Universities and colleges face unique challenges in standardizing security protocols due to their large, diverse campus environments. To effectively secure campuses, administrators must develop functional safety and security standards for buildings, policies, and technologies. This requires gathering all stakeholders to discuss each facility's specific needs and ensuring the integrity of networked security systems. Aligning all parties around a documented, long-term security strategy can help institutions protect their communities now and in the future.

1. 1/14/2016 Campus Standards ­­ Security Today
https://security­today.com/Articles/2016/01/05/Campus­Standards.aspx?p=1 1/5
By Kyle Gordon
Campus Standards
Universities, colleges face challenges when standardizing protocol
Jan 05, 2016
For multiple reasons, colleges and universities encounter distinct challenges when
faced with the formidable task of standardizing security protocol, procedures and
technologies. Campuses are often spread out over sprawling acreage, with buildings
serving various purposes, including anything and everything a resident, student or
faculty member could need, from medical facilities, research labs and auditorium
classrooms to athletic arenas, residence halls and cafeterias.
In what has become an increasingly volatile climate, colleges and universities are
expected to anticipate the needs of their students, faculty and visitors, and are now
designing campus environments to ensure safety and security for all. The overall
expectation and execution of campus safety and security standards is regarded highly
amongst communities nationwide. In overwhelming instances, the safety and security
of a campus has become the cornerstone in successfully establishing an environment
in which students are free to thrive and focus their academic efforts, while enjoying the
quintessential collegiate experience in whatever way they have envisioned it.
For campus administrators, public safety officers and police, creating a secure
campus cannot merely rely on the security technology implemented throughout the
facilities. What has become necessary in bolstering these preventive deployments is
the development of functional security standards, communicated and carried out
campuswide. Functional safety and security standards are essential to effectively
crafting a foundation, a framework for all building construction on campus whether
new or renovations to existing structures. Not only physical building standards need to
be adhered to, but policy and procedure standards should be addressed for such
things as timing for locking/unlocking of doors and people flow through various
buildings.
All of these standards offer a significant context, forcing stakeholders to take stock of
their facilities and evaluate potential risks, security needs and begin to establish an

2. 1/14/2016 Campus Standards ­­ Security Today
https://security­today.com/Articles/2016/01/05/Campus­Standards.aspx?p=1 2/5
efficient operational procedure for those specific campus community members that
require access.
As a result of the rapid pace at which technologies, such as access control, video
surveillance and intrusion detection have been introduced to campuses in recent
years, institutions are finding it more difficult to keep up with the development of
accompanying security procedures and protocols to determine the needs and uses of
these systems. Too often, deployments are assessed ad hoc; card readers may be
installed on doors at a newly constructed residence hall, but not on existing living
facilities without any real justification.
In other instances, an access control solution may be implemented throughout a
science or lab building on campus, for example, due to new regulations or mandates,
and soon after, a campus­wide call to action rolls out the intent to implement a similar
solution in buildings across the entire campus. With only the science building’s
installation as reference, colleges and universities will often use that single
deployment as the template for others, which in no way takes into consideration the
disparate functions and operational patterns of other facilities.
To ensure that these standards are developed and implemented immediately, as well
as throughout the duration of and beyond the scope of any security project, campus
administrators should plan to enlist the expertise of a trusted security integrator at the
project’s onset. By drawing in and allowing the security integrator to become an
integral part of the standard writing process, campus institutions can more readily
mitigate security risks in an environment that is nearly always subjected to capital
construction projects.
The following are some of the most fundamental assessments that need to take place
in conversations surrounding functional security standards to maintain campus safety
as a priority in all institutional construction, renovations and targeted projects.
GATHER STAKEHOLDERS FOR A COLLABORATIVE, PRODUCTIVE
CONVERSATION
Perhaps most important in setting out to develop appropriate safety and security
standards for any campus environment is to be certain that all pertinent campus
stakeholders are involved in the conversation. These include high­level campus
executives, public safety officers, university police, residence life authorities and
facility management, as well as the campus IT department, communications
department, athletics, medical and religious facilities, and community members, at
large.
With so many security technologies moving toward a more networked approach,

3. 1/14/2016 Campus Standards ­­ Security Today
https://security­today.com/Articles/2016/01/05/Campus­Standards.aspx?p=1 3/5
involving IT as early as possible is critical to ensure that the campus network can
accommodate the various systems, or determine the bandwidth required. Athletics,
medical and worship facilities are just as integral to campus life as the dining and
residence halls, and all will have different perspectives, needs and concerns in any
standards discussion.
Finally, early involvement of the college or university’s communications department
will help to determine ways in which students, faculty and applicable surrounding
communities are notified of any new security measures, expectations or requirements.
Standardized language will dispel panic or misconceptions amongst the college or
university population, instead showcase the situational benefits of the new systems
without fear of relinquished privacy or infringing on community members’ rights.
DISCUSS SPECIFIC, UNIQUE PAIN POINTS FOR DIFFERENT CAMPUS
FACILITIES
Due to the varied nature of many campus buildings, the issue of security varies from
facility to facility. It’s never in the best interest to assume that one campus building’s
needs inherently mirror another’s. Consider the building structure, the purpose of the
building, who frequently occupies it, common access times and the personnel
designated to respond to incidents at the location. All of these are major factors that
contribute to the deployment and anticipated use of the security technologies selected
for each location.
For instance, athletic arenas have to account for coverage of wide areas and a large
number of non­community members, warranting the need for extensive video
surveillance and immediate mass notification if a widespread emergency were to
occur. Residence facilities need to account for 24/7 movement of authorized students
in and out of the buildings, requiring robust access control that can be both discerning
and constantly monitored, but in no way impedes student living.
Medical facilities and research labs must be equipped to safeguard the campus
population from the potential spread of biohazards and infectious diseases, limiting
access to research and testing areas to reduce risks of tampering or biochemical
attack.
Each of these varying facilities’ functions and security­related possibilities should act
as the basis of standards development, accounting for every subtle nuance and how
they contribute to the context of the overall campus environment so that appropriate
sub­standards, when necessary, can be developed for major sites and buildings.
CONSIDER FRONTLINE AND BACKEND INTEGRITY OF SECURITY
TECHNOLOGIES AND OPERATIONS AT ALL FACILITIES

4. 1/14/2016 Campus Standards ­­ Security Today
https://security­today.com/Articles/2016/01/05/Campus­Standards.aspx?p=1 4/5
In the deployment of modern security technologies in campus environments, a
progressive trend toward a network­based operation has grown massively in recent
years. This includes the critical pillar systems, including mass notification, access
control, video surveillance, intrusion and fire detection, all riding on a network and
tying into databases that are wholly unique to the campus experience.
Databases for dining halls, residence access, administrative records and human
resources all now carry information that is crucial and intrinsically woven into the
functions of security systems to ensure they are effective.
Throughout the development of functional standards, campus stakeholders must be
cognizant of this network­based reality, and the integrity of systems’ and databases’
backend. Too often, many institutions are faced with significant issues because these
systems – both security and those related to campus life or administration – have
grown so quickly that the network has become almost unmanageable. By sitting down
with an integrator, campuses can deal with any integral backend challenges,
solidifying all lines of defense in the event that an on­campus emergency occurs.
ALIGN ALL MAJOR PLAYERS WITH A DOCUMENTED SECURITY STRATEGY
FOR ALL CURRENT AND FUTURE TECHNOLOGICAL DEPLOYMENTS.
When all is said and done, select an administrative leader preferably in the institution’s
executive office to champion documented standards. A strategy which hasn’t been
clearly defined has a greater risk of being value­engineered out of a campus
construction project or renovation. By dedicating time to a comprehensive evaluation
of campus security threats and the development of functional standards with a trusted
integrator, college and university personnel ultimately ensure the output of a clear
alignment across the campus and representative stakeholders in regards to how the
institution plans to protect the community as a whole, as well as safeguard its
students, faculty and staff.
In essence, these standards carry a core quality of flexibility and scalability to be able
to grow, bend and support the campus as it faces new, unforeseen challenges now
and into the future. In all senses, these standards should contribute to the longevity of
the campus institution itself, a testament to the openness and drive associated with
the all­encompassing academic pursuit.
About the Author
Kyle Gordon is the higher education market leader for Stanley Security.
Copyright 2014 1105 Media, Inc. See our Privacy Policy.

5. 1/14/2016 Campus Standards ­­ Security Today
https://security­today.com/Articles/2016/01/05/Campus­Standards.aspx?p=1 5/5
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express permission
of 1105 Media Inc. is prohibited.