Starting early next month students, faculty and staff will be issued randomly generated identification numbers as the University will begin phasing out its use of Social Security numbers for campus administrative purposes.
Members of the GW community will receive what is being termed a GWid, or new identification number, by the first weekend in February, University officials said. Alexa Kim, GW’s executive director of Information Systems and Services Technology Services, said the switch is being made to reduce the risk of identity theft. The University has been working on the switch since fall 2004, Kim said.
Residents of D.C., have experienced more incidents of consumer fraud than any other U.S. city’s residents, and people between the ages of 18 and 29 are at the highest risk, according to reports from the Federal Trade Commission.
Kim said the use of Social Security numbers will not be completely eradicated from the University since they are needed for services such as financial aid, payroll and tax reporting. During the switch, students, faculty and staff will be able to use either identification number, until fall 2006.
ISS and the Gelman Library Information Technology Office are the two main departments coordinating the switch, which entails mainly enhancing the information system, Banner, to generate GWid numbers and implement them in the University’s records, Kim said.
GW is one of many universities phasing out the use of Social Security numbers for administrative purposes, and several schools already have a new identification program in place. Georgetown University is almost done with its switch, said Sulay Alvarenga of the school’s Technology Center.
“It’s practically finalized,” Alvarenga said. “Even professors are using (the new system) for exams.”
New York University spokesman John Beckman said it’s been more than a year since it began to switch from using Social Security numbers to randomly generated ID numbers. He said the process went smoothly.
American University spokesperson Maralee Csellar said the school changed its system to accommodate random ID numbers in 2000 and circulated new ID cards for students, faculty and staff in 2003. American now uses the new ID numbers for almost everything, Csellar said.
Kim said GW has spoken with universities across the country as well as those in the D.C. area to gain “valuable insight” about the experience of using a system that does not heavily involve the use of Social Security numbers.
“We believe it is to our advantage that GW is not one of the first universities to implement a non-SSN identifier,” she wrote. “One of the major advantages is that we have been able to be thorough in our research and approach.”
In 2004, University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg estimated the change would cost GW $3 million, but in September Kim said the University believed it could convert its identification system for “significantly less money.” Kim said the cost of the project is not available at this time.
Several GW students believe that the frequent use of Social Security numbers can be dangerous. Freshman Courtney Segal said she remembers an incident during her orientation where she had been handed a piece of paper with students’ Social Security numbers by accident.
“It was one of the sheets telling me my schedule for meeting with my adviser, and then I noticed there was something wrong with the print,” she said. The paper had apparently been reused and there were two documents, her schedule and a list of names and corresponding Social Security numbers, printed on the same piece of paper by mistake. Others said that they were not bothered by using their Social Security numbers to access University databases.
“I think in a way it’s not safe because we use our Social Security numbers everywhere, but it’s convenient that we’re using a familiar number, so I don’t mind it the way it is,” freshman Auzin Rafiee said.
While Kim said that having to memorize new identification numbers is a “disadvantage” to the switch, she thinks that overall the change will have a positive effect on the University.
“GW is committed to protecting the privacy of its students, faculty and staff, and reducing the use of SSNs is one way we can help that effort,” Kim wrote.
Kim encouraged students to visit http://gwid.gwu.edu for more information.
