Students can receive half off of their first purchase of a replacement student ID through the Student Government Association’s ID voucher program.

The program that began as an idea generated by Cain Alvey, SGA administrative vice president, was put into action midway through the 2012 fall semester.

Alvey came to the idea through his job as a resident assistant and believed the program would be convenient for students.

“I’m an RA in McCormack Hall, and I realized how many people lose their IDs,” Alvey said.

The bill passed last semester regarding the ID voucher program allocated $800 for its creation. This pilot program will partially cover the cost of 80 ID cards, according to the bill.

Alvey said $20 for an ID replacement can get a little expensive for typical college students.

The SGA ID voucher program allows students to pay $10 for their first replacement of an ID, which is a 50 percent discount.

In order to receive the voucher, all a student has to do is visit the SGA office located in Cravens Library Rm. 13 and ask for one.

Alvey said SGA only covers the first time a student loses their ID in order to teach responsibility and be able to provide for the widest range of students.

Students can take their vouchers to the ID Center, where they will check their system to ensure that the student has not lost their ID before, since the vouchers are only available to students who have not previously lost their ID card.

During the fall semester, 11 students took advantage of the program.

“That was about what we were expecting,” Alvey said. “We were happy with that.”

SGA plans to continue the program through spring semester, then evaluate it at the end and decide whether or not it should continue.

SGA President Cory Dodds said he thinks the program is good to provide for students at WKU.

“The I.D. voucher is an excellent service for students,” Dodds said. “WKU IDs are a vital part of our student life, and I’m proud that Cain Alvey took the lead on this idea.”

Keyana Boka, executive vice president of SGA, said she thinks the ID voucher program is unique because not many other schools have it.

“It’s been pretty popular and successful this past semester,” Boka said. “We’re hoping to continue it in the future.”

SGA also runs a similar program for student transcripts. If a student uses the transcript voucher program, they can receive two transcripts per semester completely free. Otherwise, a transcript is $7.