Everyone is familiar with the photo ID cards used by students on a college campus. They provide access to dorm rooms, allow payment for meals, and are often used for public transportation, among many other things. In addition, in this day and age, many campuses are requiring teachers and staff to also have photo ID cards as one more way to ensure that only cleared people are on-campus at any point in time. Whether it is for primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, or universities, photo ID cards are universally recognized as a legitimate means of identifying the rights and privileges of people on campus.
But did you realize that photo ID cards can also be of great benefit to educational and training organizations which do not have a campus? InstantCard has, for years, supplied photo ID cards to traditional schools and colleges throughout the United States. But in recent years, we have noticed a sharp increase in the demand for ID cards from virtual campuses which are entirely online, and do not actually have any physical classrooms anywhere.
Virtual Schools, Physical IDs
Of course, this is in part due to the rapid growth of online learning. More and more coursework, at all levels of our educational system, is being made available online. But it is also a recognition that many of the services we take for granted in a traditional classroom environment need to be made available to students availing themselves of an online classroom experience.
The need for photo ID cards for students at virtual universities is quite clear. Many retail organizations offer student discounts, so an online student should have the same ability to benefit from preferential pricing as the student of a physical campus. Online students need to be able to prove their status in the same way that their counterparts at a traditional school can. Whether the student is in a K-12 program, or being home-schooled, or earning an advanced degree, they can and should benefit from discounts and special services available to them. This can include regular purchases at movie theaters or school supply stores, but can also include bigger-ticket items such as train or airplane tickets. In addition, there is a pride of being part of the educational system which is gained from a professionally printed photo ID card.
Teachers also require photo ID cards, even those instructors whose only job is teaching online. Having a professional photo ID card will entitle them to discounts at school supply stores, and any company which tries to support and encourage teachers, trainers, and tutors in our national educational system. Fortunately, many private and public organizations have understood the need to support education, and do in fact offer benefits to qualified individuals.
Easy & Inexpensive
The typical cost of an identity card, often around $10, is generally paid for through the discounts obtained during the very first purchase using the card. Clients of InstantCard have reported saving many times the cost of the card on the purchase of a laptop computer, for example, at major office supply stores or at Apple and Microsoft stores. And their savings continue every time they need new equipment or supplies to support their teaching efforts.
Of course, most online schools are not equipped to provide the service of printing and mailing photo ID cards. This is where InstantCard has developed a service especially designed for these organizations. We make it easy for the school, from its own website, to allow students or teachers to upload and crop their photo, then order the ID card for delivery directly to their homes. Some schools choose to include the cost of the card in their fees, others choose to have the student pay for the card online, as it is being ordered. But all schools appreciate the ability to satisfy the student demand for ID cards without having to incur the costs and challenges of printing and mailing.
InstantCard has also provided ID cards to many home-schooling organizations. Parents who choose to home school their children have the same needs as traditional schools, and they too want to give their children an ID card. The online services which InstantCard has developed for this market span the range from small home-school support organizations to large institutions.
Whether your website is simple and functional, or sophisticated and very hi-tech, we are confident that we can provide a cost-effective method of distributing high-quality ID cards to your students and staff.
