Transit functionality on the campus card has long been tricky business. When we examined this conundrum in our 2015 coverage “Getting a lift with the student ID,” we spoke with professionals across the industry in an attempt to decipher exactly why this campus card use case is so elusive. What we discovered was that technical, financial, logistical and political issues can all serve to confound what is ultimately a well-intentioned idea.

Seton Hall University recently completed renovations on a new, round-the-clock study space. The After Hours Study Space has been made possible in large part by the campus card and a door access reader. The After Hours Study Space is a joint initiative funded between the Libraries and the Office of the Provost in response to students’ long-expressed need for a safe study and work space that’s available during overnight hours.

A student ID card policy implemented at Loyola University New Orleans has been the cause of some frustration. The policy, which took effect back in January, fines students who fail to present a Loyola ID when entering a campus residence hall. The idea behind the policy is to both better lock down access to campus residences, as well as help to hold the campus community accountable in keeping student IDs in possession at all times.

Maryland’s Washington College has now made the student ID card a necessary component of its Safe Ride service in an effort to improve the service through examining frequency of ridership. The card readers will be used, in part, to record the number of students who leverage the service and better determine Safe Ride’s busy times so that the program can hone its services and improve accessibility.

Ohio University’s meal swipe donation initiative will return after a successful pilot phase last year. The donation program enables students to give up to three meal swipes to fellow students experiencing food scarcity. Last semester, the meal swipe donation program brought in some 500 meals for Ohio University students in need.

The University of Connecticut One Card Office is now providing students with the option to have a preferred name printed on the backs of their campus cards. The university also opted to maintain student legal names on the Husky One Cards.

The latest update to the legislation in North Carolina that would make college and university student ID cards a valid form of voter identification in the state is a postponement of the deadline decision date. This week, the state House and Senate approved and signed a bill that delays implementation of the photo identification requirement for voting until the 2020 election cycle.

The University of New Mexico is in the throws of building a preferred name policy for student ID cards. The three-phase process has already seen  affirmed or preferred first names added to LoboCards and diplomas, with more support to come.