HID Global has announced that George Mason University has chosen several of its secure identity solutions to improve campus security, make its end-to-end card-issuance capabilities more efficient and connect card holders to new services and departments on campus. Specifically, the university is using a comprehensive "one card" solution to upgrade its Mason ID card to a more secure, flexible student ID system that includes RFID technology.

The solutions, according to HID Global, are designed to provide the university with a strategic migration path from legacy magnetic stripe (magstripe) cards to new contactless technology that offers security and privacy protection for its campus, students and staff. The new Mason ID card enables the school to meet the growing demands of its campus, the company reports, by providing a single ID that can be used to securely connect users with multiple applications, services and departments.

The system includes HID Global multiClass SE card readers, as well as ASSA ABLOY Sargent Passport locks with embedded iClass SE technology, and Persona Campus Software. According to HID Global, the readers and locks feature built-in encryption for additional security and allow the university to use both legacy magstripe and new RFID cards simultaneously, thereby enabling a smooth technology migration over a longer period of time.

HID Global's Seos smart cards offer advanced security and interoperability between the new locks and readers, the company reports, while enabling multiple applications. The university deployed the firm's Omnikey desktop readers to extend the value of the Seos card by connecting it to multiple services, such as library check-out and cashless payment for meals in the cafeteria.

Finally, the university installed HID Global's Fargo DTC4500e ID card printers and encoders and Asure ID card-personalization software in its campus card office. The new Mason ID cards are personalized, with each card containing student information printed on it, and encoded and programmed in a single, inline issuance process. Issuance time has been reduced, data entry mistakes have been eliminated and the new ID cards are now printed with more durable lamination, HID Global notes.

George Mason University has installed approximately 3,500 HID Global readers and ASSA ABLOY locks, and has issued more than 12,000 Mason ID cards to incoming freshmen to date. The school expects to complete its card migration by 2017.

As the commonwealth of Virginia's largest public university, George Mason's campus has more than 30,000 students, as well as nearly 5,000 facility members and 2,000 contractors, all of whom require a Mason ID card to access facilities, resources and services. For nearly a decade, HID Global explains, the university has issued magstripe ID cards that rely on older security technology that lacked the cryptographic capabilities of smart cards, making them susceptible to cloning and counterfeiting. Additionally, the company says, these cards wore out quickly and cost the school time and money to replace.