“I would like to respond to the recent article in the Buchtelite,Zip Card office lets down students. You described a situation in which you lost your Zip Card and went to the Zip Card Office to get it replaced. As you may know, the Zip Card is used as an ID card, a key card, library card, debit card, access card for athletic events and Rec Center, as well as for other functions that various departments establish.”
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I would like to respond to the recent article in the Buchtelite,Zip Card office lets down students.

You described a situation in which you lost your Zip Card and went to the Zip Card Office to get it replaced.

As you may know, the Zip Card is used as an ID card, a key card, library card, debit card, access card for athletic events and Rec Center, as well as for other functions that various departments establish. Many of the functions are controlled with a single database and therefore are immediately executed. Other functions are controlled by their hosted departments and changes take a little longer.

The key card function of the Zip Card is handled by another department on campus. The staff of the Zip Card office forwards new card information to that department.

However, the changes in locking are made by that office, not the Zip Card Office, so the Zip Card staff informed you that the change would take effect the next morning. Locking Systems and Residence Life have temporary cards and other procedures in place to accommodate students who are waiting for their card to be activated or have misplaced their card.

While it is true that the Locking Systems Department office closes at 3:30, it opens at 7 a.m. so the changes that they receive after they close are implemented bright and early the next morning (even before the Zip Card office and other offices on campus open at 8 a.m.)!

We agree that if the office is open, it should be able to do everything a student might need associated with it. The Zip Card Office didn’t let you down; they performed their duties to the best of their ability within their control.

I think that you will find that our operations appreciate and value student input. We are constantly searching for opportunities to improve and innovate.

In that regard, we have previously been working with Locking Systems on methods for electronically updating our two systems so that the lag time will be reduced or eliminated. We will be able to consider this innovation when their current campus-wide software upgrade is complete.

You are encouraged to let us know how we can continue to serve and provide value to your experience here at the University of Akron.

Dean Goumas

Director, Auxiliary Business Operations

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