Universities are some of the busiest and most diverse environments in the UK.
On any given day, a campus may be home to thousands of students, academic staff, researchers, support teams, contractors, visitors and conference delegates. Many of these groups share the same buildings, facilities and communal spaces, making clear identification an important part of everyday university life.
While university ID cards often receive most of the attention, the lanyards that carry them play an equally important role. Together, they help students and staff move around campus more confidently, support access control systems and make it easier for people to identify the right person when they need assistance.
From student enrolment and Freshers' Week through to graduation ceremonies and conference events, university lanyards and ID cards help support the smooth running of higher education institutions throughout the academic year.
This guide explores how universities use lanyards and ID cards across campus and what higher education institutions should consider when ordering them.
Student ID Cards and Everyday Campus Life
For most students, their university ID card quickly becomes one of the most-used items they own.
Whether they're accessing accommodation, borrowing books from the library, using printing facilities, entering sports centres or attending student events, their ID card often becomes part of their daily routine.
A university lanyard helps keep that card secure, visible and easy to access throughout the day. It also reduces the chances of cards being misplaced, particularly during busy periods such as enrolment, Freshers' Week and the start of a new academic year.
For universities, this practical benefit is important. During student enrolment, thousands of students may be collecting and using university ID cards within a relatively short period of time. Having a simple and consistent way to carry those cards helps create a smoother experience for both students and staff.
University-branded lanyards also help create a sense of identity and belonging. For many students, they are one of the first branded items they receive and quickly become a familiar part of campus life.
Helping Staff Stay Visible and Approachable
Universities rely on a wide range of people working across different departments and locations.
Academic staff, student support teams, facilities managers, librarians, technicians and administrative colleagues all play an important role in supporting students throughout their university experience.
For students arriving on campus for the first time, particularly during open days or the first few weeks of term, large campuses can feel unfamiliar. Being able to easily identify a member of staff often makes navigating that environment much less intimidating.
Visible staff ID cards carried on branded lanyards help students quickly recognise who they can approach for guidance or support.
Many universities also use colour-coded lanyards to distinguish between different departments, staff groups or access levels. While every institution takes a slightly different approach, these systems can help create additional clarity across larger campuses where thousands of people may be moving between buildings throughout the day.
Supporting Campus Access and Identification Across Multiple Buildings
Modern universities rarely operate from a single building.
Many institutions are spread across multiple sites and include specialist facilities such as laboratories, research centres, clinical teaching spaces, libraries, archives and staff-only areas.
While electronic access control systems manage permissions behind the scenes, visible university ID cards provide an additional layer of campus identification.
They allow security teams, reception staff and colleagues to quickly identify whether someone appears to belong in a particular area before access systems are even used.
This is particularly useful in higher education environments where students, researchers, staff and visitors may regularly move between multiple buildings throughout the day.
Rather than replacing electronic access control, university lanyards and ID cards work alongside it to help create a more organised and efficient campus environment.
Open Days, Applicant Visits and Graduation Events
Universities host a wide range of events throughout the academic year.
Open days, applicant visit days, graduation ceremonies, conferences, public lectures and summer schools all bring large numbers of people onto campus, many of whom may be unfamiliar with the site.
During these events, clear identification becomes even more valuable.
Prospective students and their families need to know who they can approach with questions. Conference delegates need to identify event staff quickly. Visitors need a simple way to distinguish between university employees, student ambassadors and fellow attendees.
Event lanyards and ID cards help create that clarity while contributing to a more organised and professional experience.
Many universities choose to produce dedicated event lanyards for conferences and graduation ceremonies, incorporating event branding, dates or sponsor information. These not only support identification during the event itself but can also serve as a useful keepsake for attendees.
Identifying Visitors and Contractors on Campus
Universities are constantly welcoming people who are not part of the permanent campus community.
Maintenance contractors, IT specialists, catering suppliers, construction teams, external consultants and visiting speakers may all require access to university facilities as part of their work.
At the same time, universities regularly host external organisations, industry partners and members of the public attending events, meetings and open days.
Providing clearly identifiable visitor or contractor lanyards helps create a straightforward distinction between temporary visitors and permanent staff or students.
For reception and facilities teams, this can make it easier to understand who is on campus at any given time. For staff and students, it provides a simple visual indication that individuals have been appropriately registered and identified.
Small measures like these help universities keep track of who is on site while making the experience smoother for staff, students and visitors alike.
What Universities Should Consider When Ordering Lanyards and ID Cards
When ordering university lanyards and ID cards, the focus is often about much more than simply adding a logo to a ribbon.
Universities typically require solutions that work across multiple departments, campuses and user groups while maintaining a consistent identity throughout the institution.
This may include considering student and staff quantities, colour-coding requirements, card holder compatibility, how visitors and contractors are identified, and future reordering requirements.
For many institutions, scalability is particularly important. Student cohorts change every year, staff numbers evolve and events require additional identification products throughout the academic calendar.
Taking a longer-term approach to university lanyards and ID cards can help ensure identification systems remain practical, consistent and easy to manage over time.
University Lanyards and ID Cards from We Print Lanyards
We Print Lanyards supplies custom printed lanyards, ID cards and identification solutions for universities, colleges and higher education institutions across the UK.
Whether you're preparing for student enrolment, Freshers' Week, staff onboarding, graduation ceremonies, conferences or campus-wide identification programmes, We Print Lanyards can provide a consistent solution that supports both everyday university operations and larger events.
Alongside custom printed lanyards, We Print Lanyards can also supply printed ID cards and card holders, helping institutions source their identification products from a single supplier while maintaining consistent branding across campus.
All custom printed lanyards are manufactured in the UK using recycled rPET material as standard and can be personalised with university branding, department names, event details or colour-coded identification systems.
Supporting Universities Throughout the Academic Year
From student enrolment and Freshers' Week through to graduation ceremonies, conferences and everyday campus operations, university lanyards and ID cards remain an important part of higher education environments.
While they may seem like simple products, they help support student identification, staff visibility, campus access and the day-to-day organisation of busy university campuses.
So if you're looking for university lanyards, student ID cards or higher education identification solutions, explore the range available from We Print Lanyards.