Some students had the chance to get a student ID card at the beginning of the school year, while others weren’t so lucky and now have to provide their student ID numbers and another form of ID for certain activities on campus.

In Oct. 2021, StudentLife stopped making student ID cards because of a new system that had launched in Nov. 2021. This new system would replace the antiquated system which held all student information like student records, financial aid etc., according to Dean of Student Development, Jennifer Rhodes M Ed.

Rhodes said the new system, CTCLink, required the change of supplemental systems like the student ID system. She does not have a firm date on when ID’s will be coming back but hopes to have a new ID system up and running by Summer quarter.

Not having an ID hasn’t hindered any students from going about business as usual on campus. They can still go to the library to check out books and even access the Student Fitness Center to get a quick pump by providing their student ID number.

EvCC student, Crystal Jackson, has gone two quarters without a student ID card. “I had trouble with the [online] library without it,” Jackson stated. She didn’t have her student ID number handy so she could not use the resource and has not tried to access it since then.

The change of ID systems was also in part due to the age of the system that was in place prior to the switch to CTCLink because it was already at least 7 years old and needed updating, Rhodes said. Even though students most likely won’t be seeing IDs being made until summer quarter, Rhodes added, “the good news is we are taking this time to research different ID systems and plan to upgrade our software and hardware.”

While they continue to research different ID systems, they are also looking at a way to integrate the Trojan Rewards Program. The rewards program is a point system where you get points for attending EvCC sporting events, StudentLife/TAB events as well as other events. You are then rewarded with a different item when you reach a certain amount of points. The first attendance gets you a Trojan branded silicone pocket you can attach to your smartphone, 3 points gets you a Trojan t-shirt and so on. The current method is a sign-in sheet at the entrance of the event, according to the Trojan Athletics webpage. 

Until they choose a new system, Jackson doesn’t seem too worried about not having a student ID card. When asked if she thinks she can make it the remainder of the school year without one, she jokingly chimed, “it remains to be seen”, not knowing if she will have to use one in the future.

Edit: In response to Jackson’s issues with accessing the online library resources, Director of Public Relations Katherine Schiffner stated, “students do not need their Student ID number in order to access online library resources. Students login with their EvCC user ID and password (same username and password you use to login to Canvas and other EvCC resources).  Also, Student ID numbers are not printed on ID cards for security reasons.” Schiffner and Lynn Deeken, who is the Dean of Arts, Learning Resources and Pathways, wants to make sure that students have the correct information to access these online resources.