H-130.1 Campus Access

During business hours, the College will be open to the College Community. During non-business hours, access to all College Premises is by key or key fob, if issued, or by admittance via the Office of Campus Safety and Security.  In the case of periods of extended closing, the College will admit only those with prior written approval to all College Premises.

An electronic Door Access Control System secures certain College Premises. Access to College Premises is granted through an official process administered by the Office of Campus Safety and Security. Persons with a valid reason to enter College Premises when locked will be granted access in compliance with this Policy.

Access to areas with higher security protection levels (labs, firing range, etc.) requires approval from the department that controls the space.

Clearance authorization granting access to all doors is intended solely for those personnel who must access numerous rooms for their employment. The following roles will be granted access if a need is demonstrated:

• The Office of Campus Safety and Security.

• Maintenance and custodians.

• Other individuals are approved by the Vice President of Finance and College Operations/CFO.

This clearance must be reviewed on an annual basis.

• Department supervisors are responsible for notifying the Office of Campus Safety and Security when an Employee separates and no longer requires a certain level of access. Department supervisors will collect keys and fobs from separated Employees and return them to the Office of Campus Safety and Security.

ELECTRONIC ACCESS DEVICE INSTALLATION GUIDELINES

Exterior Doors

Access control devices and readers will be considered for installation on entrances where there is a demonstrated need for direct after-hour access or a demonstrated need for direct access for a business need.

Interior Doors

Interior door access systems (access control device and reader) will be considered for installation in sensitive, high-risk, or high-value areas of the College where there is a demonstrated need for any of the following:

• Granular control of access privileges.

• Restricting and monitoring access.

• Auditing and tracking access.

Requests for electronic door access installations that do not fit the above criteria, such as areas of low risk and high frequency, may be submitted to the Office of Campus Safety and Security for consideration. A decision will be made in consultation with the Director of Facilities and Vice President of Finance and College Operations/CFO.

MECHANICAL KEYS

• The use of a mechanical key, rather than a fob on an electronically controlled access point, produces a “forced entry” alarm and creates a nuisance alarm for monitoring purposes. Consequently, once a building is electronically secured and has passed the transition phase, the key core on all doors will be replaced by a new core to guarantee that existing keys will no longer be used. The Office of Campus Safety and Security and the Facilities Department will maintain the backup mechanical key in case of an extended outage due to a power or panel failure.

• Keys to interior classrooms, offices, and shops will be issued through the appropriate dean or supervisor.

• Employees shall sign a receipt for the keys received.

• All keys are the property of the College and shall be returned at the end of employment or upon request. Failure to return keys may result in a keyholder being charged for rekeying locks and reestablishing security.

• Keyholders shall take measures to protect and safeguard any college keys issued to them.

• The notification shall be made immediately in writing to Security and Facilities of any misplaced or lost keys. The College may impose a fee for replacing lost or misplaced keys. 

• Keys are not to be loaned to anyone, including other Employees or Students.

• Keyholders shall not use their keys to grant access to unauthorized persons.

• The appropriate dean or supervisor shall keep duplicate keys to all lockers, cabinets, and equipment.

• Unauthorized duplication of any keys shall be cause for disciplinary action.

SECURITY

• Security features of the Door Access Control System cannot be disarmed without the approval of the Director of Campus Safety, Security, and Risk Management. The interior spaces of college premises equipped with fob access controllers must always be locked when not in use. The Director of Campus Safety, Security, and Risk Management must approve requests for exceptions in writing. 
• Disabling or propping open exterior doors threatens personal safety and is a risk to property. It is against college policy unless approval is given by the Director of Facilities or the Director of Campus Safety, Security, and Risk Management for a legitimate purpose. 
• Loaner fobs are generic and carry a specific access clearance but are not associated with a specific individual. Departments requesting ‘loaner fobs’ must provide for their strict control. In addition, regular reconciliations of the fobs must be performed to ensure that the whereabouts of the fob are known. Loaner fobs will expire at a pre-determined date and time.
• Fob holders shall take measures to protect and safeguard any college fob issued to them. Fobs are non-transferable and should not be given to anyone else to use. Every fob owner is responsible for immediately reporting lost or stolen fobs to the Office of Campus Safety and Security. The College reserves the right to impose a charge for replacing a lost or stolen fob.
• Anyone possessing or using a fob or loaner fob without authorization will be subject to disciplinary action up to discharge from the College or criminal charges where appropriate.
• Unauthorized access to any College Premises or room is strictly prohibited. Admitting unauthorized access is also prohibited.
• Damaging, tampering, altering, or vandalizing any college lock is prohibited.
• All keys and fobs are the property of the College and shall be returned at the end of employment or upon request. Failure to return keys or fobs may result in charges for reestablishing security.

GENERAL PROCEDURES

• Department supervisors will be responsible for working with the Office of Campus Safety and Security and Facilities to assign and design fob access that serves the department's needs and conforms to the scope of this Policy.

• The Office of Campus Safety and Security and Facilities is responsible for programming the fobs for clearance and special events and issuing clearances per the policy and procedures defined in this Policy. The Office of Campus Safety and Security and Facilities will only respond to exterior Door Access Control requests approved by Executive Leadership.

• The Office of Campus Safety and Security and Facilities requires that department supervisors provide the name and position title for authorized interior access.

• Supervisors requesting access for a special event will:

  • Write requests using the approved Key/Fob Request Form.

  • Requests may take up to 72 hours to be programmed during the work week, although an effort will be made to handle requests as soon as they are received.

PRIVACY

This Policy describes the conditions and circumstances under which the College may use Door Access Control records. It will be distributed to all cardholders to notify them of such potential uses.

• The Controlled Access System records entry data such that it is possible to identify the times and dates that a fob has been used to enter certain buildings or rooms on campus.

The College reserves the right to access and review such data per this Policy.

While Employees do not have any expectation of privacy regarding the use of keys and key fobs and the Controlled Access System, in the interest of protecting the privacy of fob holders, access to Controlled Access data shall be restricted, and such data shall be used only for the following legitimate purposes:

• To administer and evaluate the Door Controlled Access System.

• To investigate breaches of building security, serious violations of college policy, and crimes.

• To respond to security alerts and to address other emergencies.

Employees authorized to access Controlled Access Data for these purposes are required to protect the confidentiality of such data. Moreover, except in emergencies, Employees shall not use Controlled Access Data to investigate the whereabouts of a specific individual without the prior approval of the President/District Director.

If the College is served with a properly issued subpoena or court order compelling the disclosure of Controlled Access Data, the College will make reasonable efforts to give advance notice to the relevant fob owners, provided that such notice is practicable and permitted under the law.

DEFINITIONS

Door Access Control System – An electronic device installed on a door, allowing a user to open the door without operating the mechanical lock or using a mechanical key.

Door Position Switch (DPS) – Electronic component designed to monitor the door's state (open, closed, ajar).

Key Fob – A key fob, more commonly called a fob, is a small security hardware device with built-in authentication for door access and secure access control to College Premises and rooms.

Readers – Electronic device designed to ‘read’ the access credentials of a fob to verify a user’s authorization to access a secured area.