ID card access systems upgraded
"We're switching over to access cards for the colleges, mainly to eliminate the exterior keys," Manager of Residential Colleges Bob Truscott said. In past years, maintaining and recoring locks for external keys alone cost $11,000 per year; Food and Housing spent about $9,000 on upkeep for other locks.
The new card readers, manufactured by Best Lock Corp., have been installed at most college stairwells, community bathrooms and computer facilities; more will be set up for the rest of campus.
"We're upgrading to keep up with the change in technology which will allow faster access service," Campus Police Chief Mary Voswinkel said. "But that won't be ready for some time." For now, new students or those who have lost their cards are being issued the same kind of ID that has been used since 1986. For more than 10 years, Rice has been using card access systems made by the Die Bold Co.
The difference between the new and old ID cards will be in the magnetic strip on the back. Current IDs use two tracks within the strip, one for meal plans, one for card access. The new cards will add a third track for the Best Lock card readers.
The card access system upgrade comes at a convenient time since Rice has several new buildings to incorporate into the network, and the demands of a growing student body call for a more flexible, convenient system. Truscott said that Fondren Library will be converting from a bar code system to using one of the tracks on ID cards.
In addition, Truscott said that Rice has purchased software from Die Bold to allow cardholders to have credit and debit accounts. "I don't know for sure, but the university will probably say that you must have a cash balance," Truscott said. He agreed that Rice is probably reluctant to offer credit lines because it would not want to become a collection agency.
"But our first priority is access control," Truscott said. "Our second is ... with purchasing and [employee] time attendance, but it's mainly a staff deal." A new staff ID card might act as a punch card, automatically recording time-in/out data.
The new system's installation and equipment will cost $50,000, and Truscott expects the system to pay for itself after 2 1/2 years. So far, "working out conversion issues" has been the main delay, Truscott said. "We have over 10,000 cardholders. We have to think about the computer side of things. ... We want [the new cards] to function normally."
This item appeared in the News section of the September 20, 1996 issue.
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