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

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • UT-San Antonio Begins Residence Hall Renovations

    The University of Texas at San Antonio recently began a $6-million renovation project to one of its residence halls, according to a news release. Originally completed in 1986, Chisolm Hall measures in at 120,860 square feet and is the oldest and largest residence hall on campus.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • Amazon Expands Lockers to More Than 500 College, University Campuses

    Amazon recently announced that its Locker Network now totals more than 750 locations at more than 500 college and university campuses around the United States, according to a company news release.