The Virginia Tech tragedy stands out as the incident most responsible for the dramatic shift of the higher education community’s safety and security mentality. But have U.S. campuses really applied what they’ve learned? According to the Campus Safety Post Virginia Tech Study, in many ways, yes. - by Robin Hattersley Gray

Both recipients of the 2007 Campus Safety Director of the Year Awards knew it was time to give their departments a fresh start. From changing their agencies’ images to implementing new technology — and everything in between — Bonnie Michelman of Massachusetts General Hospital and David Rivero of the University of Miami had what it takes to put their agencies back on track. - by Robin Hattersley Gray and Ashley Willis

Although in many cases students can be a good source of affordable security personnel, when it comes to dorm protection, challenges exist. As a result, Vanderbilt University made the switch to contract security officers to resolve the training, screening, management and other issues often associated with student employees. - by Nancy Tamosaitis

When it comes to ID cards, a number of school, university and hospital administrators are learning that their campus identification credentials may not be adequately designed for today’s increased security and productivity needs. For many, it’s time for an extreme makeover. - by Steve Blake

Yes, IP video is making significant inroads into hospitals, schools and universities, but what are some of the expected advances to be seen as second-generation products/systems emerge and as physical and logical security become more intertwined? Campuses transitioning to IP solutions need to be aware of the alternative to network video recorders (NVRs), as well as video analytics deployment and IT concerns, such as bandwidth overload. - by Dr. Bob Banerjee