Report: 82% of Colleges Are Not Effectively Managing Access Control
CARMEL, Ind. — Only 18 percent of public, private and two-year colleges and universities believe they are effectively managing their access control systems, according to a new report by Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies (IR).
IR surveyed more than 140 colleges and universities for the report titled “Effective Management of Safe & Secure Openings & Identities.” In the study, 82 percent of respondents said they are not very effective at managing safe and secure openings or identities.
“We found there are very differing mentalities on how access control systems are designed and managed,” IR Vice President of Education Markets Beverly Vigue says. “Facilities and public safety — the key stakeholders in 57 percent of colleges — are more traditional in their approach. IT, One Card and housing departments are more customer-/student-oriented. The focus is evolving from the former to the latter.”
Of the IT, One Card or housing departments are the key stakeholders, the solutions are more innovative, Vigue says. For instance, the One Card department considers convenience and improving customer experiences. It also takes students’ perceptions in the access control decision as primary concerns. On the other hand, the IT department’s main focus is measuring the return on investment (ROI) to improve options for upgrading.
The report also notes that access control on campus is evolving from the traditional security/product-oriented focus to a more broad definition. However, differing access control approaches typically do not occur on the same campus because colleges tend to be solely one or the other in their focus.
The five access control concerns on college campuses include:
- Minimizing tailgating/piggy-backing
- Maximizing student compliance with the intended access design
- Maximizing real-time notification when problems occur
- Minimizing the time it takes to lockdown a campus
- Maximizing the ability to locate building occupants in an emergency
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