One initiative that was brought up during Spring 2023 alongside our plans to redesign the Student ID Card (now expanded to Student and Faculty / Staff ID Cards) was the possibility of us partnering to issue International Student Identity Cards, or ISICs. As per their website:
The ISIC card allows students the world over to prove their official student status and make the most of thousands of targeted student benefits and discounts in over 114 countries/territories.
After talks with KISES, the issuer of the cards here in Korea, and with the help of the Office of University Life, we decided to roll out initial issuances through an event by KISES and Hana Bank that waives the 17,000 won issuance fee during the month of May.
In conclusion, we had a total of 23 students issue the card, which is great news to hear - hopefully, our long-term goal as more and more students progress to Fairfax and travel or study abroad (especially in Europe, where the ISIC is widely used) is for Mason Korea to sign an MOU with KISES as an affiliated institution so that the ISIC can be an additional option students can opt in for.
Currently, we are working on approving and finalizing our MOU so that our students have a diverse range of ID Cards to choose from that best fits their liking and needs: the IGC-issued ID Card, IBK-issued Debit Card, and/or the ISIC starting from the Fall 2023 semester.
Look forward for more!