The campus I.D. office increased the fees for temporary and replacement I.D.'s by $15, according to Jeffrey Hurrin, assistant vice president for Student Affairs.
Prior to this semester, temporary I.D.'s were $5, while replacement I.D. cards were $20, Hurrin said. With the fee increase, however, a temporary I.D. card costs $20, and a replacement card costs $35.
Hurrin said the fee increase was mostly due to the time spent on the temporary and replacement I.D. card system. "In the previous year we were doing 900-plus temps," Hurrin said. "Time on task expensive."
Hurrin also said that too many students were using temporary I.D. cards as a convenience, or a way avoiding paying for a replacement cards. Hurrin said that some students were on their ninth I.D. card.
Hurrin said Seton Hall performed a random search of other schools to see what they charged, and Seton Hall's pricing was on the low side.
Hurrin said the school wanted to increase the value of the temporary I.D. card, which is good for seven days before a student must either find their old I.D. card or pay the additional $35 for the replacement card.
Sophomore Robert Keller said he lost his I.D. card within the last week walking home from the supermarket, and was unaware of the fee change when he went to Public Safety to get a temporary I.D. card.
Keller said he had to pay the temporary I.D. fee, and then the fee for the replacement card when he was unable to find his old card
"I think the prices are a little unreasonable, it's punishing someone for something that's occasionally beyond their control," Keller said.
Senior Caitlin Duffy said she lost her I.D. last winter break on her way home from working at WSOU for the day.
"I am almost positive it fell out of my pocket when I took my iPod out to change what I was listening to," Duffy said. "I realized when I got on the train, but it was already moving."
Duffy said she had to pay the original fee, $5 for a temporary I.D. and $20 for a replacement, which she felt was fair.
However, she called the new temporary I.D. fee "ridiculous," adding that last winter she experienced problems getting into areas of the school such as the cafeteria and the gym with her temporary I.D.
"I can understand maybe raising the cost $5 each time a replacement is needed, but I would rather glue my I.D. to my hand than pay $35 to replace it," Duffy said.
Hurrin said many schools Seton Hall looked at used a type of fee increase Duffy referred to, where each time a student had to purchase a new I.D. the price increased.
"Most did $20 for the first, $25 for the second, $30 for the third, etc.," Hurrin said, however, he said this method of charging students involved a lot of bookkeeping.
Sophomore Paul Singh, who said he had never lost his I.D. card and had not known about the fee increase, said he was "impartial" to the fee increase.
"It is an inconvenience to lose a card, but also an inconvenience to activate a new one," Singh said. "As a college student, however, anything that is cheaper is better."
Senior Jackson Hern said he had never lost an I.D. card, but was aware of the fee increase. "At first glance, it seems very shocking and unfair of the University to impose such a substantive late fee," Hern said. "From the perspective of the I.D. Office, however, it encourages more responsibility for personal property."
Hern said he felt the increased fee would lead to less people losing their I.D. cards, which he felt would increase campus security. "Fewer lost I.D.'s ensures that no unauthorized individuals can gain access to the unguarded gates or residence halls."
Hurrin said that while there would be no refunds for students who found their card after purchasing a temporary or replacement I.D. card, students who simply left their I.D. card in their room could gain entry to their dorms by asking the desk assistant to call Public Safety and Security to confirm your identity and that you are allowed access to the dorm.
Caitlin Carroll can be reached at caitlin.carroll@student.shu.edu.
Follow Caitlin on Twitter @caitigirl