Penn State announced plans to make its mobile id+ card the university’s primary credential. The university seeks to promote its digital campus initiative by allowing faculty, students, and staff to enter campus facilities with their iPhone, Apple Watch, or Android devices.

Although most of the university’s housing and food services buildings have already been using the mobile id+ cards, Penn State is expanding the contactless method to the rest of its facilities across University Park and other commonwealth campuses.

New card-access readers and electronic doors are being installed in buildings at Penn State’s Behrend, Beaver, Greater Allegheny, Harrisburg, and Mont Alto campuses. These campuses will be the first to implement mobile-first technologies by this upcoming summer semester.

Penn State will replace all magnetic stripe readers with mobile-first technology at the remaining Commonwealth campuses. It’s expected that all residence halls, administrative facilities, and academic buildings at Penn State campuses will be compatible with mobile id+ cards by summer 2025.

Once all campuses have upgraded new card access readers, physical id+ cards will only be issued with certain exceptions. All students are then expected to use their mobile id+ cards when accessing university facilities.