CUID

The CUID or Columbia University ID is the official ID card for Columbia students and faculty.

Flex

Off-campus flex

At least since 1996, Columbia students have been pushing for the ability to use Flex dollars at local businesses, especially restaurants. This has not been implemented largely because every CUID contains the owner's Social Security number in its barcode and magnetic strip. This could allow local businesses to harvest SSNs.

The university has only recently announced a Secure Identity and Access Control project to replace SSNs with University-assigned ID numbers by September 2007. Once all students have been issued with new ID cards in Fall 2007, the off-campus flex plan will be feasible.