Educational institutions have a long list of priorities to manage with Security near the top. Security requirements cover people and premises as well as data and not forgetting resources. When it comes to security for both site and students, Schools, colleges and Universities have a range of access control solutions at their disposal, using a comprehensive range of readers, controllers and software systems.

The management and control needs of educational establishments are such that they are increasingly using sophisticated database systems to capture and analyse a broad range of information – including, for example, attendance records and academic performance. Information systems such as these form an integral part of timetable planning and the development and review of the curriculum, as well as providing a link to budgetary and financial management packages.  The information allows school managers to review, analyse and report on a wide range of data for staff and pupils.

In addition to these operational management and financial analysis requirements, schools are increasingly reviewing their access control needs and looking to integrate and, where appropriate rationalise, their often disparate systems – either by introducing new modules into an existing system, or by consolidating previously standalone processes and procedures.

With this complexity comes a requirement for a specific expertise in the integration of access control solutions with proprietary management information systems.

The ideal is one solution that will streamline access control, time and attendance, student accounts as well as monitoring and managing access to resources. And all this whilst maintaining a high level of security, throughout an institution.

Each school features its own set of ever-changing idiosyncrasies and unique challenges requiring flexible system architectures to satisfy each site’s demands.  With administration departments constantly seeking other creative ways to leverage current infrastructures, the academic services industry serve their identification needs by providing unique solutions to help educational institutions secure facilities and improve administrative efficiency to aid in academic excellence. With educational institutions worldwide seeing a significant influx of mobile devices for access by staff, pupils and visitors the administrative burden of managing a significant estate of mobile devices can be further complicated by various means of access. This is often compounded by the fact that these device estates have been added to over a matter of years.

Colleges and universities present unique security challenges; not only does it mean controlling physical access to buildings and events but also includes logical access to resources, at the same time trying to control operational costs and serving the diverse needs of a campus community.

Managed access to educational resources, reducing administrative complexity.

With many establishments looking to industry to help support them administer managed access to resources, this is when access control can improve managed access to educational resources and reduce administrative complexity.

In a college with several different faculties or a secondary school with several different subject departments managing access to mobile devices for each department can be an administrative burden. Whether this is existing device storage solutions or incorporating new solutions into an existing access control system, administration departments expect usage and access data and provision for remotely revised access.

With the increasing security threats among educational institutions coupled with diminishing budgets and intense pressure to cut costs across all levels and departments. Colleges and universities, as well as schools and academies, must contemplate how to keep their sites, pupils and resources safe without breaking the bank. All of which can be easily achieved with the use of brand agnostic hardware, easily integrated into existing management information systems providing security and usage information data whilst offering easy to use access control management.