7 Smart Ways to Use the NACCU Campus Profile

7 Smart Ways to Use the NACCU Campus Profile

The NACCU 2025 Campus Profile Insights Report distills what is changing across our community. The Campus Profile is how you turn those findings into action on your campus. Use the report to see the big picture. Use the Profile to find your peers, study patterns, and connect with the people doing the work.

As of the August 2025 update, the Campus Profile includes 392 institutional profiles and the spreadsheet is refreshed monthly. It captures essentials such as FTE (Full-Time Enrollment), card or transaction system, access control provider, food and bookstore POS, banking partner, credential technologies, and mobile credential status, along with other fields. Search online to find peer contacts or download the spreadsheet for deeper analysis.

Use the online search to find peer contacts using the built-in filters, or download the spreadsheet to analyze trends in depth. 

Below are seven practical ways members are using the Campus Profile right now.

1) Build a short list of true peers

Not every “similar school” is similar. Create a peer set that mirrors your context so comparisons and new connections pay off.

Filters to try

• • Enrollment; Affiliation (public/private); Classification (two-year/four-year)

  • State /Province

  • Division (organizational home)

  • Card / Transaction System, Access Control Provider

  • Benchmarking Cluster

What to do
Save five to seven peer campuses, then use the People Search directory to connect to individuals to schedule short calls or visits. Ask about their role, team, and where the card program reports on campus, plus a quick overview of what services they run and who they serve. Invite them to share one recent win and one priority or challenge for the term, and what they would love to learn from you. 

Outcome
A focused peer circle you can reuse all year and a beginning to a strong peer network.

2) Write better RFPs and buy smarter

Before you draft an RFP, scan the Profile to see which platforms are actually in use, common hosted vs on-premise patterns, and how those choices pair with POS and access control. You will ask sharper questions, invite the right vendors, and avoid requirements that only fit a tiny slice of the market.

Filters to try

• • Card / Transaction System

  • Access Control Provider, Online Lock Provider, Offline Lock Provider

  • POS Provider, Food Service Contractor, Bookstore System

  • Integration context: ERP, Student Info System, Data Analytics Platform

  • Mobile/credential context: Mobile Credential, Credential Technology: Contactless, Credential Technology: Multi-Contactless

  • Production stack (when relevant): ID Card Production Software, ID Card Production Printer, ID Camera

  • Pro tip tie-in: Banking Partner, Card use: Financial Applications

What to do
Note common patterns and which stacks cluster together. Invite the right vendors and ask sharper questions.

Outcome
An RFP that fits the market and avoids dead-end specs.

Pro tip: look at the banking partner field alongside transaction systems and credential tech to understand how financial services integrate on peer campuses.

3) Plan your mobile credential roadmap

Reduce risk by learning about the steps and pitfalls of mobile credential rollout from peers whose program resembles yours.

Filters to try

• • Core status: Mobile Credential, Mobile Implementation Date, Mobile First

  • Wallets: Apple Wallet, Google Pay, Samsung Wallet

  • Stack dependencies: Access Control Provider, Online Lock Provider, Offline Lock Provider, Card / Transaction System, Credential Technology: Contactless, Credential Technology: Multi-Contactless

  • Enablement tools: Mobile App Provider(s), Online Photo Submission Provider

  • Size/context filter: Enrollment

What to do
Ask in what order they tackled pre-requisites, and what surprised them in week one. Ask what they would do differently. Ask if they would review your strategy and provide feedback. Ask how they communicated this change to the campus community and whether they'd be willing to share emails and marketing collateral with you.

Outcome
A sequenced readiness checklist for your rollout.

4) Compare your fees and policy language with true peers

Do you ever wonder if your fees are fair, or perhaps you are missing out on potential charges that could generate revenue for your department? What if there is a policy you are missing that would help solve a recurring issue, or verbiage that would make your cardholder agreement clearer? Connecting to similar card programs could lead to resource sharing that could elevate your current structure without having to reinvent the wheel.

Filters to try

• • Fees: Initial Card Fee, Replacement Card Fee

  • Commerce scope: Number of Off-Campus Merchants, Average Off-Campus Commission Rate, Average On-Campus Commission Rate, Sales not permitted on card

  • Financial features: Card use: Financial Applications

  • Policy signals: Chosen Name / Name-in-use Policy?, Marketing Plan

  • Peer filter context: Enrollment, Division, State /Province, Card / Transaction System

What to do
Filter or use the spreadsheet to find institutions similar to you, then use People Search to start a conversation about fee structure and policies. 

Outcome
Maximize your fee structure and close the gaps in your policy portfolio.

5) Coordinate financial workflows with or without a banking partner

Banking relationships affect account opening, disbursements, and marketing compliance.

Filters to try

• • Banking Partner

  • Payment rails & tenders: POS Provider, Food Service Contractor, Card use: Financial Applications

  • Systems that touch funds/data: Card / Transaction System, ERP, Student Info System

What to do
Document timelines for refunds and daily settlement, plus who approves co-branded communications.

Outcome
A finance timeline your Student Accounts and IT teams can act on.

6) Review and Re-Energize Your Tech and Services Stacks

Do you ever wonder whether software or hardware you already use might integrate with your credential provider's platforms? Or maybe there are low-cost or even free services you could provide to your card holders that you are missing out on? By looking at the other services used by those who use your card services provider, you might find some services or providers you didn't know were a possibility. This is likely an easier project using the spreadsheet. Sort by your card provider then look at the different services and providers in these column.

Filters to try

• • Access & security: Access Control Provider, Online Lock Provider, Offline Lock Provider, Video Surveillance Provider, Lockers Provider

  • Campus services: ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), POS Provider, Food Service Contractor, Bookstore System, Laundry Provider, Kiosk vendor, Autonomous / Cashless Market vendor, Robot Delivery Provider, Parking Software, Campus Recreation software, Housing Management Software, Pay-for-Print Provider, Event Ticket Software, LPR Software (License Place Recognition) 

  • Identity & apps: Mobile App Provider(s), Online Photo Submission Provider, ID Card Production Software, ID Card Production Printer, ID Camera

  • Data & systems: ERP, Student Info System, Data Analytics Platform

  • Credential tech context: Credential Technology: Mag Stripe, … Barcode, … Contactless, … Multi-Contactless, Digital Credential, Mobile Credential

What to do
Note the institutions providing services you are interested in, and use the People Search directory to connect directly with the individuals at that campus.

Outcome
Get a "win-win" by providing new services and increasing the ROI (return on investment) on a system(s) you are already paying for!

7) Connect quickly to real people

Because organizational structures vary widely, finding the right contact on a campus website can be frustrating. First use the Campus Profile filters to filter to institutions that are similar to yours. Then use the People Search directory to locate actual people tied to each school and contact them directly to make a connection.

Where to find everything

Update or complete your profile
Institutional primary contacts and those with management access can log in to Member Compass and update demographic and technology fields so the community sees the most current picture of your campus.

Search online or analyze in Excel
Use the web search to find schools and see contact details. If you prefer deeper analysis, download the NACCU Campus Profile Excel Spreadsheet and sort, filter, and chart to your heart’s content. The spreadsheet includes the same fields you see online, compiled without contact information, and is updated monthly.

Explore solutions in Vendor Xchange
When you are researching technology categories, use Vendor Xchange to see NACCU corporate members by business category and learn what’s possible before you write an RFP.

Turn Insights into Action Today

1. 1. Download the NACCU 2025 Campus Profile Insights Report to see the big picture across institutions.

   2. Open the NACCU Campus Profile to filter results and contact peers.

   3. Download the spreadsheet if you want direct access to the data to dig into details and trends.

Help us keep the NACCU Campus Profile strong

The NACCU Campus Profile is a community resource. It is self-reported and it is only as powerful as the updates you make. Please review your campus entry each semester, or whenever you change platforms, implement mobile, launch a new POS, or update fee schedules. That way, everyone benefits from accurate, timely information.

If you have questions about updating your Profile or about using the data, contact the NACCU team and we will help you get the most from this member resource.