Apple first added support for student cards in Apple Wallet with iOS 12 and watchOS 5, and since then, the feature has gradually expanded to more universities in the United States. Now, Purdue University has announced support for the feature, allowing students to add their ID to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet for the first time.
Purdue, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, announced the launch of Apple Wallet support in a press release on Wednesday. University officials say the feature offers students “the convenience they expect while maintaining security.” It will also significantly streamline the process for new student administration:
“We’re thrilled to build on our on-campus experience and roll out Purdue Mobile ID to our students,” said Loribeth Hettinger, senior associate bursar of ID Card Operations/Support. “This will greatly simplify some of our bottlenecks by streamlining our ID card distribution processes to our incoming freshmen while also meeting student expectations – and even save them the time and resources they end up spending when losing a physical card.”
Students at Purdue will be able to add their IDs to Apple Wallet, allowing easy access from iPhone and Apple Watch. Once students add their student ID to Apple Wallet, they can hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader anywhere physical student ID cards are accepted, including dorms, restaurants, campus buildings, and more.
Students are also excited about the new feature:
“Using a Purdue Mobile ID makes life so much easier,” said Ohinoiyi Momoh, an undergraduate student in the College of Liberal Arts. “It’s a lot more convenient to keep on my mobile device and makes it extremely easy to get into dining courts and my residence hall. I think students will appreciate having a Purdue Mobile ID.”
Purdue is also taking its adoption of digital student IDs a step further than many other schools. While current students will be able to keep and use physical ID cards, the university will stop issuing new students physical IDs to new students starting this summer:
Beginning this summer, all incoming undergraduate Purdue students will move to the Purdue Mobile ID and not be issued a physical ID card. This is part of the university’s Mobile First strategy, which seeks to eliminate the need for hard-copy ID cards for Purdue’s 50,000 students on the West Lafayette campus over the next few years.
Purdue students can learn more about getting started with digital IDs in Apple Wallet on the university’s website. As an IU alum, I can confidently say that Apple Wallet support for student IDs is the only good thing about Purdue.
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