Page 22 - Campus Security Today, November/December 2024

U P C O M I N G T R E N D S
ACCESS CONTROL TRENDS CONTINUE TO
STRENGTHEN SCHOOL SAFETY/SECURITY
AND ENHANCE LIVES, LEARNING
J E R E M Y S A L I N E I S S R . D I R E C T O R O F B U S I N E S S D E V E L O P M E N T AS S A A B L O Y D O O R S E C U R I T Y S O L U T I O N S
C
lass period bells have been ringing across campuses for
a few months now, but that doesn’t mean the subject of
safety was fully settled before the start of the new school
year. As one wise person once said, “It’s a journey, not a
destination”. That’s why it remains a leading issue among
administrators, faculty, students, and communities.
Schools are striving to be at the top of their class when it
comes to the ability to control access instantly and securely, monitor
suspicious behavior accurately and consistently, and respond to
threats immediately and effectively. Ultimately, they aim to provide
a reassuring, comfortable, and conducive environment for a rich
learning experience. These goals apply whether at a community
college in Southern California, a major university in Pennsylvania,
or a rural K-12 district in Michigan.
A C C E S S C O N T R O L S O L U T I O N S P R O V I D E A N E V E N M O R E S E A M L E S S E X P E R I E N C E
Colleges and universities have had badge, card, and keypad electronic
access control readers in place for many years. Now, it’s all about
mobile credentials. Higher education institutions nationwide are
either fully making the shift or seriously planning to do so. Students
now expect this amenity to be part of the convenience and security
benefits their phones provide for practically every transaction.
The trend to mobile has seen considerable adoption in
residence hall suites where retrofits of readers and locks range from
Wi-Fi and wireless access control solutions to PoE installations for
new construction depending on the need for locks to always be
“online”. In addition, mobile credentials work well at compatible
openings for campus laundry facilities,
workout centers, and select classroom
and lab locations.
Facial identification is also piquing
more interest as a digital access control
solution, where the credential is simply
the human. Unlike facial recognition,
facial identification is an intentional
application where a person chooses to
allow the technology to use their face as a credential. In higher
education, it’s particularly advantageous for athletic programs
where carrying a phone, card, or key is impractical and risks the
potential for loss or theft.
Another level of access control that’s become increasingly
integral, especially on college campuses, pertains to package delivery.
Hundreds of thousands of packages flow into universities every
year, and students want seamless ways to pick them up. That’s why
smart delivery lockers are now being incorporated into residence
halls, libraries, and student stores. IT departments use them to
issue loaner laptops, and athletic departments are considering
how they can help enforce bag policies.
T H E L I F E S A F E T Y B E N E F I T S O F D I G I TA L A C C E S S
Not all colleges have students living on campus, however. Such is
typically the case for most community colleges. Subsequently, the
need for providing convenient access to residence halls isn’t a factor.
Nevertheless, digital access is still a necessity in these environments –
most of all, for empowering faculty and staff. It also streamlines
issuing and managing access credentials and eliminates the need for
brass keys which have a history of getting lost, stolen, or duplicated.
Many of these schools are opting for digital credential readers
that feature a duress button on the classroom side of the reader
and lock. This button allows an instructor to signal a security control
center about a threat and simultaneously lock the door. If there’s
a cluster of alerts coming from several classrooms, campus police
dispatchers can activate a wider lockdown and then unlock all the
doors remotely once it’s safe to do so.
U P D AT E S F O R K - 1 2
For those involved with K-12, the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools
(PASS) Guidelines have recently undergone some updates to their
recommendations. If you’re not familiar with this important organization
and its free publications, visit passk12.org to learn more about it.
The guidelines are structured to cover five physical layers of
school facility security, from the district-wide level to the building
22