Student Card and Semester Ticket

What does “validate” mean?

Once you have received your Student Card you should validate it at one of our two validation devices (also known in German as Validierer from the Latin term ‘validus’ = “effective, active”)in order to activate it. You’ll find the validation devices in the campus building. When the card is validated, information on the period of validity and an optional public transport ticket (SemesterTicket/JobTicket) are printed onto the card’s lower, white thermo-rewrite strip.

Tips on validation

• Always remove any card-holder or cover before inserting the card into the validation device. Please make sure that the card is not warped or dirty. The lower white strip must not be scratched, soiled or greasy.
• If the white strip becomes so scratched or soiled that the printed information is no longer legible, you can apply for a new card at the Admissions Office. You should always bring the old card with you, because otherwise we will be unable to replace your card free of charge.
• Please never write on the card yourself and do not stick anything onto the card. Never try to correct illegible data on the thermo-rewrite strip using a pen. Any manipulation of the card can lead to prosecution for falsification of documents by the RMV and the Federal Police (Bundespolizei).

When does the Student Card have to be validated?

The stamp on the Student Card must be renewed each semester in order to extend the validity period of the Student Card and SemesterTicket. Even if you do not wish to use the RMV-AStA-SemesterTicket function and you apply to the Admissions Office for exemption from part of the semester fee, you will still have to validate your Student Card so that the validity date of the current semester can be printed on the card.

The Student Card includes the SemesterTicket, which is your travel pass within the RMV and RNN regional transport networks, the cross-network zones and for the Ingelheim-Oestrich-Winkel and Bingen-Rüdesheimer ferries. All forms of RMV transport can be used (with the exception of IC, EC, IR and ICE trains). To travel beyond the regional netIn addition, the SemesterTicket entitles students to any number of trips on the two Rhine ferries, either on foot, by bicycle, moped, motorcycle or car up to a maximum permissible weight of 3.0 tonnes, including the student/driver and any passengers. For all other vehicles transported, the corresponding tariffs of the ferry companies apply. These are then to be paid directly by the student. The right to travel is not transferable.ork areas you can purchase special onward travel tickets (Anschlussfahrkarten) valid from the border stops.

In addition, the SemesterTicket entitles students to any number of trips on the two Rhine ferries, either on foot, by bicycle, moped, motorcycle and car up to a maximum permissible total weight of 3.0 tonnes including student. For all other vehicles carried, the corresponding tariffs of the ferry companies apply. These are then to be paid directly by the student. The right to travel is not transferable.

Please note: The conditions of carriage and fare regulations of the regional transport networks apply.

In order to use the SemesterTicket you must first pay your semester fee via bank transfer. You will then need to renew your electronic Student Card with the SemesterTicket for the coming semester at one of the validation devices. The lower strip on your electronic Student Card is for the SemesterTicket stamp. This is printed onto the card when it is validated and updated at each re-registration. Please note that the transfer of semester fee payments can take up to 5 days, depending on the bank.

The Student Card does not carry a digital SemesterTicket, but simply a printed stamp authorizing the holder to travel on RMV and RNN services. For this reason, it is not possible for RMV or RNN to monitor your journeys.

No time gap occurs when you renew your Student Card for the next semester, which means you can travel continuously.

You can extend the validity of your Student Card as soon as you have successfully re-registered.

The SemesterTicket stamp is printed on the thermo-rewrite strip on your Student Card. This strip is sensitive to friction and sweat and must be handled with care so that subsequent stamps remain legible. Careful handling also protects the embedded antenna and microchip. We recommend a hard plastic holder. You should avoid using flexible plastic card-holders, as their chemical components often damage the sensitive surface of the card.

You can use the electronic wallet function on your Student Card’s contactless Mifare-microchip to make cashless payments in the university cafeteria. You can load money to your electronic wallet at the special machines of the student services (Studentenwerk). A maximum amount of 50 euros can charged to the microchip. The individual payments are anonymous and are processed via the cafeteria's checkout system.

Payment is also possible at other Studentenwerk Frankfurt am Main cafeterias.

To top up your Student Card you’ll need your EC card and PIN. The cash upload machine at Hochschule Geisenheim University is located in the lobby of the campus building, opposite the entrance to the cafeteria.

The credit on your card should be treated like cash, so if the card is lost there is no refund. Exception: if the card is faulty your money will be refunded.

For payment and reimbursement of credit from the electronic wallet after it expires or in case of loss, please contact the Studentenwerk Frankfurt directly:

Telephone: 069 – 798 23 003

E-mail: hochschulcard(at)studentenwerkfrankfurt.de

We plan to extend the use of the electronic wallet function to Hochschule Geisenheim University’s printing and copying system, as well as for payments in the cafeteria, but this is not yet possible. Credit and cards for the printing and copying system are still dealt with by Mr. Stettler in the media centre.

Please note:

When topping up your card please wait until you are asked to remove the card, or until the card is released by the card-reader.

Should you remove the card from the card-reader before the payment transaction has been completed, the electronic wallet function will be disabled for further top-up and payment transactions until you have successfully completed the payment transaction at that particular machine.

The Mifare smartcard is one of the so-called “intelligent memory cards”.

The card and card reader communicate via a wireless link (13.56 MHz), which means that there are no visible contacts on the surface of the card. The antenna, which is necessary for wireless communication, is embedded around the edge of the card. Data and operating power are transmitted to the contactless Mifare chip through the antenna. The card’s construction allows for a maximum distance of 10 cm between card and reader antenna. This means that you can leave your smartcard in your wallet and simply place wallet and smartcard on the card reader at the checkout in order to deduct money from your card’s electronic wallet.

To avoid damaging the sensitive antenna coil in particular, the card should not be subjected to undue mechanical stress (bent or deformed).

The card has an installed capacity of one KB and a usable storage capacity of 768 bytes. The Mifare chip has a highly prestructured architecture consisting of 16 separate and independently usable sectors of equal fixed size. Access authorizations are separately assignable on a per-sector basis. Each sector is assigned a read key and a read/write key. This makes it possible to use the smartcard for multiple applications: each service can only access its ‘own’ sector: e.g. the canteen cannot access the library’s data.

The electronic wallet function uses anonymous payment, i.e. the checkout terminals only have access to the wallet and the card’s serial number, but not to the identity data (e.g. name, student ID or employee number) of the cardholder. This means however that if the card is lost, the wallet cannot be locked: the wallet function of a lost card can be used by third parties without restriction, i.e. the money that has been loaded onto a lost card can be “spent”.

You should immediately report the loss of your Student Card to the Admissions Office.

The card will then be deactivated. Please be aware that we cannot lock the electronic wallet function. Credit that has been loaded onto your card is like cash and cannot be refunded.

If you lose your smartcard there is a 15 euros fee for a replacement card. To apply for a replacement card, please send the following form together with the remittance slip for the replacement fee to the Admissions Office:

Application for a replacement card

The SemesterTicket and validity period are printed on the card’s rewriteable thermo strip. This strip is sensitive to friction and sweat and must be handled with care so that subsequent printing remains legible.

To avoid misunderstandings with the ticket inspectors, please ensure that the strip remains clearly legible.

Should the printing on the strip become illegible, please apply to the Admissions Office for a new Student Card. This is free of charge if you hand in your old card.

We recommend that you keep your card in a hard plastic holder. You should avoid using flexible plastic card-holders, as their chemical components often damage the sensitive surface of the card.

If you are charged the €40 penalty fare by a ticket collector this will (unless completely dropped) always be reduced to €7 if you prove (by presenting your valid Student Card) within one week to the transport company to whom you paid or owe the penalty fare, that you were in possession of a valid Student Card and SemesterTicket at the time. RMV Common Conditions of Carriage, Section 8 (Penalty Fares) paragraphs 1 and 5.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Should the card’s integrated Mifare chip fail or any other card fault occur, the card must be submitted to the Admissions Office for clarification.

Faulty or non-functioning cards will be replaced free of charge, unless this is due to careless damage on the part of the student, in which case a replacement fee will be charged. The cards are produced and personalized by the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and then sent to the Admissions Office of Hochschule Geisenheim University where they can be collected. It takes between 3 and 5 working days to produce and send the cards. To cover this period we will provide you with a paper student ID booklet (Leporello). The SemesterTicket included can only be used together with a valid photo ID.  Please bring your national identity card or passport with you when you collect your Student Card. The cards can only be issued to the recipient in person upon surrender of the paper SemesterTicket.

The original image data will be used for the updating and personalization of the Student Card.

To ensure the proper functioning of the card please observe the following recommendations on storage and handling:

• the card should be stored flat.
• the card should not be bent or folded.

e.g. it should not be kept unprotected in a back pocket and it is generally not advisable to keep the card in a wallet in a back pocket.

• we strongly advise you to keep the card in a protective cover.
• as the smart card is outside a controlled environment when in use, it must be assumed that any malfunction is due to inappropriate handling of the card. In this case the issue of a replacement card will be charged to the student. The fee for a replacement card is 35 Euros.
• the card should not be exposed to high temperatures (e.g. left in the sun or washed in a washing machine).
• the smartcard should not be scratched or otherwise damaged (misused as an ice scraper, perforated, damaged by a wallet’s stud fastener, etc.)
• the SemesterTicket stamp must be valid and clearly legible. The stamp can be renewed at one of the validation devices.