2008 Woodie Awards
Former student still access rec, dining hall
Adam Ziegler
Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: News
Last Friday, Joel Elson used his NCard to open a newspaper box near Love Library, hit up the Campus Recreation Center and get into a dining hall, just as thousands of other University of Nebraska-Lincoln students are able to do.
But Elson isn't a UNL student anymore. He began attending UNL in the fall semester of 2006 and left last semester to attend WyoTech in Laramie, Wyo., next fall.
Friday was the first and only time Elson had tried using his NCard since he left UNL last December.
"I couldn't see how it would work since they deactivate the card when you leave," he said.
Elson shouldn't have been able to use his NCard for campus services. University officials have no way of knowing how pervasive the problem of former students using their NCards is.
NCards are supposed to become inactive at any point when a student isn't registered for classes, said Becky Henderson, a sophomore English major who works in the NCard office. Students not registered for class shouldn't be able to use their NCards for any campus services.
Christopher Dulak, assistant director for marketing and development for the Campus Recreation Center, said the rec has heard of former students using their NCards to get into the building. Students get access to the rec based on whether they've paid a fee with their tuition. In some cases, Dulak said, students who have recently left UNL can still use the rec because the fee is still covered by tuition paid before they left.
The rec center gets information on which students can use the facilities from the Office of the Bursar. If a student who no longer attends UNL hasn't been formally withdrawn and is still on the list, Dulak said they can still access the rec.
"Until they're out of the system, we can't do anything about it," Dulak said
While he doesn't think many former students still use the rec, he said it does concern him that someone not enrolled at the university can take advantage of its services.
But Elson isn't a UNL student anymore. He began attending UNL in the fall semester of 2006 and left last semester to attend WyoTech in Laramie, Wyo., next fall.
Friday was the first and only time Elson had tried using his NCard since he left UNL last December.
"I couldn't see how it would work since they deactivate the card when you leave," he said.
Elson shouldn't have been able to use his NCard for campus services. University officials have no way of knowing how pervasive the problem of former students using their NCards is.
NCards are supposed to become inactive at any point when a student isn't registered for classes, said Becky Henderson, a sophomore English major who works in the NCard office. Students not registered for class shouldn't be able to use their NCards for any campus services.
Christopher Dulak, assistant director for marketing and development for the Campus Recreation Center, said the rec has heard of former students using their NCards to get into the building. Students get access to the rec based on whether they've paid a fee with their tuition. In some cases, Dulak said, students who have recently left UNL can still use the rec because the fee is still covered by tuition paid before they left.
The rec center gets information on which students can use the facilities from the Office of the Bursar. If a student who no longer attends UNL hasn't been formally withdrawn and is still on the list, Dulak said they can still access the rec.
"Until they're out of the system, we can't do anything about it," Dulak said
While he doesn't think many former students still use the rec, he said it does concern him that someone not enrolled at the university can take advantage of its services.
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