BruinCard to undergo technology upgrade, redesign

The BruinCard is up for a facelift this year, as part of a more than $1 million system upgrade project.

The software and hardware behind the BruinCard are out of date and need to be updated if UCLA plans to continue using the cards, said Marsha Lovell, director of UCLA Business and Finance Services who oversees the BruinCard Center.

Funding for the upgrade will come from the Office of the Chancellor and different departments across campus that use the BruinCard, such as UCLA Housing and Hospitality Services and UCLA Transportation Services.

As part of the project, UCLA officials plan to add a computer chip to the BruinCard that would allow students to tap or wave the card to pay for items or sign in to events, Lovell said. She added that the price for a replacement BruinCard is not set because UCLA officials haven’t determined the exact type and design of the upgrade.

Students with the current BruinCards will not be required to purchase new ones after the change, Lovell said.

In the coming weeks, students will also be asked to submit BruinCard design ideas for the chance of winning a prize, said Undergraduate Students Association Council President John Joanino.

For the design change, Joanino said he is pushing for the BruinCard to feature more information about emergency services specific to UCLA students. He said he wants the numbers for UCPD, the UCLA Rape Treatment Center and UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services on the card, among others.

“It would be useful (for the card to contain more safety information), considering it’s the one things that all students have to have,” Joanino said.

Christina Huguet, a third-year political science student, said she likes the way UCLA’s current BruinCard looks, but she thinks adding more emergency phone numbers to the BruinCard would benefit students.

Plans for the specific BruinCard design are undecided, but the card must include some key features, such as a student’s name, university ID number and a magnetic strip, as well as follow certain UCLA style guidelines for font sizes and colors, Lovell said.

Lovell added that there is limited space on the card, so it may be difficult to add much new information to it.

Laurel Shoop, a first-year undeclared student, said she thinks UCLA should consider adding a photo of the Bruin Bear statue to the card because it is an iconic UCLA sight.

“I like how Royce is on (the BruinCard),” Shoop said. “It’s cool. It’s the essence of UCLA.”

Lovell said the BruinCard upgrade will likely take more than a year, but UCLA officials hope to complete the project during 2015.

Contributing reports by Alisha Rosenwein-Noss, Bruin contributor.

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