Beginning in January, Penn State students will no longer use their Social Security numbers as a means of identifying themselves at the university.

Students will be assigned a random nine-digit number, formatted 9-XXXX-XXXX, which will replace Social Security numbers as the student ID number.

While the transition may be a bumpy one, the change will be worthwhile in the long run because of the threat of identity theft.

The way Penn State's grading system operates now, there is always a possibility of a student's Social Security number falling into the wrong hands.

Often, teachers will post students' grades on Web sites for easy access by the students. But, grades are arranged according to a student's ID number, and if a teacher or a TA should happen to post a student's full Social Security number, that student is put at risk for identity theft and other related problems.

However, there are a number of problems that could occur next semester when students who are used to the old ID number system have to use the newly memorized nine-digit number.

One possible solution to ease the changeover would have been to begin issuing random ID numbers to incoming freshmen only, or to make the change optional for upperclassmen.

Issuing new ID cards to all students -- including seniors who, by January, will only need their ID card number for another four or five months -- will cost money.

However, incoming freshmen already receive new ID cards, and so requiring the change only for new students would require little additional cost.

There is also always a possibility that students who are used to the Social Security number system will forget the nine-digit ID number, causing problems in grading systems and paperwork.

All new students have to memorize their ID number, whether that number is their Social Security number or a random one, so requiring the change only for new students will mean very little to them.

On the other hand, upperclassmen who have already gotten used to using their social security numbers are more likely to forget the random number or forget the change altogether, causing unnecessary confusion for students and university officials alike.

By the time the kinks in Penn State's new system are worked out, upperclassmen who were mainly responsible for the problems will have graduated.

While the decision is a good one for the university to have made, administrators and departments currently setting up for the transition should use extra care to make sure students know what is going on.