Campus credentials are typically valid for the duration of a student's enrollment or an employee's service.
The functions of the campus credential, in addition to data storage for the student's identification, vary by University.
Early versions, such as the “VALI-DINE” system at Rochester Institute of Technology, relied on cards with mechanically punched holes to allow access to their dining halls.
In 1972, California State Polytechnic University installed the first known card-based system utilizing magnetic stripe technology.
By 1985, the Harco multi-application, campus-wide system utilizing bar code, Prox contact-based chips and magnetic stripe technology was implemented by Duke University.