De Anza and Foothill college students are no longer required to use their Social Security Numbers for student identification.

In compliance with a new state anti-identity theft law, the colleges have assigned alternative Student Identification Numbers, or SIDs, to each student, effective Jan. 9.

Students may switch to the new eight-digit SID or continue to use their nine-digit Social Security Numbers for college services, according to an e-mail De Anza College sent to students on Jan. 5.

To obtain the new number, De Anza and Foothill students must log in to their college’s online registration system with their Social Security Numbers. The “Student ID Lookup” option is accessible through the main menu.

Student numbers are used for functions like accessing account information, adding and dropping classes and using computer labs. More information is available on Foothill’s Web site at http://www.foothill.edu/cgi/newscenter.display.cgi?000729.

Scott Lipsig contributed to this article.

To get your new student ID number:

1)  Go to deanza.edu/registration/myinfo.html and click the returning user button

2)  Click “De Anza Registration System;” Login using your Social Security Number

3)  Choose the “Main Menu” option

4)  Choose “Student ID Lookup”

This article appears in the Jan. 23, 2006 print edition of La Voz.