Southeast will install card-entry system at residence halls

When newer residence halls at Southeast Missouri State University were built, they were designed to include card-entry systems university staff say are easy to use and enhance security.

Southeast now is working to install additional card systems at the entrances of older residence halls on campus.

Through today, Southeast is accepting sealed bids for an exterior door card access project at the Henderson, Myers and Vandiver halls, according to an invitation for bid.

Kendra Skinner, director of residence life, said the projected cost for installing exterior card accesses at the three buildings is about $130,000. The project is expected to take two summers to complete.

Card accesses for building and room entrances were installed at Laferla, Merick and the River Campus when the buildings were constructed.

Exterior accesses later were added to Towers East, South and West. Remaining are the three included in the project, as well as Dearmont, Chaney, Towers North and current Greek housing.

Adding the card accesses to older buildings can be costly, Skinner said, because some doors need to be replaced and wiring and card readers have to be installed.

The university is focusing solely on exterior accesses for now, because updating interior locks would require replacing all the doors to make them compatible with the card-access system.

Once installed, the card systems save time and money for the university and students, Skinner said, and improve security at the buildings.

If a student loses a key card, it costs $15 to replace. But if a student loses a hard key, the replacement costs $95.

"From our standpoint, we really like the key cards, because it allows us to control the access of the doors," she said. "We can determine when your key card has access and when it doesn't. If you're a guest and you're staying somewhere, we could give you a key card that would match the dates you were staying, then it turns off, and you no longer have access."

About 2,800 students will live on campus during the 2015-2016 school year.

When the university closes residence halls during breaks, the exterior locks on the buildings are changed to ensure no one can enter.

"That takes time and money in terms of labor cost for facilities to change out the cores," she said. "When you have a key card, all we have to do is change the settings."

The key-card system also helped during a recent theft case. Each card is assigned to an individual with a code.

"We had a student who had a theft at the end of the school year," she said. "We've been able to go back to see when was the last time he gained entrance into the room and who else attempted to get into the room or who else got into the room."

Moving forward, Skinner said the university will continue to assess which buildings can use the card-entry system in the future.

"I think it's going to be good for the students," she said.

klamb@semissourian.com

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