With their SharkCards, the ID for NSU students, faculty and staff, students can pay for items on campus, use printers, and access the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center.
“The SharkCard is basically one of your lifelines on campus,” Vernol Robinson, director of SharkCard services, said. “It is essential for students to be connected with NSU. You need your card to get around campus, to be able to utilize the facilities, to get into your dorm, access parking areas and many other things.”
The SharkCard, which won first place for best card design in 2019 at the 26th Annual National Association of Campus Card Users, can be utilized for identification, library resources, vending machine purchases, photocopy services, printing services, and building and parking access.
Robinson said students can also access their meal plans with their SharkCard.
“You want to give students diversity; you want to allow them to explore different options of food and broaden their palate,” Robinson said.
Paula Gaitán, sophomore engineering major, said she uses her meal plan, which are funds loaded on her SharkCard, to buy her groceries at The Market.
“It is extremely useful for this purpose,” she said.
Students with a SharkCard have access to the RecPlex and on-campus events at no cost. They can also borrow books, audiobooks, research papers, video games and other media from the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center.
SharkCards can also be used at select off-campus locations, such as Grubhub (including free membership), Blaze Pizza on 2135 South University Drive, CVS Pharmacy on 4610 South University Drive, Deep Roots Family Wellness on 9532 Griffin Road, This Is Improv on 3161 Southwest 116th Ave. and Auto Repair shop Midas on 4680 South University Drive.
Serena Kline, sophomore law and political science major, finds paying with her SharkCard off-campus helpful because she can pay ahead of time.
“It is tax exempt, if I run out and I want to add more money, I usually don’t use my credit card. I will just transfer to my SharkCard,” Kline said.
Some locations offer discounts to students using their SharkCard.
“They have signs at the places that say if you are a student, just show your ID [SharkCard] and you get 5, 10 or sometimes 20% off. It is good because as college students, we sometimes have tight budgets and not a lot of us have jobs, so even 5% is helpful,” Kline said.
In the future, Robinson hopes that more retailers will accept SharkCards as payment.
“My goal is to have an 80-90% of all retails accepting SharkCard as payment in a two-mile radius, but it is a slow process, it is something outside of the university’s control,” Robinson said.
If students run out of funds on their SharkCards, they can add more through GET, a mobile app, with no limit as to how much.
“They can not only manage their funds, but also learn more about the SharkCard,” Robinson said. “It is also a benefit for international students because you can add money online.”
If students have questions about their SharkCard, they can contact SharkCard Services at nsucard@nova.edu. Robinson also suggests going to the website at www.nova.edu/nsucard, which has a section for frequently asked questions.
For more information:
Students can also visit the SharkCard team at the Arena Management suite, on the first floor of the Don Taft University Center.
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