Kent State University is in the process of updating and replacing more door locks in campus residence halls to enable student ID cards to unlock dorm rooms. This latest batch of lock upgrades brings the campus-wide project closer to its completion.

The move to contactless cards is one of the most important decisions facing campus card offices today. In this video spotlight, learn how Purdue University improved its student experience by issuing contactless student ID cards that underpin all aspects of life on campus.

When it comes to access control on campus, universities have a number of decisions to make. Between selecting the right access software and locking hardware, to partnering with a knowledgeable and trustworthy integrator, and choosing the card technology that best suits your campus, establishing the proper physical security measures can be a taxing process. In a five-part podcast series with ASSA ABLOY these decisions are examined in depth, highlighting the important considerations that campuses have to navigate.

Smart lockers are a networked version of traditional storage lockers that often use an institution’s existing contactless ID card as the key. Though the use of these intelligent lockers is just starting to grow in North America, the technology has been widely deployed around the globe. Lessons from these higher ed deployments are helping shape the technology’s rollout in the U.S. and Canada.

The University of Cincinnati recently outfitted its Scioto Hall, a dorm for on-campus students, with wireless electronic locks at individual dorm room doors, and all signs point to the good. The recently renovated Scioto Hall is the first facility in a wireless-lock upgrade program that will span nine campus residence halls and another 30 campus buildings.

Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University is now issuing smart cards to students that will be used to make payments and enable access to campus facilities. The new student ID cards will act as the identity credential for the university’s some 33,000 students and staff members.

While contactless lockers are just now beginning to see use in the campus market in North America, the technology has been transforming operations at corporate campuses, health clubs, ski resorts and other locations around the globe for many years. Lessons learned and benefits gained from these deployments are helping colleges and universities chart their course with the smart tech.