The Texas Tech University ID Card office will phase out the current student ID cards beginning in the spring semester in favor of a new card that will not contain students' Social Security numbers.
Students will have from the beginning of the spring semester until May 31 to make the change.
Dolores Harper, director of the office, said anyone with a magnetic strip card reader could read the Social Security numbers from the current cards, but the new cards will feature a Banner system ID number.
Sam Segran, associate vice president for Information Technology, said the ultimate goal is to take the Social Security number out of daily use for students in favor of the new Banner number.
Because many departments have systems that use the SSN, he said, software and applications may need to be changed, and the departments also should look at deleting and shredding old records that contain the number.
Kay Rhodes, associate vice chancellor and system chief information officer, said the "R-number" on the back of the card is eight digits and will begin with an 'R' so it is not confused with a Social Security number.
The R-number will be used everywhere on campus where a Social Security number would have been used, she said, and no Tech employee should ask for the Social Security number.
Scantron test forms also have been changed to reflect this transition, Rhodes said, and if students forget their R-number on the day of a test, they can look at the back of their new student ID.
Students also may look on their MyTech account at the Raiderlink Web site to find their new R-number, although the number will have no significance until the spring semester.
Harper said old ID cards will not work after May 31 and, because the change is mandatory, students do not have to pay a fee for a new card as long as they have their old card. Replacement cards after receiving a new ID card will cost $10.
The office is giving students the entire semester to make the switch so they do not all have to come on one day, she said, and even so she believes the employees working in the office will be busy.
Segran said his department is preparing for all known potential problems with the change, but he believes the most serious problems will be logistical issues with the entire student body replacing their student ID cards.
Harper said the office has tested card readers to make sure the new cards will work, and will post advertisements to get the word out to students.
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