Page 158 - Security Today, July/August 2018

ACCESS CONTROL
BRIDGING THE GAP
Private college in rural Georgia upgrades access control system By Ellie Randall
Young Harris College is a private, baccalaureate degree- granting college located in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. Founded in 1886 and historically affili- ated with The United Methodist Church, Young Harris College educates, inspires and empowers students through the highest quality liberal arts education.
The college currently has more than 1,100 students across five divi- sions—Education, Fine Arts, Humanities, Mathematics and Science, and Social and Behavioral Sciences—and employs nearly 250 faculty and staff. YHC was named to the 2017-2018 list of Colleges of Distinc- tion, and is also listed as a “Best National Liberal Arts College” by U.S. News & World Report.
MOVING TO INTEROPERABLE ACCESS CONTROL
Young Harris College has recently completed major campus improve- ments to accommodate their growth. These LEED-certified improve- ments include the 121,000-square-foot Rollins Campus Center, new residence facilities, and a 57,000-square-foot recreation and fitness center. Hollis Townsend, Director of Technology Support & Opera-
tions for YHC, saw this expansion as the perfect opportunity to implement a state-of-the-art access control solution in the new buildings, as well as upgrade the existing access control system in other areas of the campus.
YHC’s previous access control provider posed numerous issues that threatened the overall safety and security of the campus, including licensing, annual maintenance contracts, and technical support to name a few.
“The integrations we needed were stalled because we weren’t able to upgrade the software every release due to costs," Townsend said. "And calling in a problem was never a quick process.”
When searching for a new access control provider, Townsend cited the security of students and protection of facilities as two of the biggest challenges the new system needed to manage.
“We also wanted a system that worked seamlessly with our existing Schlage locks, so Allegion provided us with about six manufacturers for consideration,” Townsend said. “After review, we had three of those companies come to campus for presentations.”
In addition to their partnership with Allegion and compatibility
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CAMPUS SECURITY & LIFE SAFETY