Four-Digit IDs to be Discontinued Starting Next Year

The use of Stuyvesant-assigned four-digit student identification (ID) numbers will be discontinued starting with the 2016-2017 school year. Instead, DOE-assigned nine-digit OSIS numbers will be used as students’ primary identification numbers. This is aligned with the implementation of eSchoolData (eSD), the data management and communication software that replaced Daedalus, or “Student Tools.” Concerns have arisen as to whether the use of OSIS numbers will be an efficient alternative after years of reliance on four-digit ID numbers to organize student records.

Before four-digit IDs were created, computers were not yet used for data management. When former Assistant Principal of Technology Steve Kramer created the Daedalus software, he instilled a customization that formed four-digit IDs with the program. Due to their short lengths and compatibility with Daedalus, four-digit ID numbers have provided a more convenient way of student identification and data management for Stuyvesant. Currently, four-digit IDs are used in the library to keep track of borrowed books, as well as for attendance and grading records.

Despite this convenience, four-digit IDs have caused structural errors. In the past, four-digit IDs were re-assigned upon graduation. Occasionally, there would be duplicates or other mistakes in ID assignment. In order to avoid these mistakes, the class of 2019 was assigned four-digit ID numbers beginning with the number five instead of recycling last year’s seniors’ ID numbers, which began with the number one. “There was a consensus among [the administration] that four-digit IDs cause complications at times,” Principal Jie Zhang said.

However, the decision to use OSIS numbers as the primary form of student identification was not a choice made by the administration. Kramer decided that he would discontinue Daedalus in July 2015. Hence, his decision forced Zhang to sign a new contract with eSD, a DOE system intended to work with students’ OSIS numbers.

The potential inefficiency of OSIS numbers for conducting hands-on administrative tasks is a concern among the school community. “At an operational level, OSIS numbers are less efficient. However, eSchoolData does not have the function to support four-digit IDs. I like the four-digit, but moving forward, we cannot ask this vendor to modify their program specifically for us,” Zhang said.

Many student-run clubs and publications rely on four-digit IDs to keep track of their members’ activity. ARISTA, for example, uses four-digit IDs to keep track of members’ credits. “Our credit spreadsheet is public for all members of the organization, so we list credits with four-digit IDs instead of actual names to protect members’ privacy,” ARISTA President Ariel Levy said. A similar problem affects other large clubs like Red Cross, which also uses a public spreadsheet to keep track of members’ volunteer hours. “[A] possible solution would be to create our own ID number system,” Levy said. She also acknowledged that OSIS numbers could replace four-digit IDs.

Despite the connection between OSIS numbers and the DOE, using them in such public spreadsheets does not pose a risk to student privacy. “OSIS numbers and four-digit IDs are interchangeable. Knowing a student’s OSIS number does not mean you have access to their records,” Zhang said.

Interaction with the DOE will be easier with the use of OSIS numbers. “We [the programming office] prefer that [eSD] uses OSIS numbers because when we work with students’ data, the Department of Education only recognizes OSIS numbers,” Programming Chairperson Joy Hsiao said. Before the predominant use of OSIS numbers, the programming office had to follow the procedure of individually merging four-digit ID numbers with OSIS numbers.

The replacement of four-digit IDs will change the organizational structure of Stuyvesant, which is something that both students and the staff will have to adjust to.