab access)
Transportation (campus public transportation)
Admission to sporting events and activities
Financial aid (allow access to deferment of textbook bills, residence
hall rent, meal plan purchase, tuition payment- charged to student
account through card)
Link with bank accounts/ use as debit card
Invalidate card online if lost- immediately
Connections with off campus merchants (examples: pizza, groceries)
In general, ID Cards make it easier to track and monitor where
students have been, what students use and when they use them
allowing student affairs administrators to offer services students will
utilize and enjoy.
Encouraging A Campus Community
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general, the Internet reaches many
more people at once than other methods
of communication.
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Educational components for a safe community
(Mystudentbody.com, Reslife.net modules)
Student Online Newspapers
Websites like College Confidential that give the “low
down” and rankings of US Colleges and Universities for
students.
Encouraging A Campus Community
Student Activities can advertise for programming
likely more effective online (Facebook, Myspace,
AIM, Yahoo IM!)
 All student services can use blogs to determine
students satisfaction/ dissatisfaction for various
components of campus life
 Easier to get involved: click a button to join a
facebook group or vote in student elections
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Safety & Security
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Easily track student traffic to specific student services
through swipe access i.e. athletics, library hours
Ability to control a students' access to areas (i.e. their
building, academic buildings)
Quickly deactivate card if student loses it or it is stolen
to prevent theft of any kind
Mobile phone use lowers situational awareness (Nasar
Hecht and Wener). Mobile phone use also increased
risky behavior
An internet-based community has led to new challenges
including online harassment and file sharing issues
(compliance with RIAA)
Notice of a crisis (text messages, campus website,
personal emails, email bulletins utilized to be compliant
with posting of crimes around campus
Safety & SecurityCrisis Intervention
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In light of recent tragedies, campuses have had to adapt
their crisis intervention techniques, relying heavily on
technology
Drexel University- armed its security personnel with a
handheld device called "DragonForce" DragonForce allows
users to send messages, draw images, take photos and
stream video to others using the device. This results in
increased communication within security personnel.
 Important to note that multiple means of communicating are
necessary in a crisis. Text messages cannot be the only
method.
 Miami Dade - county wide emergency alert system utilizing
hotlines, internet, voicemail, the media, press releases, to
notify the community of an emergency. Through other
technology, adding text messages, personal email, and
pagers.
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Safety & SecurityOther Student Services
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Judicial Affairs can use the tracking of students for judicial cases
School officials at Marquette utilize cell phones with "robust"
features which they can "immediately ascertain the disposition and
geographical location of each student by pushing numbers on their
cell phone"
Multiple Service Areas can restrict student access if they have not
completed something and student will have to react (i.e. If a
student did not complete a judicial sanction their card can be
deactivated)
Some schools like University of Texas at Austin are using SEVIS Student and Exchange Visitor Information System to track
nonimmigrant visitors to the campus. It is now a mandatory policy
for all higher education institutions that accept international
students. Data collected includes immigration information, visa and
academic status
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)
VLEs reduce academic costs to the institution,
and increase convenience.
 Increased accessibility (i.e. distance learning
students and people with disabilities)
 Affords students flexibility, in that they can fit
their schoolwork into when they can do it.
 Allows for an increase in self directed study at all
levels, which will increase life long learning, a
current trend in higher education.
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Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)
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Increased engagement through VLEs, and can draw
students and staff closer together
If used correctly, VLEs can create and foster a unique
community for students to interact in
Increase in tutor to student interaction, even though the
ratio of students to tutors has been increasing
VLEs are now even utilizing text messaging through the
course, and 91.7% of students said they would enroll in
another course that offers text messaging as an
option. (In the new often consumer based level
of student affairs we are in now this is very important for
administrators)
Through this, students can get course updates, grade
info, deadline information and weekly "hot" topics
Aiding New Populations
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Students have to be prepared to work with technology.
Graduates with disabilities face the danger of being
unable to compete fairly with their non-disabled peers in
a labor market that demands technology literacy
Identification of a need and development of Campus
Student Disability Resource Centers and staff positions
devoted to working with student population
 Use of adaptive technology for students with disabilities
to keep up in the technologically advancing college
campus (i.e. working with VLEs, using a word processor)
 Online Training programs for improving the attitudes of
faculty and student affairs staff members
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Technology & Parents
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Technology has increased the ability for parent
involvement in college students’ lives
Some examples:
 Can add funds to card (campus dollars) at any
time through the internet, which can be used for
specific purchases (i.e. no alcohol)
 Parents have more contact with students than in
the past through email, text messages, IMs etc.
Technology & Parents cont.
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Parents don’t only interact with the
institution through technology….
…It can also help them hover more effectively
Future Considerations: Challenges
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Large cost for student affairs profession to equip the
campus’ infrastructure with the necessary technology
Questions about how to hold students accountable for
online content
Research shows that technologically- advanced college
campuses are still not completely meeting the needs of
people with disabilities (i.e. students do not feel
adequately trained to benefit from the technology)
Less face-to-face interaction with Student Affairs
professionals
Future Consideration: Other
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Because of technology, lines between specific student
affairs services have been blurred
There has been a move from Clerical positions to
Information Technology positions.
Resources
http://fyesit.metapress.com/content/883r02m61j101g04/
http://gator1.ufl.edu/
http://www.austincc.edu/support/admissions/student_id.php
http://securitysolutions.com/mag/security_dorm_room_locks/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/261698/dorm_room_security_staying_safe_while.ht
ml
http://media.www.thetalononline.com/media/storage/paper791/news/2007/09/24/CampusNew
s/Access.Denied-2985355.shtml
http://www.stanford.edu/~holeton/wired-frosh/
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i12/12a03302.htm
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i45/45a02501.htm
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i22/22c00201.htm
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i10/10a03101.htm
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Bond, J. A. (2002). The changing context of campus safety. New Directions for Student
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Drakontas LLC. (2007) A Review of the legislative response and an assessment of the divergent
state of campus security and communications technology post virginia tech massacre.
DuVall, J. B., Powell, M. R., Hodge, E., & Ellis, M. (2007). Text messaging to improve social
presence in online learning. Educause Quarterly.
Resources cont.
Forte, S. P. (2003). A pragmatic approach to high-tech security on campus. The Journal.
Mcharg et. Al. (2006). Availability of a virtual learning environment does not compensate for
the lack of a physical facility. Medical Teacher, 20 (3).
Nasar, J. Hecht, P., Wener, R. (2007). ‘Call if you have trouble’: Mobile phones and safety
among college students. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 31
(4).
Ramsey, C. (2003). Using virtual learning environments to facilitate new learning relationships.
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Roessler, R.T. and Kirk, M.H. (1998) Improving Technology Training Services in Postsecondary
Education: Perspectives of Recent College Graduates with Disabilities. Journal on
Postsecondary Education and Disability, 13 (3).
Schafhauser, D. (2008). Miami dade college signs on with county-wide emergency alert system.
Campus Technology February 11, 2008.
Shariff, S. (2005). Cyber-dilemmas in the new millennium: School obligations to provide
student safety in a virtual school environment. McGill Journal of Education. 40 (3).
Fichten, C.S., Asuncion, J.V., Barile, M., Fossey, M.E., Robillard, C., Judd, D., Wolforth, J.,
Senécal, J., Généreux, C., Guimont, J.P., Lamb, D., & Juhel, J-C. (2004). Access to
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