Most students, faculty and staff know about the hassles that go along with getting a new UB card: the trip to the UB Mart and the fees charged for replacing a lost, damaged or stolen card. Within the last year, the prices for replacing a UB Card have increased by five dollars, a cause of annoyance among the student body.
Senior Brad Little, a legal studies major, said he has had to purchase at least eight new cards since his freshman year.
"Of course the fees go up, it's UB," said Little. "Everything increases . anything to make a buck."
Matthew Van Horn, a senior business major, agreed.
"I don't think they need any more money from us," said Van Horn. "I'm already paying to go here, so I need [the money] more than they do."
Fee charges are determined by whether the card was lost, damaged or stolen, and how many times a student has needed a card replacement. Fees begin at $5 for a broken card and $15 for a lost card. The fees increase in $5 increments each time a student needs his or her card replaced.
"My card was stolen, yet I'm being punished by paying a $15 fee," said Kimberly Terry, a sophomore majoring in business management. "I felt like I was being punished for something I did not do, since my card was stolen."
According to Maxine Statton, a data entry clerk in the UB Card Office, the policy on stolen cards was changed last summer so a student no longer has to pay a fee if his or her card was stolen, provided that he or she filed a police report.
Tobey Hayduk, a sophomore psychology major, had his card stolen but did not have to pay to get a new one.
"It was easy and simple to have my card account frozen and a new card issued because it was stolen . so I didn't have to pay," he said.
The UB card is essential to the day-to-day lives of almost all students, since the card is needed for entrance into the residence halls, to use meal plans in on-campus dining areas, to take out books at the library and even as a form of photo identification when taking exams.
For this reason, students may resent having the inconvenience further aggravated by penalization by the university.
"Not only did I have to pay for a new card, but I couldn't eat on campus when I was looking for the one I lost, nor could I go to the gym or get swiped into my own apartment," said Nicholas Masiello, a graduate student double majoring in chemical engineering and business administration.
Little described himself as "heated" when he learned he had to continually pay fees to replace his UB Card. "The cards are so easy to break and you really mean to tell me it costs them $15 to replace those things" asked Little.
According to Mitch Green, executive director of the Faculty Student Association, funds generated by the card replacement fee do not go just towards paying for a new UB card. The funds are given to FSA, which puts the funds into a general revenue pool along with other profits such as orientation fees and campus cash vendors. The money is used to pay for the rent of the UB Card Office as well as staff licensing fees and equipment.
Lost, stolen or broken cards must be deactivated and the account switched over to the new cards before Computer Technology Services can reprint and issue them to students.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
