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Client Success Story - Grinnell College

Grinnell College
Founded in 1854, the township of Grinnell is named after abolitionist Josiah Bushnell Grinnell, the young man to whom Horace Greeley reportedly gave his famous advice: “Go West, young man, go West.” Grinnell College, one of the first liberal arts colleges west of the Mississippi to award a BA degree, traces its history back to 1846, the year Iowa College was formed in Davenport, Iowa. Thirteen years later, the college was relocated to the quiet community of Grinnell, Iowa, and unofficially renamed in honor of its new benefactor, J.B. Grinnell. In 1909 the name Grinnell College was adopted by the trustees for the institution.

The Grinnell College Pioneer One-Card

In the fall of 2001, Grinnell College upgraded from CBORD's OmniONE™ system to the Odyssey PCS™ software in response to students' requests for the college to move to a more encompassing campus identification, service, and proximity card. The students at Grinnell were burdened with both a plastic proximity card for access to residence halls and campus facilities, and a campus identification card for access to dining facilities. Grinnell students, faculty, and staff all wanted a new system in which one card could do it all!

The new Pioneer One-Card, or P-Card, is a combination of proximity (secure access to residence halls and other campus facilities), campus identification, library, and debit cards. This allows for much more flexibility than was available with the previous system and has increased interdepartmental communication among several offices and eliminated duplicate tasks performed by staff members.

Since fall 2001 the P-Card has been used at the college bookstore and Burling Library, for vending and laundry machines, and at student residence and dining halls. In addition to the P-Card for students, staff, and faculty, Grinnell offers a guest card that is available from the Pioneer One-Card office or from its ValuePort (an add-value station) for a one-time fee of $1.00. Guests may deposit cash into a P-Card account in any denomination. The guest cards do not expire and can be reused.

"Grinnell's students, staff, and faculty have found the Pioneer One-Card very convenient and really appreciate the flexibility of the card," says Barb Shell from the Office of Dining Services and the Pioneer One-Card.

"P-Card administrators find CBORD® personnel helpful and resourceful, and the ability to run system reports is valued by several campus offices. Additionally, the ability to 'capture' cash from parents/visitors at the beginning of the school year is financially beneficial to our institution, and reassuring to parents. Campus cash is accessible to the card carrier at any time, day or night."

CBORD Configuration

The Grinnell College Odyssey PCS system includes vending readers, ValuePort stations, Nebraska Bookstore interface, DataCard ID Works interface, MICROS® 2700 terminals, Lyric card readers, laundry controllers, and copier readers.

At-A-Glance:
Grinnell

CBORD Systems:
• Odyssey PCS™ for College & Univ.
Client Since:
1985
Location:
Grinnell, IA
Quick Facts:
• Private, four-year Liberal Arts College
• 1,350 on-campus students from all 50 states and 48 countries
• 120-acre campus
• 365-acre environmental research area
Applications:
• Dining
• Convenience Stores
• Bookstore
• Cafeteria
• Library
• On-line Vending
• Laundry
• Copying
• Box office
• Door Access
• Mailroom
• ValuePorts
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