Campus Card

What the one card does

The Campus Card is your photo ID and it also unlocks your residence hall and floor, taps you into the rec center and events, carries your meal swipes and Campus Cash, checks out library books and equipment, rides the Porter Falls city bus for free, and pays at printers, vending, laundry, the campus store, and many downtown businesses in the merchant program. Some lab and studio doors, after-hours building access, and exam check-ins are tied to it too. Because it is this many things at once, losing it matters more than losing a student ID at most schools.

Add a photo through the card portal before orientation and your card is printed and waiting; otherwise the Campus Card Office (Founders Union, ground floor) prints it on the spot with a government photo ID.

Adding money and checking balances

Campus Cash is a prepaid declining balance — you, or a parent with a guest login, load it by card or from the student account in MyPorter, and it is tax-free on food. It rolls over term to term while you are enrolled and is refunded (above a small minimum) when you graduate or withdraw. Meal swipes are set by your dining plan and reset weekly. Every balance and a full transaction history is in MyPorter and the app, which is worth checking monthly — a card left in a coat pocket that someone finds can be spent until you freeze it.

Mobile credential (tapping your phone or watch instead of the card) is available on supported devices; you still get a physical card as backup.

Lost, stolen or broken

Freeze the card yourself, instantly, in the app or MyPorter — do this first, before anything else, because it stops spending and building access immediately and is reversible if the card turns up in your laundry. If it is gone for good, order a replacement in the portal or at the office; there is a replacement fee, waived if the card failed on its own or was taken in a documented theft. While you wait, the office and the residence hall desks can issue temporary building and dining access.

A card that stops reading but is not lost is replaced free — bring it in rather than forcing it.

Rules and privacy

The card is yours alone: lending it for building access or meal swipes is a conduct violation for both students, and staff can confiscate a card being misused. The photo and card number are directory-limited; tap logs (which door, when) are protected records used for safety and billing, not shared casually. Keep the card out of direct heat and away from magnets and it lasts for your whole time at Porter.