Managing access in higher education during COVID-19
Security professionals in higher education can implement a number of strategies to ensure safety and security without hindering the learning environment.
With COVID-19 still among us, many campuses are shut down, partially shut down or limiting access. While the risk of unwanted access in a campus setting has always been a security risk, campuses are also dealing with additional threats and risks based on COVID-19, along with the current social unrest and uncertain political climate in the U.S. and around the world. Though visitor and access management is a priority in higher education, an even stronger emphasis is being placed on protocols, tactics, training and systems that can help colleges and universities keep students, employees and locations safe and secure while adjusting to the new normal of learning during the pandemic. Managing access protects campuses and people, and right now, that also translates to minimizing unnecessary spread of the virus. With this new reality of stacked risks, there are some best practices emerging.
“Many colleges and universities have the same concerns and types of threats. Networking and talking with peers on a regular basis is so important because if they are seeing a trend, chances are we’ll be seeing it soon too,” says Jim Kurtz, Director of Public Safety at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn. Kurtz came to the private sector after 30 years in law enforcement (10 of those years as Chief of Police in Mound, Minn.).