Americans lose up to one hour per day waiting in line, which increases the pressure to boost productivity through multitasking.

Students at colleges and universities are experiencing the same phenomenon, causing campuses to seek applications that increase convenience – including a more efficient check-in, an often exhausting process that can overwhelm staff and students alike.

“Check-in historically has involved a lot of time-consuming, one-on-one interaction, with almost every new and returning resident,” says Anthony Zamora, Head of IT support for the University of San Diego (USD).

“This can be a long and arduous process with the potential for mistakes and a stressful process for our students and staff.”

Students checking in at USD have stood in line for up to three hours, according to Anthony Zamora, but the problem is not limited to San Diego.

Institutions nationwide have sought to evolve check-in procedures with customisable solutions that can effectively support students and staff throughout the year.

In 2000, after having Onity Integra locks installed on campus for approximately one year, Carnegie Mellon University approached Onity about installing an Integra Kiosk, so that students and workers could independently change the PINs for their key cards.

Onity, provider of electronic locking solutions, is part of UTC Fire & Security, a unit of United Technologies. The first Integra Kiosk, which was located outside of the Housing Office, quickly gained recognition.

Onity developed a Kiosk that allowed students and workers to encode their own ID cards for residence hall access. Since that first installation, Onity has helped schools of all sizes manage the procedure more conveniently.

The Onity Integra Kiosk affords the option for students and faculty to encode and activate their ID cards without the supervision of a personnel member and it permits users to change their personal identification number PIN) as frequently as they want, at any time of the day or night.

The University of San Diego (USD) found that the Integra Kiosk decreased the University’s check-in wait times by more than 50%.

“Students appreciate that ID cards are created and pre-encoded when they arrive, so it cuts waiting in line to as little as 30 minutes,” Anthony Zamora says.

“They also have the freedom and option to customize their cards using the Kiosks throughout the year – greatly improving our check-in process,” says Anthony Zamora.

Integra Kiosk features:

  • Flexible ISO track data management
  • PIN change at Kiosk
  • Convenient access – 24 hours a day, seven days a week
  • Recharging station for Security Plus users
  • Key/ID card update at Kiosk
  • Touch-screen operation
  • Customisable for each campus
  • Available in desktop or console cabinet

Benefits students and staff
With busy schedules among both students and housing staff, it could often be difficult for students to receive assistance when they needed it, particularly during non-office hours.

According to Stan Duci, Director of customer service for Northeastern’s Facilities Division, their students no longer needs to meet with housing staff for their room assignments.

“The Onity Kiosks have decreased check-in time significantly. And while the Kiosks are great for students, our staff love them too because they can be utilized at any time of the day.”

“The Kiosks save the students a lot of time and hassle,” says Dan Yanna, Director of facilities for Shepherd. Shepherd University, located in Shepherd, W. Va., started using Kiosks in 2004 and plans to add more to the five already utilized on campus.

In addition to convenience, Onity Kiosks also feature customisation options, such as Internet access that provide users with campus and community information, university resources, weather, news, restaurants and maps.