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Client Success Story - Villanova University

Villanova University enhances student services with CS Gold

Founded in 1842 by the Friars of the Order of St. Augustine, Villanova University is the oldest and largest Catholic university in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The university enrolls more than 6,300 undergraduates and is well respected for both its commitment to academic excellence and the quality of its athletics program. The Villanova Wildcard, known within its community as “the key to Villanova,” brings a wide variety of services to students and staff, and is supported by the CS Gold® campus card system from CBORD®.

The Card Office Redefined

Villanova’s Wildcard Office is known in the campus card industry for its commitment to enhancing card-based student services. Rather than focusing solely on traditional card office responsibilities, Villanova has expanded the Wildcard offering into new services such as online laundry management, sports lottery solutions, and more.

“This one little card does a lot here at Villanova,” says Kathy Gallagher, Director of the Wildcard Office at Villanova University. “We use the cards for identification, meal plan access, and privilege control, but also for off-campus spending, printing, banking, vending machine purchases, athletics ticketing, and even laundry management. Our students want convenience, and we are always looking for ways in which the Wildcard can provide more of it.”

Online Laundry Management

Villanova implemented the CS Gold LaundryWeb solution in March 2007 to manage online laundry reservations. Branded “V-Laundry” on-campus, the system allows students, from the convenience of their dorm rooms, to

Search for available washers and dryers
View wait times for machines in use
Place temporary holds
Notify staff of malfunctioning machines
Anonymously alert previous users when their laundry is ready for removal
Receive email or text message notifications when machines become available

Gallagher has received a great deal of positive feedback from students since the launch of V-Laundry.

“I think we would have a rebellion on our hands if we took V-Laundry away at this point,” she laughs. “Students love the convenience it affords them. They are very busy, and the system helps them manage their time. We have even had students use the Comments box on the website to tell us how much they love it!”

Basketball Ticket Lottery

In addition to its solid academic reputation, Villanova is well known for the quality of its basketball program. The university’s stadium seats approximately 7,000 spectators, with 1,500 seats reserved exclusively for Villanova students.

Naturally, this leads to a great deal of competition among students to obtain tickets, so a lottery system has long been used to determine eligibility. The school began using CS Gold to manage its online basketball ticket lottery in fall 2007, replacing an older solution.

“We had a problem previously with tickets being sold to third parties, meaning the seats reserved for Villanova students weren’t necessarily used by students,” explains John Bonass, Campus Card Manager at Villanova University. “Under the new system, students’ paper tickets are replaced by their Wildcards, ensuring that Villanova seats are used only by Villanovans.”

The new system also provides a fairly weighted means of determining eligibility. The university didn’t want students missing class to be first in line for tickets, but it also wanted to reward true fans who attend as many games as possible—not just the most popular. The CS Gold online lottery solution met both of these needs.

Under the new weighting system:

If a student receives a ticket and attends the game, that student’s weighting goes up, increasing the likelihood of receiving a ticket in the future.
If a student receives a ticket and does not attend the game, the student’s weighting is decreased.
If a student receives a ticket and later learns he or she will not be able to attend, he or she can either
- Transfer the ticket to a friend (via an online process), or
- Return the ticket to a virtual recycling bin, allowing students on the waiting list to use it instead.
- Both of these options increase the student’s weighting in the lottery system.

“Our students really appreciate the fairly weighted system,” says Gallagher. “Plus, since the Wildcard acts as their ticket, we have the comfort of knowing the tickets won’t be resold. Our Villanova seats are being used only by Villanovans.”

Improving Student Services

Gallagher is quick to point out the importance of creativity in expanding the use of CS Gold.

“CS Gold lets you think outside the box—just ask,” she says. “Ask your account manager. Ask the engineers. Ask the user listserv. A little imagination can go a long way!” Stephen Fugale, Villanova’s Chief Information Officer, shares Gallagher’s view of student services.

“It’s all about people,” says Fugale. “I’ve yet to find a ‘silver bullet’ technology that addresses all of our customers’ needs. It’s the solutions and the service we bring our customers that make the difference for our campus.”

CBORD Across Campus

Villanova relies on CBORD solutions outside the card office as well. A long-time user of CBORD’s Foodservice Suite®, the system manages back-of-house food service operations such as menu and recipe management, inventory control, and nutritional analysis. Villanova also uses CBORD’s EventMaster® PLUS! catering and event management solution, and the MICROS® 9700 transaction processing platform.