The GOCard Office plans to launch a temporary card solution on March 1 for students, faculty and staff who misplace their primary card, according to Director of GOCard Services Roman Fahrmann.Users who lose or misplace their GOCards have, in the past, been required to pay a $25 fee to replace their card, Fahrmann said. With this new program, temporary cards would be issued for a one-week term until users can find their primary cards.

“We’ve always had feedback about the cost of replacement cards, and we’re trying to help out students who temporarily misplace cards,” Fahrmann said.

The temporary cards will look similar to the guest cards issued from GOCard vending machines, which are located in various on-campus locations such as Lauinger Library and O’Donovan Hall. Similar to the guest cards, they will serve as photo identification. Users will need to provide separate identification to certify transactions with the card. GOCard services is also working to make these cards available when the primary office is closed, Fahrmann said.

Rachel Braun (SFS ’12) said that she has been inconvenienced on multiple occasions after losing her GOCard over the weekend when the GOCard office is not open to dispense replacement cards. She cited difficulty accessing Leo’s and Lauinger Library until she could replace her card the following Monday.

“GOCard [Services] should realize that people tend to misplace or have cards stolen on the weekend, because people tend to get off campus more,” Braun said. “It’s harder to narrow down where you lose your card.”

The program is currently in its testing phase as GOCard service staff must ensure that the temporary solution is compatible with the several dozen types of card reader machines employed on campus and at neighborhood establishments.

A glitch in the GOCard system’s tests prevented some Henle Village residents from accessing their apartments last Friday through Sunday, Fahrmann said.

ike McClain (SFS ’12) swiped his card repeatedly on Friday to access his Henle apartment; the scanner signaled a flashing yellow light, rather than the green light that grants access to a stairwell. A replacement card from GOCard services similarly failed to unlock the door, he said.

Henle residents, including Nafees Ahmed (COL ’12), had to keep their exterior doors propped open in order to enter their stairwells without functioning GOCards. Ahmed used an empty Snapple bottle, she said, while others placed rocks to block the doors from closing so they could access their apartments.

Students and faculty said that the temporary solution meant that the safety of the residents was compromised and unauthorized guests could access the stairwells of the apartment complex. Henle Area Director Aja Holmes sent an e-mail to students on Sunday urging them not to lodge open the doors.

According to Fahrmann, the lockout error occurred during a nightly upload to the GOCard reader, when information about the temporary cards was inadvertently uploaded to Henle’s door access scanners. The temporary card data prevented the normal GOCards from operating correctly. The card readers were functioning again by Sunday afternoon, Fahrmann said.