In compliance with recent legislation, BYU will begin issuing some 50,000 new photo ID cards for all students, faculty, employees and affiliates Tuesday, Jan. 20.

In accordance with State Bill 81, which was passed last year and places restrictions on issuing photo identification, BYU will only be able to issue photo ID cards to all its students by displaying its intent as a campus-use only document on the face of the card.

In addition, the new ID cards will have additional security features, identify the bearer as an administrator, faculty member, student or employee and have an expiration date. The new ID cards will be issued over the next several months.

Rachel Engler, an office supervisor at the Signature Card and ID Center, said while BYU cannot control how off-campus businesses handle the new ID cards, it can control how it is treated on campus.

"Our choice is to obey the law," she said.

Craig Schow, manager of the signature and ID card system, said BYU had already been considering changing the ID cards.

"We were already starting to take a look at some of these issues," he said. With the state legislature passing the bill and the university mulling over the idea of new photo ID cards, he said it was "an appropriate time for us to really take a look at the card and redo the card."

BYU will deactivate all old ID cards on July 1, the day the new law goes into effect. Scott Hunt, a product line manager at the Office of Information Technology, said students have been assigned a priority window to get their signature card re-issued based on the first digit of their student number and the first letter of their last name. The dates can be found on BYU's ID Center Web site. In addition, University Communications will notify students of their priority window through e-mail.

"We would encourage students to come during the time frame listed at the site," Hunt said.

Students coming to receive their new student ID should bring their old card and be dressed and groomed in accordance with the Honor Code. Students will not be charged for the new photo ID cards, he said.

Schow said the transition from an old card to a new card should be seamless.

"You shouldn't have any problem with using your old card up to the time you come in and get the new card," he said. "When you leave here, your new card should work in most of the applications as soon as you leave."

Students who are about to graduate, go on a mission or leave Provo for an extended period of time do not need to get a new ID card, Schow said.

Most staff and faculty ID cards, including those for adjunct professors, will be valid for six years, according to the Web site. Students, students' spouses and their dependents will need to renew their cards every two years.

David Premont, a junior from Olney, Md., studying political science, said that while he had not heard about the new student ID card issue, he was not worried about it.

"I don't see it being that big of a deal, other than the fact that you have to go get it renewed every two years," he said. "Some people are really busy and don't have time to go get a new picture, but it took me less than five minutes the first time I did it, so it can't be that bad."

Some new ID cards will see a name change as well. Students using a preferred name will be able to have that name printed on their new ID card. Students can change their preferred name on Route Y. A preferred name must be a derivative of the person's legal name, and the ID Center reserves the right to determine the legitimacy of preferred names, Hunt said.

Jessica Stahl, a junior and pre-communications major from Pittsburgh, Pa., goes by the name, "Jessie." She said she would take advantage of the new name policy.

"I'd put my preferred name on there," she said. "I only use my full name because it's such a common name."

Students at BYU's Salt Lake Center will be issued at future date, while proximity cards for people with high-security access will be issued beginning May 1. Some people who are issued a new card will have more than one primary role. Hunt said that while only one role will be displayed on the card, the bearer will be identified in all his or her primary roles when it is swiped.

More information about BYU's new photo ID cards, including the distribution schedule, can be found at the signaturecard.byu.edu.

Copyright Brigham Young University 15 Jan 2009