Student ID cards: printed, encoded, delivered
A very successful project has vastly changed how we produce student ID cards, says Geraldine Rowe of Information Services – and we’re already counting the benefits.
In August 2017, we told you about Edinburgh Napier’s project to outsource student ID card production to a card bureau service for this academic year. The project had two main aims: to free up our iPoints, and to deliver an efficient, cost-effective service to students.
Burall InfoSmart provides the new service, which includes not only the printing and encoding of the card but also its delivery (by post) to the student’s contact address. A new Photo Manager application was developed to enable students to submit their ID photos online. While a card is being processed, the student can use an electronic version of it – available via our new iNapier App – to access University resources.
Now operational for five months, the new service has supported both our September and January intakes of students. As of mid-January 2018, there have been:
- 8,385 new student cards printed
- 10,052 student cards printed in total (including reprints for existing students)
- 6,455 photos uploaded via Photo Manager
- 11,700 downloads of the iNapier App.
The resource efficiencies and cost savings are stacking up nicely as a result. Previously, our iPoints would be regularly tied up with the processing of student photos, and the printing and distribution of student cards. So far, the project has saved 116 days of iPoint time, if we say that processing takes five minutes per card (and that’s a conservative estimate).
Our students benefit from reduced costs as well as processing times. The project has cut the production cost per card from around £2.47 to £1.65 – adding up to a saving of £8,250 in 2017/18 alone. We typically turn around cards faster than the five calendar days set as the target processing time. Currently, it takes four calendar days on average to print and post a student card – more than 60% of cards are processed within this time frame. Teething problems slowed the process initially, so turnaround times are only expected to improve next academic year.
A survey also revealed that 73% of students thought it was convenient to receive the card in the post. Students also provided positive feedback about the service:
“Card arrived when I needed it and the process was easy.”
“I liked the online process, was clear and easy.”
“Overall good service.”
Having a handy digital card available via the iNapier App has been hugely popular with students, who can use it to borrow from the library and access other resources. A partnership with Lothian Regional Transport means that our students can also access discounted travel when they present their electronic card.
We have plans to hone the production process further for 2018/19, including by developing:
- an iNapier App interface that can notify students when a card has been posted
- improvements to the Photo Manager application
- a web payment portal which can accept replacement card orders.
Information Services has managed the project since the outset with the help of the School Support Service. Several teams have been involved, including Student Administration and International Programmes, and both the Information and Applications System Development teams in Information Services.