News for Parents & Families
Parents & Families

Sleep soundly knowing your student can cover basic needs like food and clean clothes by using their SkyCard—the student ID that works like a debit card on campus.

As your student gets ready for Orientation, they’ll get their student ID, known as their SkyCard. Their SkyCard is their key to about a million things on campus. That’s how they’ll get into their campus housing and into certain classrooms and labs. They’ll swipe their SkyCard for meals at San Juan Dining and to get into the Student Life Center or borrow gear from Outdoor Pursuits. They’ll even use it for campus events and to get around town on City of Durango buses.

And then there’s the money part. The what part? The part that helps you sleep at night.

Meal swipes

When you sign your student up for a meal plan, the heart and soul of the plan is a set number of meals that your student can claim at San Juan Dining. Your student will use their SkyCard to gain entrance to San Juan Dining, swiping it like a debit card—one swipe = one meal, so we call them meal swipes. Makes sense, right? What do you need to know about this?

• You may choose from several options for meal plans (they all include meal swipes and Dining Dollars (more on Dining Dollars below)
• If you haven’t signed up for a meal plan by May 1, you’ll be assigned the 19-meal plan. That said, you can change your plan up until the 12^th day of classes.
• The number (e.g. 19-meal) refers to the number of meal swipes per week
• There are residential meal plans which are required for students who live on campus, as well as voluntary or commuter options
• Meals do not roll over from week to week; they cannot be banked up.

Find out more about Campus Dining

Dining Dollars

When your student has Dining Dollars loaded onto their SkyCard, they can use them to purchase food and drinks at Campus Dining locations. They can get a meal at San Juan Dining, grab a bagel at Animas Perks, or fill their mug at the coffee stand in Berndt or Jones halls on their way to class.

Dining Dollars come with their meal plan, and there are a few things you should know about them:

• Use ‘em or lose ‘em. Any unused Dining Dollars disappear at the end of each semester.
• Once they’re gone, they’re gone. You cannot add more Dining Dollars during the semester.
• However, you can add SkyCash and use it at Campus Dining locations.

SkyCash

You can also load SkyCash onto your student’s SkyCard so they can use it like a debit card on campus. Once you deposit funds into their account, they can use SkyCash for:

• Mail services
• Doing laundry
• Copying and printing
• Getting snacks from vending machines
• Paying for services at Student Health
• Buying sweet FLC gifts for you at the SkyStore, and more.

So, why not just give your student cash?

• Your student already needs their SkyCard to get back into their room in Student Housing or into other spaces on campus.
• Your student can freeze their SkyCash account if they misplace their SkyCard.
• You can load up your student’s SkyCard with a little extra money to make sure they’re fed, have clean clothes, and can take care of other basic needs.
• SkyCash can only be spent on campus

Encourage your student to get the SkyCard eAccounts Mobile App for added convenience. 

Get the mobile app for Apple
Get the mobile app for Android

Go to the official SkyCard site for more information, tools to manage your student’s SkyCard, or to get a replacement. For new students, it’s where they’ll go to upload a photo so their SkyCard is ready to go at Orientation.

About the author

Randy Willis
SkyCard Administrator
Randy is available to help your student get set up with their SkyCard, answer questions about SkyCard, and support you in managing your student's account.
SkyCard website
Email: willis_r@fortlewis.edu
Phone: 970-247-7504