Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

How can campus ID cards serve Gen Z students?

Generation Z students have very different expectations than the students that have preceded them. When it comes to meeting the needs of Gen Z, colleges need to look at new ways to upgrade the campus experience. Although plenty of institutions have made an effort to technologically enhance educational tools, few have devoted similar attention toward the campus ID.

Gen Z expects instant gratification. The first step toward meeting Gen Z’s expectations starts with improving the student orientation experience. Implementing multi-location capture, enrollment, and printing enables all ID stations to access card templates from anywhere—not just the card office—reducing wait times and lines that Gen Z students detest.

Gen Z students are the most tech-forward generation. Colleges must advance from low-tech, low-security access solutions to more high-tech options like contactless transactions and mobile ID. The most cutting-edge universities enhance the modern student experience by enabling their campus ID cards to perform multiple functions across campus, such as access to vending, meal plans, laundry, libraries, and transportation.

Finally, offering card customization options, such as the option to show membership in a campus organization or a certain academic program, caters to the Gen Z student’s desire for individualized experiences, while enhancing university branding initiatives.

These innovations will not only speed up the issuance and reissuance process, but also cultivate an experience that will win over incoming freshmen.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management September 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Jeff Meier is the director of Marketing for Identity and Access Management (IAM) Solutions at Entrust Datacard (entrustdatacard.com). He can be reached at 952-933-1223 or [email protected].

Featured

  • Construction Begins on 100+ Acre K–12 Campus Designed for Lakota Culture

    The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School District in Eagle Butte, S.D., recently broke ground on a new K–12 campus that will cover more than 100 acres and serve students and families across 1,600 square miles, according to a news release.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • ed tech conference calendar

    Upcoming Awards, Events & Webinars

  • Longwood University Hits Construction Milestone on New Music Education Facility

    Longwood University in Farmville, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of its new music education and performance facility, according to a news release. The university partnered with development and construction firm Skanska on the 63,800-square-foot facility, which began construction in August 2025 and has an estimated completion date of fall 2028.