Students, faculty and staff started using digital IDs at the Truxal library and the fitness center this semester.
The college will no longer issue physical IDs except for some students, faculty or staff who are required to have one, such as public safety officers or students taking clinicals, according to Information Center Manager Heather McFarland. However, services on campus, like the library and fitness center, and off-campus businesses that offer student discounts, will still accept physical ID cards from those who already have one.
McFarland said those who are required to have a physical card can email idcard@aacc.edu to get one.
“I think it’s more convenient and more flexible,” Executive Director of Strategic Communications Dan Baum said of the digital ID. “Students don’t have to come to campus, go get their photo taken [and] have the ID. They can do it all themselves. … It creates a little more flexibility, too, going forward.”
To get a digital ID, students, faculty and staff can download the app TouchNet 360u on Apple or Android devices, log in through their AACC account and upload their photo.
Baum said students can use their preferred name for a digital ID.
Erin Setters, an Information Center agent, said some users were having problems with the app at first.
“Some is user error, and then some has been technical issues, but thankfully [they] have been resolved,” Setters said. “I would recommend if someone is experiencing a technical issue like that to … please email us.”
Some students said they never used a physical ID.
However, first-year transfer studies student Josh Garza said he would use an online ID because “if it’s digital, [it’s] just kind of … easier, and most of the stuff is online anyways.”