New Cash Registers Speed up Transactions on Campus

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Grabbing your morning coffee on campus is now faster than ever, thanks to a large collaborative effort to install 38 new cash registers in all campus locations this fall.

Prior to this project, registers were connected via phone lines, taking up to 35 seconds for each credit card transaction. The new registers are now linked via the campus network, which makes transactions nearly instantaneous.

Kelly Line, director of the Campus Card Office, said she had been researching possible replacements for three years until last fall when the Campus Card Office, Credit Card Services and Chartwells made the decision to finally replace the outdated registers.

"We had some terrific people helping us with this project," Line said. "All of these people worked hard to help us make this project a success."

Devyn Moore, team lead of Network Enterprise Systems for IT Services, said planning for the project took about 6 months, while the execution of installing the new registers was completed in just two weeks.

"This is another good example of two campus units working really well together to accomplish a common goal - to provide a better service to students and staff members on campus," Moore said.

Many components worked together to complete this project including the Campus Card Office, Network Enterprise Systems, the Blackboard Learn team, Chartwells team, Credit Card Services and members of the Arkansas Union staff. Lynne Bell, assistant vice chancellor of Business Services for Student Affairs, provided the funding for this project.