Finger Scanning

Access the Dining Centers with a simple scan of your finger!

Visit any of the dining center admin offices. Offices are open 8 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday, during the academic year, or 7:30 am - 4 pm during breaks/holidays/summer.

It's as easy as 1-2-3:

  1. Present your NDSU ID Card
  2. You will enroll two fingers (we recommend pointer fingers of each hand)
  3. For each finger you will place and remove your finger 3 times!

Frequently Asked Questions

We recommend using two different fingers (preferably one pointer finger from each hand) so that you can scan either hand.

To help everyone stay safe, we provide hand sanitizer near the entrances to the dining center. The scanners are also regularly cleaned.

Visit one of our dining center admin offices:

  • West Dining Center - To the right of the entrance.
  • Union Dining Office - To the left of Twisted Taco, located on the lower level of the Memorial Union.
  • Residence Dining Office - In the Residence Dining Center building, along the east hallway next to the Aldevron tower.

NDSU Dining does not use fingerprinting; we use finger scanning—a measure of the static electricity signature as the person touches the scanner. The finger scan signature is encrypted and only valid with our specific scanning devices. The hash signatures are stored in NDSU’s central data center, they are heavily encrypted and access to them is extremely limited.

It is not possible to have your identity stolen due to this system. The finger scan signature with our encryption keys is useless. If someone were to gain encryption access, they would only get a signature that would be valid with specific scanning devices and the same software. They also would need to have your finger, as the system works off static signature, and is entirely useless without you.

Finger scanning is optional. We recommend using finger scanning for quick and easy access to the dining centers, but you can use your NDSU ID card or the GET Mobile app by simply showing it to the cashier prior to scanning.