Philadelphia, April 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Philadelphia School district could end up being one of the
largest beneficiaries of the new system, which will use existing
ScholarChip automated student attendance and identification
technology to help the District create and manage student public
transport passes. The system will use student ID cards, cell
phones, bank cards or pre-paid cards, equipped with contactless
technology, to enable riders to manage their transit fares more
easily.
The new SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
program will also do away with paper student bus passes--a
cumbersome manual system which is estimated to require the services
of half a full-time employee for each school in the Philadelphia
district.
Under the new system, ScholarChip will provide a real-time
interface between the existing ScholarChip student identification
and attendance platform and the new contactless ACS public
transport readers, meaning that students can use their
identification cards as bus or subway passes on the SEPTA
system.
ScholarChip's existing Philadelphia School District system manages
building attendance and security and automated classroom
attendance, as well as discipline events. Adding transit will round
out an already robust system. ScholarChip is a national provider of
Cloud-Based K-12 and Higher Education contactless smart card
technology solutions.
Beyond simply reducing the time and resources that Philadelphia
School District employees must dedicate to the current student fare
card system. ScholarChip technologies have the potential to create
a safer, more efficient system for student transit - eliminating
duplicate cards and enabling parents, teachers and school district
staff to receive accurate information on a student's
location.
ScholarChip's platform prevents any student from having more than
one valid card at a time, making it ideal for integration into a
public transport system, ScholarChip card issuance occurs in real
time, and real-time communication between ScholarChip and ACS will
give students immediately-usable cards for the SEPTA system. The
same principle applies, when necessary, to the real-time revocation
of cards or suspension of privileges on the SEPTA system.
ScholarChip also provides outbound voicemail, e-mail and text
messaging, as well as smart phone apps, to give parents real-time
access to information about students' location. Combining these
technologies will allow Philadelphia students to travel throughout
the city to school in a secure and accountable fashion. The
ScholarChip (NFC) smart phone apps will also be available to school
district staff and security personnel to assist in truancy
reduction.
The company:
ScholarChip is a leading provider of advanced applications for the
educational community. ScholarChip has pioneered the concept of
integrated School Safety & Operation System for K-12 schools.
The system includes a variety of applications to manage school
operations and safety while reducing administrative overhead.
ScholarChip's programs also extend beyond K-12 schools. In the
College and University market ScholarChip provides advanced
financial solutions including Tuition Plans, Loan Servicing,
Payment Gateway and notification.
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=12605
