Access Control Meets Campus Safety
University of Alaska Anchorage upgrades campus safety with new software
- By Angelo Faenza
- Apr 01, 2015
Faced with an aging housing
access control system, the
University of Alaska Anchorage
was in need of a reliable
system capable of integrating
with its existing residential
operations management
software. The University,
which houses about 1,000 students,
turned to ASSA ABLOY
group brand SARGENT and
PERSONA Software for a campus-
wide housing access control
system.
SARGENT’s Passport 1000 P2 WiFi locks,
installed throughout the campus’ residential
buildings, control user access locally and
transmit access events to the host system running
the PERSONA Campus software
through standard wireless technology. These
locks communicate via with the access control
system to allow administrators and campus
safety officials to wirelessly update user
access lists and review access event logs.
“We needed something that could interface
with our housing management system
to eliminate the need to update access permission
on each individual lock. Our previous
system used standalone locks that were
failing and required a PDA to download and
update information,” explained Jody Inman,
associate director and operations manager of
Housing Services at University of Alaska
Anchorage. “The PERSONA software integrated
nicely with our existing housing system,
so we can now push that information
directly to the software and update access
permission wirelessly.”
Because the PERSONA software integrates
easily with existing ID Cards, the new system
allows the University to use its student ID
cards as key cards for access to buildings and
each individual dorm room. With keypad and
card access capabilities now required with the
campus’ new Passport 1000 P2 locks, students
must slide their ID card and enter a four-digit
pin to enter their room, a considerable student
safety upgrade where lost or stolen cards
can not solely be used to gain access.
“The PERSONA Software allows campus
police and administrators to research a student
anywhere in the housing system and also
helps when trouble shooting because information
is easily accessible through the software,”
explained Inman.
Integration of the new system was a complex
process in order to ensure the necessary
WiFi infrastructure was in place. However,
according to Inman, once the network was in
place and the signal strength was great
enough, the install was completed entirely
over the 2012 Christmas break. “We met
weekly trying to get all the state and local university
IT people on board with the system.
Because it is a wireless system there were certain
security measures that needed to be
taken to make sure the proper firewalls were
in place,” commented Inman.
Summarizing the benefits of the new system,
Inman said “The capability to integrate
PERSONA with our existing housing management
system and ability push that information
to the SARGENT WiFi locks really
made it the most logical choice for our campus.
It’s truly a win-win for us because housing
services is more efficient and the students
are safer.”
This article originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of Security Today.
About the Author
Angelo Faenza, general manager, PERSONA senior director of Campus Electronic Access Control Security Solutions, ASSA ABLOY Door Security Solutions.