A message from our Student Central team…
Due to global supply chain issues and delays out of our control, we have completely run out of ID cards. Before the new cards arrive at the end of August, the following plans have been put in place:
Students needing a Tertiary Transport discount
- Student Central will produce a Letter of Enrolment Confirmation
- Student Central will place an AT sticker in the confirmation letter
- Students can use the letter to apply for a transport discount with an Auckland Transport agent, but they will need to bring a photo ID such as a driver license
Students needing to register their class attendance
- Students will be asked to use the SEAtS app on their phone. If they don’t have a smart phone, they can ask their lecturers to register the attendance on their behalf
Students and Staff needing to print/photocopy
- Students & Staff can come to Student Central, and we will help them photocopy or print out any documents for free. They can bring a USB disk or send the documents to us by email
- Students & Staff can also go to the Copy Centre, but they will have to pay for printing/photocopying
- When the Copy Centre is closed, students can also go to the Ask Me desk, and the team will print documents for free
Students needing to get books out from the library
- Students can get books issued at the Ask Me desk in Te Puna or the library at the Waitakere campus, but they will need to bring another ID such as a driver license or a bank card
- Students won’t be able to get books out from the library outside of the staffed hours
Students needing access to a building or a computer lab
- Students can contact Security by calling the 0800 10 95 10 number, or they will come to Student Central for help
- Student Central staff have temporary access to Building 48 to open doors for any architecture or landscape students. I have been working with Peter on alternative solutions and signage for his students, and things are looking under control
- If a student needs to get into a computer lab, Student Central will ask for access from the School before contacting Security
- Waitakere students with a student ID card will be awarded building access in week 3 of the semester. For those students who don’t have a student ID card, they will need to use the Student Central entrance door, which remains open throughout the day
Students needing to travel between the two campuses
- The shuttle bus drivers will not be checking for student ID cards during this challenging time
Student Communication
- We have put up posters outside Student Central at both campuses to inform students of the situation
- Students can continue to submit their photo via the online ID card request form, and Student Central will process the requests when we receive the new cards
- The Student Comms team is organising for more comms to be sent out to students
The team is working continue to work closely with the vendor and see if we can bring the delivery date forward.
Are we able to provide other printing solutions for students in buildings 6/12/76, some distance from Student Central? Art and Design students in particular often have high printing needs and this will affect them disproportionately.
Thanks Samuel, let’s have a chat on Teams about this.
Kia ora tātou,
Just want to explain that the ID cards are affected by global supply chain disruptions which are outside the control of Unitec.
If you are interested in more detail:
Our cards are made in Wuhan which has experienced snap lockdowns this year to deal with new CoViD outbreaks and varieties. They are then shipped via the Shenzen ports in Southern China which have been affected by CoViD lockdowns since May 2021. Shenzen is home to the third busiest port area in the World which has been running at 30% capacity for long periods of time over recent months to facilitate social distancing. The transport backlogs created by this are truly mindboggling and it will affect global shipping until the end of the year even if there are no further new lockdowns.
This does not just affect our student ID cards, it also leads to product shortages in shops around NZ, keep your eyes open when out and about in malls and such and you can spot empty shelves or shelves where the product is very thinly spread out to camouflage product shortages. This should hopefully become less evident throughout this month as the throughput at Shenzen increases. The cost of shipping has also increased steeply which will be reflected in prices of imported goods. For example shipping a container from China to Hamburg has increased form $2700 in Feb 2020 to nearly $10,000 now.
Ngā mihi, Dagmar