For decades, UCSB applicants and students have been assigned all-numeric six-digit identifiers, called “perms” or “perm numbers,” that are used to interact with various campus systems. An analysis conducted a few years ago revealed that UCSB is running out of available perms, as the number of applicants continues to increase annually.

A Perm Augmentation team was created in 2019 to explore alternative identifiers that would be compatible with campus systems (with some adjustments) and could serve campus for many decades to come. After years of consulting business-functional users and campus technologists, we are announcing that future UCSB applicants and students will be assigned an alphanumeric perm (an identifier consisting of letters and numbers), beginning later this summer (2022).

OF NOTE:

  • No students currently or previously enrolled at UCSB will be impacted by this effort. All existing (all-numeric) perms will continue to work as they always have.
  • September 1, 2022 is the earliest date we could begin seeing alphanumeric perms flowing into the Student Information System (SIS) and through other campus systems/applications (e.g., Registrar systems).
    • The Perm Augmentation Team is working with systems/applications managers to complete end-to-end testing to confirm that alphanumeric perms will perform as expected.
  • March 27, 2023 is the earliest date we expect to begin seeing alphanumeric perms printed onto physical Access Cards.

Additional FAQ and project details can be found at https://sist.sa.ucsb.edu/perm-augmentation-project.

We will provide an update closer to the beginning of fall quarter, but you may also email perm@sa.ucsb.edu with any questions or concerns. Thank you.