The Student Recreation and Wellness Center has installed palm recognition software that replaces the use of student IDs.

The change was inspired by a tour of the recreation center at Texas State in San Marcos about a year ago. Dr. Jeff Arrington, Dr. Kerri Hart and Joel Swedlund noticed students using a hand key recognition system to access the facilities.

“I inquired about the technology with their senior staff and realized all the upsides of bringing this technology to ACU,” said Swedlund, executive director of the SRWC.

Swedlund said the implementation was the result of a group consensus with multiple Student Life personnel.

“The cost was minimal, especially considering the benefit to all students,” Swedlund said. “Based on conversations with others that have used it, it has been as reliable and even more reliable than the card readers.”

Maria Morrell, SRWC student service representative, said student reaction to the change has been positive.

“We had this system implemented for the purpose of being able to allow students to access the facility when they forget their cards, because it happens all the time,” said Morrell, junior nursing major from Bryan. “It’s an inconvenience and we didn’t really like turning them away once they’ve gotten here just because they’ve forgotten their card.”

To enroll in the hand key system, students must register their banner number and palm. Future visits also require banner and palm recognition.

Student memberships to the SRWC are free. Spouses of students can purchase semester memberships for $100; individual alumni can purchase memberships for $120; and alumni and their immediate families can purchase a group membership for $180. Those not interested in memberships, or those who are unaffiliated with ACU, can purchase day passes for $7 as a guest.

Joshua Garcia and Tyler Salter contributed to this report.