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KU CARD: Home of the KU ID Card and Bear Bucks!

One Card: For Students

Your KU ID Card is the key to your campus life, from opening doors to buying lunch!

Uses of the card

Your KU One Card is the key to pretty much everything you need access to on campus, from door access to library privileges, from meal plans to Bear Bucks, so you should have it with you at all times. Here's an overview:

Food

When you go to an on-campus dining hall for a meal, you have some choices on how to use your card to pay for your food.

  • Meal plans: If you've purchased a meal plan, then you're eligible to visit a participating dining venue once during each meal period. Premium and Block meal plans can be used at any dining hall on campus.
  • Dining Flex Dollars: If you get the munchies after that, or if you're ravenous and need a bigger meal than your meal allowance provides, then you can use your Dining Flex Dollars (Premium and Block meal plans come with Flex). Keep in mind that Flex balances are forfeit at the end of the academic year, so use 'em up!
  • Bear Bucks: You can always use Bear Bucks in an on-campus dining hall, but you have lots more options, too. Order a pizza or a sandwich on the phone from an off-campus restaurant or just hit any campus vending machine.
  • Cash: Hit the PSECU ATM before the dining hall to get cash from your credit union account. Just use your KU ID card!

Not sure which payment methods are right for you? Check out our handy-dandy chart!

Doors

Your KU ID card doubles as your key to KU buildings, rooms, and labs:

  • Residence Halls: swipe at the outside door to get into your residence hall. For some residents of Deatrick, the card is also your room key.
  • Computer Labs: The Computer Lab behind Old Main requires a card swipe for entry.
  • Academic Buildings: Not everyone has this privilege, but some student employees need access to academic resources at the discretion of their departments. That's done with the card, too.
When you replace a lost or stolen card (and therefore get a new card number), it takes up to 45 minutes for the new card to work in campus doors. It will work immediately at all dining halls and retail locations.

If your card doesn't work in a door, these are the steps to follow:

  1. Check with the Authorizing Official for the door to make sure you have privileges:
  2. If your privileges are in order, stop by the One Card Office to make sure your card is in good health.
  3. If your card is fine but still doesn't work in the door, call the Facilities Work Control center at 610-683-1594. They can help troubleshoot the problem from there.
  4. If your card has been re-encoded by the One Card Office but still doesn't work, we will issue a new card.

Rohrbach Library (more info)

While you don't need your KU ID card to gain access to the library, you do need it to borrow items. Your card is not activated as a library card until you visit the Circulation Desk and have them swipe it.

Banking (more info)

When you open an account with PSECU, our on-campus banking partner, you have the option of using your KU ID Card as an ATM card. Just take your KU Card to PSECU's e-center in McFarland Student Union and ask them to encode it for you. Then you can use it at any PSECU ATM, including two on campus.

Admission to Activities

From football games to voting, your card gets you access. When you go to the game, a swipe of your card gets you a free ticket. The same card gets you into the Rec Center or Keystone Pool for a workout and gets you a book from the library to read while you're on the treadmill.

Transportation

The KU Shuttle runs three loops: two on-campus, so you'll never have to wait long for the next bus, and one off campus through town down to the Weis Markets shopping center and back. At night, a bus runs a single loop on- and off-campus to get you where you need to go. Just show the driver your card and you're good to go.

Bear Bucks (more info)

Bear Bucks is accepted at many on-campus and off-campus locations. Check out our Bear Bucks page for more information!

The card you got in the mailGolden Bear Debit Card

The Golden Bear Debit Card has nothing to do with Bear Bucks or the other things the KU ID card can do. It is not a replacement for the KU ID card.

Please see the Golden Bear Debit Card information page for more information. If you have questions about it, please contact the Bursar's Office.

If you suspect fraud...

Often, you don't know where you lost your card. That means someone else can pick it up and use it to make purchases from places that can't or don't check the picture. If you check your account online and see that there are purchases there that you didn't make, the first thing you should do is suspend your card and get a new one. Tell the KU Card Office staff about your suspicions, then visit the merchant and get a copy of the receipt. Bring the receipt to us with another valid receipt that you've signed. If we verify that the signatures don't match, we'll refund your Bear Bucks and the merchant won't get paid for that transaction.