The Sad but True Tale of Bursars Cards

As technological innovations go, the Harvard bursars card hasn't been wildly successful.

When the University unveiled plans for the new cards in 1974, it touted the cost-cutting potential of their magnetic stripe. But the stripe has yet to be used during the regular school year, and last week Widener dropped its plans for an automated circulation system that would have used the card.

For a fleeting moment last weekend, the stripe edged toward a rendezvous with destiny. Because of the 1980 expiration date on faculty bursars cards and an inaccurate mailing list, some departed Corporation appointees received fiveyear I.D. cards.

To prevent fraud, the Office of Fiscal Services proposed equipment that can detect an annual validation code on the stripe. The machines could go in libraries, dining halls and health services, and cards would be validated after being checked against an updated name and address file.

But Widener threw the stripe back into limbo on Monday, rejecting the hardware as too slow. For the time being, the office has decided to offer concerned librarians a list of departed faculty to whom the five-year cards were sent.