Canadian Institutions Recognized with the NACCU 2025 Innovative Technology Award

University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and Algonquin College Recognized with the NACCU 2025 Innovative Technology Award

Phoenix, AZ – April 17, 2025 – NACCU is proud to announce that the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and Algonquin College are the recipients of the NACCU 2025 Innovative Technology Award. The award was presented by incoming NACCU President Kim Pfeffer during the Awards Luncheon at the NACCU 2025 Annual Conference in Henderson, Nevada on April 9, 2025.

The Innovative Technology Award recognizes and celebrates the success of a NACCU Institutional Member that has introduced a unique and innovative technology-based solution to a problem or opportunity at their institutions in support of services used by campus card programs.

This year’s award recipients tackled a long-standing challenge head-on with an ambitious and collaborative solution. For over a decade, students on campus carried two separate cards - one for campus identification and one for transit access. Managing these systems posed serious challenges: from tracking student eligibility and preventing fraud, to dealing with inefficient manual processes and renewal procedures. Recognizing both the problem and the opportunity, the recipients of this year’s Innovative Technology Award set out to streamline the experience by merging these two functions into a single, unified campus card. Since no off-the-shelf solution fits these unique requirements, they created a customized integration that enables real-time communication between universities and transit providers.

The impact has been remarkable. Administrative workloads have been reduced, logistical costs have been cut, and the experience for over 70,000 students has been transformed. The project also brought environmental benefits by reducing plastic waste, and it sets the stage for the next evolution: mobile credentials that will make student access even more accessible. What makes it even more special? Three institutions joined forces, collaborating over several years to bring this innovation to life. To learn more, read the full award nomination here.

NACCU is excited to congratulate the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and Algonquin College for this well-deserved recognition. 

About NACCU
NACCU empowers campus credential professional to lead change, streamline operations and enhance the campus experience through innovation, collaboration, and education. NACCU's vision is that the campus credential is the gateway to life on campus. Connect with NACCU at https://naccu.org.