The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, with over 18,000 students, has implemented a new scaleable access control platform to increase campus safety and security, reduce theft, and improve the campus experience. The University needed a centralized security system that manages access to its buildings spread across the campus that house expensive equipment and high-value student work.

The solution also had to support future expansion and enhancement. According to Campus Safety Director Mike Petricca, the selected access control system by HID met both their needs for security and scaleability based on an open architecture that could support multiple card technologies and future enhancements.

Through a single centralized system, students use ID cards to unlock doors easily, doing away with metal keys. The system also provides the security team with reports that will help them make better decisions on security policies and operations.

The simplified credential issuance and management meant that the University can automatically turn cards off and on between semesters or permanently disable identities after resignation or failure to re-enroll, thus enhancing campus security.

“HID Global’s iCLASS SE platform has made our campus more safe and secure, while enabling cardholders to do more than just open doors with their ID cards, including making purchases using the university’s debit program for meals and cashless vending, and gaining access to athletic events,” said Petricca. […]