CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University Carbondale's switch to new identification cards has entered full swing as the fall semester approaches, and university officials believe the transition will be easier on everyone the sooner people swap out their cards.

Old ID cards, which used Social Security numbers to identify students and faculty, will become completely invalid Oct. 1, said Jeffrey Duke, deputy director of the SIUC Student Center. New cards will instead use a nine-digit "Dawg Tag" that will be randomly assigned to each cardholder.

Changes are designed "to help students with identity theft and things like that," Duke said. "We started by taking the (Social Security) numbers off the front (of the card), and now this will be the last step to take them off the magnetic strip."

Until Oct. 1, many campus services will continue to accept the old ID cards, but some are already enforcing use of the Dawg Tag ID. Joe Janowiak, supervisor at SIUC's Student Recreation Center, said those trying to use the facility will need to have the updated card.

Susan Tulis, associate dean of information services for Morris Library, said while old cards can be used, library patrons can save themselves and library employees time and hassle by switching to the new card.

"Every time they come in and want to check something out, we'll have to look them up and find their Dawg Tag," she said. "It's going to increase the time it takes them to do a transaction at the library."

Students and faculty planning to use the library's online services to request materials, access journals or check their account will also need a Dawg Tag ID to access online systems, Tulis said.

Fall distribution of new ID cards began Monday and will continue through Aug. 22. Cards were also distributed through the summer semester and about 50 percent of the nearly 23,000 cards that need to be replaced have been distributed, Duke said. About 1,000 cards can be produced each day.

"Obviously we don't want 12,000 people left coming over on Oct. 1," Duke said.

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Students, faculty and affiliates of SIUC can pick up their new ID cards in the Kaskaskia/Missouri Room of the Student Center during the following hours:

Today through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Aug. 18 through Aug. 22: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.