Access control systems, video surveillance, and emergency notification systems are standard on most college campuses—yet many security teams are working with disparate or outdated systems that have become inadequate, overly complex, and costly. While the cost of upgrading systems can be significant, moving to a modern, unified security system can dramatically improve the overall effectiveness of these systems and reduce the total cost of ownership.

This includes the security in residence halls, which comes with its own complexities. Residence halls entail additional layers of visitor access and privacy concerns. People expect a different level of privacy and anonymity at home, yet criminals may take advantage of spaces that are not properly monitored and secured.

With modern security technology, campuses can reduce crime and theft in residence halls. In addition, they can also help protect individuals’ privacy and help public safety, resident life, and facilities departments operate more efficiently.

Begin with considering access control measures 

In a residence hall, one of the first components to consider is the access control system (ACS). Most campuses have moved beyond the old brass key system to electronic access control. Modern systems can enable much more granular control and secure access to select rooms or doors. They can be unified with video surveillance to dramatically reduce nuisance alarms, and monitor who is coming in and out with certain credentials.

One ACS change that appeals to many students is to switch from a key fob to mobile phone credentials. Since students are not likely to leave home without their phones, there are fewer incidents of lost keys and unauthorized entry using stolen cards or key fobs. Instead, students can use an app on their phone with their credentials for easy access to their residence hall.

But it isn’t just students who need to enter residence halls. Visitors, delivery personnel, facilities and maintenance staff, as well as security team members also come and go from these buildings.

With a digital identity management system, select staff and contractors can be granted full access permissions on the specific days and times when they are scheduled to work. Automated processes can also be put in place to give temporary access to visitors or delivery personnel based on credentials set up in the system.

Learn more about how Genetec can help institutions improve campus security with an unified solution.

If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Related Content