TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The University of Arizona is rolling out three big digital changes this fall. It changes the way students, faculty and staff check their inboxes, access buildings and pay for meals.
All of these digital updates are to boost campus safety and provide easier access with a digital CatCard.
Catcards have been a campus staple for decades, but starting this fall, students can carry them on their phones instead of in their wallets.
Elliott Cheu, Interim Chief Information Officer for the UA, tells me it will increase security in the case someone loses their CatCard.
“It allows you to have access that you would have with your physical cards," said Cheu. "So, access to buildings, services, meal plans, everything like that. It works very seamlessly.”
It’s a digital all-access pass, and your phone doesn’t need to be unlocked to use it. Aedan Reiner, a senior at the UA, is excited about the new feature.
“I like how I don't have to, like, keep my wallet on me at all times, and as a student worker, it's also really nice because we need our CatCard for a lot of different things, like at work," Reinert said. "So, it's also great, just makes it way more convenient.”
There is an Express Mode available when downloading your CatCard into your Apple Wallet, which lets users tap their CatCard without unlocking their phone.
If your iPhone is losing battery, your CatCard in Apple Wallet will still work with power reserve. It provides access for up to five hours.
Find information about CatCard in Apple Wallet here.
The U of A is also switching student emails from Gmail to Outlook. Faculty and staff already use Outlook. Cheu tells me over 70,000 student emails have moved to the new email system.
“It allows us to collapse our systems into one ecosystem rather than having two and allows for better communications between faculty and staff and students, as well as it will also give us a lot of opportunities to increase our security," Cheu said.
Students will still have access to their Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and more. Students' NetID and email address will not change. On Sept. 30th, all U of A-affiliated Gmail accounts will be permanently retired per their website.
The last and most recent major change is a new campus app called SafeCats. It's powered by Rave Mobile Safety, a campus safety platform.
It has real-time tools that can help students and faculty stay safe when they’re working late and alone or if they need support resources fast.
“It replaces our UAlert system, and with it, there's a lot of new features on the app, including a blue light function ability for people to tell people where you're going, say, late at night when you're walking across campus," Cheu said.
The free app is available to all students, employees, parents, friends and visitors. The Wildcat community can receive UAlert push notifications in the SafeCats app starting Aug. 18th.
SafeCats will replace the LiveSafe app, which is being deactivated on Aug. 18th.
Non-university users can receive UAlert emergency notifications by text or email on Smart911. It is recommended to download SafeCats for UAlert push notifications starting Aug. 18th.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
