Assa Abloy's Jim Primovic discusses the notable access control trends in higher education and then gives a detailed rundown of the company's suite of Wi-Fi, wired and Aperio locksets.

Primovic first highlights some of the significant trends to sweep the college and university space over the past year, and what to expect from them going forward. Specifically, Primovic highlights the arrival of mobile credentials and the need for campuses to be prepared for the changes associated with the new technology. Another trend highlighted by Primovic is that universities are devoting more attention to access control measures in academic building environments like classrooms, libraries, lecture halls and labs.

One of the bigger discussions that Assa Abloy has with its customers is that of wired vs. wireless locks. It's a conversation that has different resolutions for different campuses based on the deployment environment, and Primovic sheds some light on the subject. Hear which environments are best suited to traditional wired locks, or a wireless solution, be it Wi-Fi or the company's Aperio solution suite.

Finally, get a hands-on look at some of the locksets on offer from Assa Abloy, as Primovic discusses the key features and ideal deployment environments.

Manhattan College is enacting more stringent access control policies around residence hall entry. Beginning this semester, the college will enforce mandatory 24-hour sign-in for anyone wanting to enter a residence hall that is not their own.

According to a report from Manhattan College's student publication, The Quadrangle, enrolled students visiting any hall that they do not reside in must sign in as a visitor accompanied by a host student that lives in the building. Additionally, any non-member of the Manhattan College community that wishes to visit resident students at a campus dorm must sign in as a guest.

The policy change at Manhattan was coordinated between the college's Public Safety and Res Life departments. “The policy will not prevent guests from entering the residence halls but will control building access more effectively,” said Charles Clency, Director of Residence Life at Manhattan College, in a statement to The Quadrangle.

“The objective of the direction is, to a certain degree, to enhance the level of security in the residence halls for the residents, and also the quality of life in the residence halls," said Peter DeCaro, director of Public Safety, in a statement to The Quadrangle. “We want to try to structure it in the real world and in line with what most colleges do as far as access control in terms of dorms.”

Guests at most of the college's residence halls will need to present a valid ID or student ID card and sign in with a resident host in the lobby of the building. Two of Manhattan's dorms also feature host sign in that leverages a QR code process or an online MyHousing portal application for a day guest pass.

Manhattan College's overnight guest policy will remain unchanged, and will continue to require any guest or visitor staying in a residence hall that -- between the hours of midnight and 8:00 a.m. -- to be signed in by a resident host of the same sex.

Day guests that leave a dorm after midnight will incur a fine for their resident host's university account: $20 for the first violation, with cumulative $10 increases for the next two violations. Any further violation will result in that host student's guest privileges being revoked.

The new policy does not affect student Resident Assistants, who will continue to have open access to any residence hall at any time of day.

The University of Notre Dame is changing its access control policy around the use of student Irish1Cards at campus residence halls. The change will now only permit students to access their own residence hall with a student ID card, replacing a previous policy that enabled students to access all campus residence halls via the Irish1Card.

According to a report from student publication, The Observer, the change will take effect this academic year and will remove the ability for students to access any residence hall that isn't their own. Prior to the access control change, students were allowed entry into any Notre Dame residence hall between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and midnight on Sunday-Thursday nights, and until 2:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Per The Observer report, the decision to restrict dorm access to only residents of each hall is intended to increase campus safety, and is a measure that mirrors similar policies at other universities.

Associate vice president for residential life Heather Rakoczy Russell and Notre Dame Police Department chief Keri Kei Shibata released a joint email on August 19 explaining the change. The email stressed that the decision was made for security reasons and to follow national security trends in academic institutions. Per The Observer's report, the email in part read:

“Beginning with the fall semester 2019, student access to undergraduate residence halls will be limited to current residents living in the hall. This change will not only be in keeping with national best practices but also ensure greater safety and security for those living in the residence halls.”

In addition to restricting dorm access to only residents, the new policy will also limit non-student card access privileges to “essential staff only." The email explains that outside vendors, faculty and staff-permitted residence hall access will be "drastically reduced." The email also notes that "essential staff with residence hall access must use university issued swipe cards; residents should not assist staff with entering halls; and students should notify NDPD if anyone attempts to enter halls without swipe card access.”

Despite the access control change seeming somewhat routine and in keeping with widely held best practices, the new policy has been met with some criticism from the campus community. Notre Dame's student government issued a statement shortly after the new policy was announced.

“The decision by the Office of Residential Life is very upsetting, and we have heard many concerns from students over the past 24 hours since the policy was announced during RA training. We were not included in discussions on this issue and look forward to meeting with the administration to express the concerns of the student body.”

The Washington state Legislature recently passed a new suicide prevention law that requires all public institutions in the state to provide a suicide hotline number on student ID cards. The ruling applies to this academic year, and Gonzaga University has already complied by printing the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on the backs of its student ZAGCARDS.

According to a report from The Gonzaga Bulletin, Senate Bill 6514 is the piece of legislation calling for the change and is primarily concerned with suicide prevention and behavioral health in higher education. As a private university and not a state-funded institution, Gonzaga is not actually required to comply with the new law. But the university and its officials have seen fit to support the measure nonetheless.

"Anytime a state institution is required to do something, private institutions take the time to think, ‘Is this a good idea?’ And if it’s a good idea, then we ought to be doing it," said Eric Baldwin, assistant vice president of student development and dean of student well-being and healthy living at Gonzaga.

Baldwin worked with Gonzaga student development, the Health and Counseling Center, Office of Health Promotion, and other campus leaders to alter the ZAGCARDS for all incoming freshman and transfer students.

ZAGCARDS now feature the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number, 1-800-273-8255. "This number that we added is the one we talk about with our students already," Baldwin told The Gonzaga Bulletin. "It’s not a different resource — it's one that is answered 24 hours a day, and is very predictable and very highly rated."

In addition to printing the suicide prevention hotline on ID cards, the university continues to offer brick-and-mortar resources regarding suicide in the forms of its Health and Counseling Center, Center for Cura Personalis, and a REFER Form process used to identify students who may be at risk.

Returning students are not required to receive the altered ZAGCARDS, as Gonzaga is only applying the change to newly printed cards. Still, Gonzaga is working out ways to ensure the entire campus community has the hotline information handy. Early ideas, according to Baldwin, include distributing resource cards and running tent pop-ups on campus that can provide the information to returning students.

Virginia Tech is the latest campus to install touchless biometric readers in its dining halls, deploying MorphoWave hand readers from IDEMIA. Virginia Tech is now the second university in as many weeks to announce its use of the MorphoWave product to enable student access to campus dining, following a release from St. Thomas University last week.

According to the Virginia Tech card services website, the biometric readers have only been installed at two of the university's dining facilities, but provided the initial phase goes smoothly an expansion of the program is expected. Participation in the program is optional, but using the MorphoWave reader is expected to offer a quicker alternative than the Hokie Passport ID Card for dining hall access.

University officials are touting the speed and efficiency of the biometric readers as a major selling point for students. The readers remove the need to rummage through a wallet or purse for a Hokie Passport ID Card, and also provide reprieve for hungry students who may have lost their ID Card.

Another factor that Hokie Passport services is highlighting is the hygienic benefits of the touches biometric readers. The MorphoWave reader doesn't require any physical contact between the hand and the reader, preventing cross contact and the spread of bacteria. And from a workflow standpoint the university benefits from added flexibility as the MorphoWave readers don't require a cashier, saving labor costs or enabling dining personnel to be deployed to other areas.

At the time of enrollment, the MorphoWave reader captures biometric data that determines a set of points on your fingertips. The biometric identifier then converts these points into an encrypted algorithm, representing fingerprints through an array of numbers that are stored in the database as a biometric template.

This algorithm connects students board plans to their student ID number so that every time a student visits a MorphoWave reader, they simply wave their hand through the reader and the system will match the stored template.

In the same way as being issued a Hokie Passport ID Card, students must present a valid form of photographic identification to enroll in the biometric program. Hokie Passport ID Cards are preferred for this, but the university also accepts US-issued driver’s licenses, international passports, or US Military IDs.

For more on the MorphoWave product and how it's being deployed in campus dining, check out our in depth coverage with the University of Maryland.

Students at East Carolina University are now able to use their student ID cards to make purchases at more off campus locations. The university's card office has added the ability for the ECU 1 Card and declining balance tender, Bounty Bucks, to be accepted a host of new dining retailers.

According to a report from Greenville's ABC affiliate WCTI 12, the ECU 1 Card can be used at stores in the university's neighboring area of uptown Greenville. The new and improved Bounty Bucks program can be used at major dining brands like Jimmy John’s and at local retailers like Blackbeard Coffee.

The ECU 1 Card.

While students now have more options, there are still some restrictions. The ECU 1 Card can only be used at nine total locations, and the ID card cannot be used to buy certain products. Items restricted from purchase using an ECU 1 Card and Bounty Bucks include alcohol, drug paraphernalia, tobacco, lottery tickets, gift cards, money orders, fire arms, ammunition, tanning beds, tattoos, piercings, or professional services.

East Carolina transitioned from its previous 1 Card declining balance program, the Gold Key account, to Bounty Bucks in 2016. Bounty Bucks can now be used like cash at various on-campus dining, retail, and services areas and participating Uptown Greenville merchants. When used off-campus and around Uptown, the merchant is responsible for any transaction issues.

East Carolina is a CBORD and GET campus partner, and together the partnership enables ECU students to view their Bounty Bucks balances, add funds or report a lost or stolen ID card conveniently from the university's web portal.

Purdue University has joined the list of early adopting campuses that have deployed autonomous delivery robots from Starship Technologies. The unmanned delivery robots are equipped with GPS and geofencing technology and can navigate college campuses to deliver food and beverage orders to students.

According to The Journal & Courier, the Starship Technologies robots will deliver food, beverages, and other small products to students from the university's dining and retail locations. The robots stand roughly two-feet tall and resemble a cooler on wheels. When the robot arrives to its pre-determined destination, the student can use their mobile device and a code to open the compartment and retrieve their order.

"That could be a burger, a coffee, whatever the case may be," said Robert Wynkoop, senior director of auxiliary services for Purdue, in a Journal & Courier interview. "We've spoken with other university's dining programs and public safety offices and they have had no problems. This is just another option of a service."

The robots at Purdue were approved by the West Lafayette Board of Public Works and Safety, but only after some key concerns were addressed. Namely, questions over heavy snow and ice -- an annual occurrence in West Lafayette, Indiana. To dispel those concerns, Starship pointed to a deployment in a city north of London that has now been live for over a year with no reports of robots having issues with mobility.

The delivery robots will roam Purdue's campus sidewalks on a temporary basis for now, as part of a pilot program, until city code for motorized vehicles on sidewalks is changed. Should the pilot prove unsuccessful before that time, the agreement can be cancelled.

Private dining retailers leasing with Purdue, like the on-campus Starbucks and other brands, will have the option to utilize the Starship Technologies robots.

Purdue will no doubt have taken advice from some of the other higher education deployment sites. "This service is a good opportunity for people with disabilities to get food and goods more easily delivered to them, something we have heard from the other universities participating with Starship Technologies," Wynkoop told the Journal & Courier.

A separate press release from Starship Technologies is promising a significant expansion of its robotic delivery units to as many as 100 new university campuses within the next two years. These latest Starship deployments join the existing programs on the campuses of George Mason University, and Northern Arizona University.

The company's release also reveals that the company has recently closed $40 million in Series A funding, and will become the first company to complete 100,000 commercial deliveries via autonomous robots. Following the deployment at Purdue, Starship is working next with the University of Pittsburgh and Sodexo in anticipation of a launch in the fall, with more campuses to follow shortly thereafter.

As with the industry-level discussions over the course of this year, the theme is mobile for Allegion as well. In this video feature, hear from Jeff Koziol, business development manager, campus software partner at Allegion, as he discusses the trends in the campus card transaction market.

Specifically, Koziol delves into the details of mobile access control, the technologies that underpin them, as well as discusses how Allegion as a physical access solutions provider, fits into that landscape.

Koziol covers the two primary technologies underpinning mobile access in the campus market, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and NFC. He then discusses Allegion's wireless lock solutions and when it makes sense for a campus to install wireless or Wi-Fi locks, and when to go with traditional wired locks.

Hear also about Allegion's role in working with Mercer university on the campus' Transact Mobile Credential launch for Apple devices.

Finally, Koziol offers some prescriptions for campuses angling for a move to more advanced, secure credential technologies. Hear how universities can move toward open standard card technologies, and non-proprietary solutions.

Ohio State University will no longer charge its students a fee when using campus laundry facilities. The new policy is set to take effect for all on-campus students starting this fall semester.

According to student publication, The Lantern, the new policy will apply to all washers and dryers in university-run housing units, and will not assess no charge for use. In addition to laundry facilities in campus residence halls, washers and dryers in the Buckeye Village community center and Greek houses managed by Ohio State will also be free to use.

Under the old, paid model students used either coins or their BuckID -- OSU's student ID card -- and BuckID cash via a card reader. According to university housing, the previous cost per load of laundry was $1.50 to wash and $1.25 to dry. The decision to move to a free model was inspired in part by policies at other institutions.

“Some other universities have moved toward this, and so we looked very closely at what they were doing and how they were doing it,” says Dave Isaacs, an Ohio State University spokesperson. “We decided that this was something that we could do, and certainly it would be helpful and convenient to students, so we made the decision to go forward.”

Universities have a few options when it comes to charging students for laundry services, with the most common models including pay-per-use, pay-per-semester or the so-called complimentary service being implemented at Ohio State. The varying methods will each have their merits depending on the campus.

In our "Future of campus payments in campus laundry" coverage from 2017, we examined the factors that universities must consider when making this decision. Hear insights from numerous industry professionals as they compare and contrast the different laundry payment structures, and when each model is advisable.

After a long partnership with mobile ordering provider, Tapingo, Texas State University is set to continue providing mobile ordering to its students through Grubhub. The new partnership with Grubhub, who purchased Tapingo in 2018, is expected to offer many of the same features as before along with improved delivery benefits.

As reported by Texas State's student publication, The University Star, Grubhub’s integration with Texas State dining will enable students with meal plans to pay for mobile orders using swipes or dining dollars.

Mobile orders placed through Grubhub can be delivered to students living on or off-campus, to academic buildings, or be specified for pick up at the dining location from which they were ordered.

Texas State officials expect that students who previously used Tapingo should find the Grubhub mobile ordering experience to be a familiar one, though Grubhub insists that the new partnership will include more delivery options and benefits. As with mobile ordering through Tapingo, Texas State students will still be able to use Grubhub to sync on-campus meal plans with the mobile app.

John Root, director of auxiliary services at Texas State, helped to coordinate the new Grubhub partnership. According to Root, there were various differences between Tapingo and Grubhub, but the final product will remain the same in regards to providing more accessible dining options to Texas State students.

“Everyone is pressed for time in college,” said Root, in a statement to the University Star. “A student might be in a class and not have a lot of spare time, so now they can just take out their phone and put the order in there. All students have to do then is go to the location they ordered from, show the app and get their food.”