WMU HOME > ABOUT WMU > WMU NEWS

WMU News

More than 600 students get new IDs in first hours

March 22, 2005

KALAMAZOO--Some early technical problems were quickly resolved, and by 10 a.m. of this first day of issuing new student ID cards, everything was running smoothly, according to Bob Coffman of Western Michigan University's Department of Public Safety.

About 600 new student photo-ID cards had been issued at Lawson Arena by 1 p.m.

Parking immediately outside the arena was more than ample, and lines of students waiting to be processed were generally limited to a dozen students or fewer.

Once students reached the head of the line, they typically had their new card and were on their way out the door within five to 10 minutes. Students are being processed at six stations, where they are photographed and write their signatures on an electronic pad. A new ID card, containing the photo and signature, is created on the spot by one of five card-printing machines.

Students are asked to bring their existing ID to the processing center in Lawson. The existing card can be swiped in a card-reader, which speeds the processing. According to Coffman, students who don't bring their existing ID can still get a new card; it just takes a little longer.

New cards are part of the university's switch from Social Security numbers to Western Identification Numbers--or WIN--as the primary way of identifying students and employees.

Every student who gets a new card by April 1 is automatically entered in a drawing for prizes, including free parking permits for 2005-06, $250 vouchers for book purchases at the WMU Bookstore and Apple iPod Shuffles, among others.

Students will be able to get new ID cards at Lawson Arena from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, March 22-24, and Monday through Thursday, March 28-31, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays, March 25, and April 1.

Faculty and staff cannot get new cards during this two-week campaign, because the equipment is programmed exclusively to process student records. Separate dates in April will be announced later in WMU News and WMU Today for faculty and staff to get new ID cards.

Related story
Get your new WMU ID now and be a winner!

Media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
269 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/wmu/news