InfoTech Tuesday Articles
(revised April 17, 2006)
Multiple identification numbers and user ids are used at Kansas State University to identify individuals. Recent legislation and new enterprise system implementations are prompting changes in the usage of personal identifiers at K-State. See below for a brief description of these identifiers:
The SSN is a unique nine-digit number issued to individuals by the United States government. Originally designed for administration of Social Security laws, it is now used for many purposes, including collecting payroll taxes, applying for financial aid, and filing federal and state income taxes.
The SSN is required for employees and requested as a condition of enrollment for students. It is used for financial aid programs, for complying with state and federal reporting requirements, for generating federal tax and financial aid forms and reports, and for exchanging student data between post-secondary institutions.
Many major university systems are keyed to the use of the SSN as a personal identifier. For example, for most students, the SSN is used as the Student ID to uniquely identify students and to manage student records, including grades, transcripts, student accounts, and financial aid information.
To provide greater privacy and security for K-State students, faculty, staff, and affiliated individuals and to meet legal requirements, Kansas State University will promote the use of personal identifiers other than SSNs to identify and manage personal information and records, except as required by federal and state law and regulations. The first phase of this effort is removing SSNs from Wildcat Cards, effective January 3, 2006 for employees and effective May 22, 2006 for students.
For complete details about your social security number, see the Social Security Administration web site at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs. Special rules that apply to international students may also be found at that site.
The SID is a nine-digit numeric identifier assigned by Kansas State University to each student enrolled at Kansas State University. Typically, the SSN is used as the SID number, except for international students or when a student requests an alternative number.
The SID is used to track and maintain student records including grades, transcripts, student accounts, test taking and financial aid information. It serves as a primary key to the central university student information and records systems and provides links to related information systems.
To provide greater privacy and security for students, Kansas State University plans to discontinue use of SSNs as SID numbers for students upon implementation of a new student information system.
For information about Student ID Numbers, see http://www.k-state.edu/admit/help.html.
The Employee ID is a unique eleven-digit alpha-numeric identifier assigned by either Kansas State University or another state agency to each employee when originally hired. The identifier consists of a letter, usually “W”, followed by a ten-digit number. If the employee worked for another state agency prior to coming to KSU, or if employed with KSU prior to 1995, the Employee ID may begin with a letter other than “W”.
The Employee ID is a primary key in the Human Resources Information System and is used to track and maintain employee and payroll records in that system. In addition, the Employee ID identifies you as an employee of the State of Kansas and provides links to state employee information systems.
Employees may access their Employee ID through Employee Self-Service located at: https://www.as.ksu.edu/HRIS/ or via their payroll advice.
For additional information, contact the Division of Human Resources, 103 Edwards Hall, e-mail hr@k-state.edu, phone (785) 532-6277.The eID is a unique alpha-numeric identifier chosen by a student, employee, or affiliated individual as your K-State electronic identification.
The eID, in combination with your password, serves as your key to many resources on K-State's central computer systems. The eID is also part of your K-State e-mail address.
For additional information on the eID and its uses, go to: http://eid.k-state.edu or contact the IT Help Desk, 313 Hale Library, e-mail helpdesk@k-state.edu, phone (785) 532-7722.
The WID is a nine-digit number permanently assigned by Kansas State University to uniquely identify each member of the K-State community (including students, faculty, staff, and affiliated individuals) throughout his/her association with K-State. It can be distinguished from a social security number by ‘8’ being the first digit.
The WID is assigned to students and employees with Wildcat ID cards. The number is found at the top of the card. To provide greater privacy and security and to meet legal requirements, the WID number serves as an alternative personal identifier to the Social Security Number.
The WID will eventually be associated with other university personal identifiers and used as a public ID to link records and informations on an individual in various university information systems. The WID will first be used as an identifier for students in August 2006 for the Scantron testing system. Over time, all individuals associated with K-State, including those from a distance, will be assigned a WID as part of the Personal Identifier Initiative.
If you have questions on the Wildcat ID Number, contact pid@ksu.edu.
The ISO Number is a unique sixteen-digit number that appears at the bottom of your Wildcat ID Card. The number is assigned to your card by the K-State ID Center and is encoded on the magnetic stripe on the reverse side of the card. If you lose your Wildcat ID Card, the number is changed and the old number is deactivated.
The ISO Number is used for access entry to campus buildings and rooms, vending and printing, access to your Cat Cash On-Campus Debit Account and for the Meal Debit Plan.
For additional information, go to the K-State ID Center's web site at www.union.ksu.edu/services/idcenter.htm. For questions, contact the ID Center by phone at (785) 532-6399 or by e-mail at wildcatcard@ksu.edu.