George Mason University Makes a Smooth Jump to Mobile Access
Fairfax-based George Mason University is Virginia's largest public research university, serving more than 40,000 students and 10,000 faculty and staff across three regional campuses, five instructional sites, and an international campus in Songdo, South Korea. Faced with rising head counts and a long-standing focus on providing safe, secure and simplified access to buildings and services, George Mason was looking to build upon their existing card-based credential program. Their goal was to grant ID cardholders mobile access to everything from parking to residence and dining halls to libraries and shopping.
Even though there was a solid process in place, they still needed to reduce the cost and administrative burden caused by stolen and lost cards, as well as to find a more convenient way to manage changes in student user statuses — without compromising operational efficiency or security.
It became clear that mobile access was the best way "to make it safe, easy and seamless for people to navigate their way around campus,” in the words of Daniel W. Anthes, the university's Director of Technology Services. “Eventually, we reached the point that the switch to mobile credentialling was a straightforward next phase."
How did they do it? What results are they seeing? And why was this leap so seamless?