Easy Wireless Access Control

Wireless Access Control at Penn State

Tyco Security Products provided Penn State a seamless solution when it came time for a system-wide upgrade of wireless locks and IP cameras.

The Pennsylvania State University, better known as Penn State, is a public research university with a network of 24 campuses, including nine with on-campus residence halls.

As part of a system-wide upgrade the eight residential campuses under the domain of Commonwealth Campus Housing and Food Services, began the move to a single security and event management platform to support their video and access control systems, including a new system of wireless locks and upgraded IP cameras for the residence halls and some outside group facilities such as childcare and student centers.

Penn State, with its myriad campuses across Pennsylvania, was operating on multiple and disparate platforms for its academic and physical security systems. They wished to use Tyco Security Products’ Software House C•CURE 9000 software as the standard security management platform integrated among the University and its campuses.

The switch to wireless locks improved the ability for programming and monitoring while also providing easier operational use. The wireless locks, which are mounted on the residence room doors, communicate with a STANLEY Wi-Q portal gateway — there are about 90 within the system — which in turn communicate with the C•CURE 9000 software.

“The student population had a tendency to lose the keys that they needed to open doors, so a wireless solution would make it easier for the appropriate students to gain access,” says Tracy Walker, assistant director of Commonwealth Housing, Food Services and Residential Life. The same card that accesses the wireless room locks throughout the campuses also works for card readers for copiers, laundry machines and cash registers.

The STANLEY Wi-Q wireless locks offered a tracking piece that regular keys couldn’t provide and without having to rely on conventional locking systems, the campuses could cut down on the need for locksmiths and having to change out cores at the door.

www.tycosecurityproducts.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Announces 2026 Product Award Winners

    Spaces4Learning has just announced the winners of the 2026 Product Awards! The award program spotlights outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are considered to be particularly noteworthy in their ability to enhance K–12 and higher-education learning environments.

  • Purdue Fort Wayne Opens New Student Housing Complex

    Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW) in Fort Wayne, Ind., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new, 600-bed student housing complex on campus, according to a news release.

  • Construction Begins on 100+ Acre K–12 Campus Designed for Lakota Culture

    The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School District in Eagle Butte, S.D., recently broke ground on a new K–12 campus that will cover more than 100 acres and serve students and families across 1,600 square miles, according to a news release.

  • TCU Marks Campus Expansion Milestone

    Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a topping-out ceremony to mark progress on a major campus expansion effort including four new residential facilities and a five-story parking garage, according to a news release.