Illinois university joins ranks of schools dropping Social Security numbers
Another university is dropping Social Security numbers as student identifiers. The new system kicks in after Memorial Day for Southern Illinois University, which will then identify a student by a random generated number.
Those new numbers will be called “Dawg Tags,” named after the university’s mascot, the saluki, considered the royal dog of Egypt. The new ID numbers are part of the larger process of converting to a new student information system, which should be implemented by the fall of 2009, says a school administrator.
Social Security numbers aren’t disappearing entirely. They will still be used by the university, but only for financial aid and payroll purposes. Read more here. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/cr80news-4.gif)
