Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

What Are Best Practices For Securing A Campus Building?

  • By John Mosebar
  • 01/01/16

Today’s best security practices call for hardening all campus building entries, leaving only one available to visitors. This goes a long way toward keeping criminals away from students, staff and valuable property.

Here are ideas to incorporate cost-effective layers that act synergistically to heighten security for virtually any campus building.

Locks: Place electronic locks on all doors and keep them locked except between classes.

Video intercoms: Install these “video doorbells” on all visitor entries. Visitors push a button to connect with a base station on the desk of a receptionist or security guard. The base unit provides a view of the visitor and a two-way conversation. If the staff member determines the visitor is approved, the push of a button remotely unlocks the door. The same intercoms also can be installed on interior doors to protect faculty and administrative offices, records and cash rooms and other areas.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED): These inexpensive tools add to building security.

  • Fencing and gates channel visitors to their proper entry. By locking gates after hours, they serve as additional barriers to criminals.
  • Signage provides directions to the visitor entry and information on the access procedure, including use of the video intercom.
  • Lighting discourages criminals at night and helps to identify front-entry visitors on dark winter afternoons.
  • Security screens, made of stainless steel mesh, protect glass entry doors and nearby windows. There is no longer any excuse for not adequately protecting students and staff as these proven solutions are among the most affordable tools on the market.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

John Mosebar is V. P. of Marketing for Aiphone Corp. He can be reached at www.Aiphone.com/home.

Featured

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.

  • 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.

  • St. John Fisher University

    Classroom Revitalization – Basil Hall Room 216

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. St. John Fisher University's Basil Hall Room 216 Classroom Revitalization has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of Spaces.