University Senate Student Affairs Committee on Knight Express Card, March 2004

Rutgers University Senate
Student Affairs Committee
Report on Charge A-0315, Knight Express Card
March 2004

Original Charge A-0315, Knight Express Card Report: Review and comment on the Knight Express Card Committee Report.

The Knight Express Card Committee met from May of 2000 to May of 2001 and issued its final report to the University Senate on March 19, 2003 through the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. The Committee was tasked with examining a "student-sponsored initiative to extend the opportunities to use the Knight Express Card to off-campus locations/vendors."

The findings of the Knight Express Card Committee were to recommend that on-campus expansion for the use of Knight Express be prioritized over off-campus expansion, and that the issue of off-campus expansion be revisited once on-campus expansion is complete. The University Senate Student Affairs Committee (SAC) was charged with reviewing the report of the Knight Express Card Committee and issuing its own recommendations.

The Student Affairs Committee began its deliberations with the input of former Vice President for Student Services Emmet Dennis and Dean Marie Logue, both members of the original Knight Express Card Committee. This enabled the SAC to put the report into perspective and allowed members to gauge how else to seek input on the issue. It was determined that the SAC should ask Rutgers Division of Dining Services for an update on the on-campus expansion of Knight Express and an exploration of the barriers to off-campus expansion.

A presentation by Carolyn Knight-Cole, Associate Director of Business Affairs for Dining Services, enumerated the advances that have been made with extending Knight Express/RU Connection Card use to on-campus facilities. The following is a list of areas that have received Knight Express access:

Vending: 63 active vending units throughout New Brunswick/Piscataway in academic and residential areas

Facilities access: Knight Express/RU Connection Card enables access to recreational facilities, sporting events, residence halls, and computer labs

Purchases/expenditures: Knight Express can be used to pay library and parking fines, and can be used to make purchases at the pharmacies in the health centers; Knight Express can also be used to make copies in the Rutgers Student Center

Improvements are also being made to better serve students using Knight Express. A website for Knight Express is being developed where students would be able to track their balance and access statements, add money to their account, and deactivate their card in the event of theft or loss. The website will prospectively be online for the Fall 2004 semester. A meal exchange program is also being examined at Dudley’s on Douglass, and at the Livingston Campus Center. Dining services has eliminated the refund fee which previously had been charged at the end of the Spring semester, and has reduced the semesterly management fee from $10.00 to $5.00.

The next phase of on-campus expansion of the Knight Express Card will be to laundry facilities, which is likely to be completed within one year. Use of Knight Express for copying services in the libraries and other student centers is also being examined. Added vending units capable of utilizing Knight Express will be in place in the near future.

Upon examining the original Knight Express Card Committee Report, and the update of on-campus Knight Express expansion, the SAC recommends that:

Rutgers begin re-examining the issue of off-campus expansion before on-campus expansion goals are reached; and that
Rutgers continue with its on-campus expansion to ensure the highest quality services are delivered to University students.