Northwestern University in Illinois announced on July 22 that it has adopted a card reader system on campus for students, faculty and staff.
Northwestern Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives Jake Julia says smart cards will be issued to new students Aug. 1 and can be used as early as this fall in certain buildings, according to the Daily Northwestern.
University administrators say the transition will improve campus security and make things more convenient for members of the campus community.
“If someone loses a card we’re able to quickly disable it and prevent someone else from accessing a different space or room,” Julia says. “You just have a lot more access control when you move to a higher technology.”
The cards will be used by students to enter dorms, check books out at the library, access parking lots and enter “secure campus facilities.”
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Four dorms on campus will have the new system installed by the time students begin classes in the upcoming school year. Students living in Allison Hall, Shepard Residential College, 1838 Chicago and Goodrich House will use the cards to enter both public spaces in the buildings and their rooms.
The school had previously used key swabs that prevented students from entering certain buildings without residency or prior permission.
Executive Director of Residential Services Paul Riel says school officials hope all buildings on campus will use the new card reader system in the next four years.
“Technology has accelerated in the last five or 10 years related to access control,” Riel says. “The lock-and-key systems that we currently have are difficult to maintain and expensive. We are moving toward a card-access system.”
Most students and staff members will be able to upgrade to the new cards, called “Wildcards” in honor of the Wildcat mascot, on Nov. 1 for no cost. Campus community members that already have computer chip cards will have to pay a $25 upgrade fee or wait until their card expires.
