CUID

The CUID or Columbia University ID is the official ID card for Columbia students and faculty. It prominently features the ugly mug shot you sent in over the summer before your freshmen year unless you get lose it and ask for a new shot with the replacement card. However, Alma Mater gets more real estate on the card than your face though. Saving grace?

Privileges

What it's good for

• Swiping into Columbia's restricted access buildings. Depending on your privileges, these may include CC/SEAS residence halls, Dodge Physical Fitness Center, and the libraries.
• Swiping into John Jay Dining Hall and Hewitt Dining Hall.
• Swiping into Lerner Hall.
• Swiping into IAB.
• Paying with Flex or Dining Dollars at Dining Services locations, the Columbia Bookstores, and many vending machines.
• Getting into most of the major New York City museums for free via Passport to New York.
• Getting into Bobst Library at at NYU.
• Getting into all Columbia athletics events for free.

What it's not good for

• Swiping into Barnard dormitories, unless you live in one, like Plimpton.
• Getting into academic buildings, except IAB, at night unless you have special access
• Getting you laid.

Meal Plan

Columbia First Year students are required to enroll in the meal plan, which consists of 'meals' at John Jay (exchangeable with Hewitt- nothing required. just go there to eat instead.), and Dining Dollars for spending at all other Dining Services locations. At Columbia, the Kosher Meal plan is a separate option. The Halal Meal option simply requires registering and getting a sticker on your CUID in 118 Hartley.

Most upperclassmen do not sign up for meals at John Jay, since it's significantly cheaper to eat out or even better, cook.

Conventional wisdom is "Most Points, Fewest Meals" because you can only eat 2 meals at John Jay a day, (Brunch and Dinner) and often you're going to want to eat from another location, often Ferris Booth or 212.

Dining Dollars

Dining Dollars are the 'points' you use to make purchases at all Dining Services locations other than John Jay (which I think accepts points- it just costs around 13 bucks, why would you do that?). For first year students, they are part of your meal plan, while upperclassmen can purchase them separately. Upperclassmen, and first years who run out of points, can add more points to their account at any time through SSOL. Dining Dollars do not expire, they roll over to the next semester until you graduate. Then they expire.

Dining Services offers discounts to upperclassmen who purchases points and meals in bulk over the summer in advance of the year. A student once calculated that it's possible to buy enough points so that with discount, if you use those points just to eat at John Jay Dining Hall, it would be cheaper than to purchase the equivalent number of meals. And even then you'd have the flexibility of eating elsewhere.

An advantage of using Dining Dollars to make purchases instead of Flex is that there is no taxes on your dining dollars purchases.

First Year Points

Technically speaking, first years 'First Year Points' with their meal plan. The major difference between First Year Points and Dining Dollars is that the FYP allotted with the meal plan you overpaid for do not roll over. For example, if you get the 500 point plan, you get 500 points for the Fall, and an additional 500 points for the spring. If you don't spend them all by the end of the Spring semester, they disappear forever. Consider just buying tons of water bottles and non-perishable groceries from JJ's Place in the Spring to make sure you get your money's worth somewhat. Throw a giant chips and soda party. Ship the stuff home. Whatever. If you have too many points at the end of the Semester, Iris (the JJ's Place cashier) will berate you.

"Every month, I get $100 of dining dollars. When it comes up on the bill, my parents think it's some kind of standard charge."

Flex Account

See the main article at Flex.

Passport to New York

• See main Passport to New York article.

Passport is a program sponsored by the Office of the Provost, and the Columbia Arts Initiative, which allows all Columbia graduate and undergraduate students free access to 28 different New York City museums and institutions.

Secure Identity and Access Control Project

In 2004 the University created a task force to explore an overhaul of the CUID system in order to protect private information of student, such as their Social Seurity numbers which are currently the primary ID numbers embedded in the system, and allow the flexibility to use the system for off-campus purchasing. The University had been aware of the security problem since 2003. With approval from the Trustees, the overhaul plan was announced in October of 2005 with a time line calling for implementation by New Year's 2008. Shockingly, it appears that the University will make it's deadline, with complete overhaul expected by the end of 2007. The "Secure Identity and Access Control" project, a $6 million undertaking by Student Services (which oversees the ID Center), will replace SSNs with University-assigned randomized ID numbers. In addition, the cards will incorporate a magnetic wire allowing the University the option of replacing certain swipe boxes around campuses to 'proximity boxes.' The Med Center is already taking steps to take advantage of this option. The University will be overhauling it's database system as well, allowing students to register guests online rather than in person. Once all 80,000 students, faculty, and staff have been issued new ID cards by the end of Fall 2007, the off-campus flex plan will be feasible, and possible as early as 2008.

According to Lisa Hogarty, executive vice president of student and administrative services, "What most universities have done is just taken the Social [Security number] off the card. Once we finish this project, Columbia will be best in class." Considering that Columbia was among the last Ivy schools to address the SSN-related security concerns, and that peer schools have had FlexLife type programs and proximity box based access systems for years, the statement sounds a bit like self-congratulatory back-slapping and begs the question, "Well what the hell took so long?"

Replacing your CUID

You can replace your ID by going to the ID Center on the lower level of Kent Hall. It's more easily accessed from College Walk than the upper campus level entrance of Kent.

Tips and tricks

• You can only sign in guests to the dormitory you live in, which is designated by a sticker. If it peels off, get it replaced in 125 Hartley.
• Make sure you keep your ID stickers up to date- get a new semester sticker each semester, lest some draconian jerk accuse you of using an expired ID
• You can use your CUID to swipe into certain buildings late at night. Most handy is IAB, which you can access at all hours in order to get to it's vast bank of Vending Machines, or to take a shortcut to EC or Wien when you're coming south along Amsterdam Ave.
• Your CUID can function as an over-21 ID on campus. On your 21st birthday go to the ID Center and request an over-21 replacement ID and you'll be issued a new ID for free with a bright red stripe where it says 'student'. This is also a handy way to replace a worn out ID for free.

External links

• ID Center website