Article San Francisco’s Academy of Art University Secures Busy Urban Campus Spread Across the City The challenge of operating a large college campus in a busy urban setting can be quite complex This is especially true at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University campus, which spans dozens of buildings that are spread throughout the city, each housing expensive equipment and high-value student work product The university prides itself in giving students a safe place to learn where they can nurture their creativity and put countless hours into their valuable work portfolios It needed an access control system that could accommodate the challenge of delivering the security it needed in a complex and widely dispersed campus environment, along with important new capabilities and an improved campus experience A Fast-Growing Urban Campus The Academy of Art University in San Francisco was established in 1929 by Richard S Stephens, a fine art painter and creative director for Sunset Magazine Opened in a single rented loft initially to teach advertising art, the university soon assembled a distinguished faculty of practicing art and design professionals with a shared philosophy: hire established professionals to teach future professionals Today, the university has more than 18,000 students and 30 areas of academic emphasis, making it the country’s largest private school of art and design At the same time, the university boasts a thriving campus life including clubs, special events, social activities, and its Urban Knights athletic program which competes at the NCAA Division II level By the mid-2000s, the Academy of Art University occupied approximately 20 buildings housing classrooms, offices and residential halls that were scattered across the city Each location had multiple points of access, and was protected only by basic locks and metal keys The inadequate security of this arrangement became painfully apparent after a daylight break-in and burglary at one of the university residence halls resulted in significant property losses To improve security, the university migrated to a campus safety organization that leveraged public safety best practices The net result was the elimination of contracted security, and replacing them with its own hired professionals Academy of Art University now has over 130 employees, a 24hour patrol team, a campus communications center with emergency dispatching service, and round-the-clock safety hosts stationed at most buildings Additionally, the university embarked on a program to secure every building across its widely dispersed campus What has resulted is the nation’s first university to be completely locked down, with all access controlled through a single, centralized system Moving to High-Frequency Contactless Smart Cards Most universities currently use campus magnetic stripe (magstripe) cards or low-frequency (125 kHz) cards, often known as proximity (or Prox) cards While these cards have clearly been popular choices in the past, they simply not provide the level of security or adaptability that are needed in order to protect campuses as security threats continue to evolve The best way to protect students, faculty and staff is with high-frequency contactless smart card technology that uses mutual authentication and cryptographic protection mechanisms with secret keys, and a secure messaging protocol delivered on a trust-based platform ARTICLE In addition to increasing campus safety and security through smart card technology, Academy of Art also needed its access control system to be easy to expand without forfeiting earlier investments Meeting the twin needs for both security and scalability would require a move to a system based on an open architecture that could support multiple card technologies and future enhancements With this platform in place, the university’s cardholders would eventually be able to more than just open doors with their ID cards, including making secure purchases and gaining access to Urban Knights athletic events The Academy of Art University turned for its solution to Microbiz Security Company, a long-time HID Global partner and leading provider of consolidated security solutions including video surveillance, intrusion and access control products Microbiz recommended the HID Global iCLASS SE® platform, including the company’s multiCLASS SE™ readers that support both its Indala® lowfrequency, entry-level proximity cards for physical access control, as well as HID Global’s iCLASS SE high-security smart card credentials The iCLASS SE platform can be used with iCLASS, MIFARE® and DESFire® card technology, as well as iCLASS Seos™ high-security smart card credentials Both iCLASS SE and iCLASS Seos card technology use HID Global’s Secure Identity Object (SIO) data model, which represents many forms of identity information on any device that has been enabled to work within the secure boundary and central identity-management ecosystem of the company’s Trusted Identity Platform (TIP) TIP and SIOs enable iCLASS Seos credentials to be carried inside smartphones in a managed access environment The Academy of Art sees this as an important future capability that will be extremely attractive to students, faculty and staff who rely more and more heavily on smartphones for a variety of daily tasks Deploying the Solution In the first two months after initiating deployment, the university installed approximately 40 multiCLASS readers at 14 buildings It has since installed a total of nearly 260 readers at approximately 50 buildings including 17 residential halls Every residential hall and computer lab is now protected, and the university continues to install new readers as it acquires buildings and adds or reconfigures rooms to house valuable equipment and assets Next, new IDs were distributed to all incoming and current students With each ID, the university provided instructions on its use at the front door of each building The university also had the campus safety staff posted at each front door the first week of school to assist students in gaining entry According to the university, there initially was reluctance on the part of students and staff but, over time, the process of using the smart cards became second nature Parents of students, alike, appreciated the peace of mind that came with knowing all doors were locked They also appreciated knowing the university was committed to providing a safe and secure learning experience With its new access control solution, metal keys are no longer required, enabling users to open doors much more quickly, which can be very important in an urban environment Additionally, the university has completely replaced the previous magstripe cards that had been issued but were never carried or used The university is now issuing approximately 65,000 to 75,000 ID cards each semester using HID Global’s Corporate 1000 program, which provides a unique 35-bit card format that supports just over million individual card numbers for use with standard HID proximity ARTICLE readers Approximately 25,000 cards are in use at any given time, and card numbers are tracked in the manufacturing process to ensure they are not duplicated The university’s access control system automatically turns the cards off at the conclusion of one semester and back on again at the beginning of the next, or permanently disables the student’s identity following their resignation or failure to re-enroll With the iCLASS SE platform it is also easy to support changes in how Academy of Art University regulates access to facilities The security team has been asked to install card access systems not just at building entrances, but also at sites including individual media labs and TV or animation studios where students are producing projects using expensive equipment In these instances, the university controls access by department or by individual students or staff For example, at the main warehouse, only staff members employed by that department have access At the university’s main residential halls, only students staying in their respective buildings have access rights, and guests are never allowed there or on campus without written permission from a department director Solving the Secure Issuance Challenge At any university, secure issuance is an important piece of the puzzle To optimize the badging process, universities must select printers, card materials and software that enable them to incorporate both visual and logical anti-tamper elements into their cards to ensure trustworthy, multi-layered authentication Visual elements can include higher-resolution images and holographic card over-laminates, as well as permanent laser-engraved personalization attributes that are extremely difficult to forge or alter Printers should feature a small footprint so they can be installed wherever needed, and the issuance solution should be easy to set up and use, intuitive, and require little or no training Fieldupgradable printers enable universities to meet new requirements as needs evolve, and software solutions should support multiple uses and include card templates that streamline card creation, including data synchronization Print speed is also important, to keep card lines moving To meet these needs, today’s High Definition Printing (HDP) units offer high throughput plus superior reliability and durability, a modular design, and crisper, higher-definition images than alternatives Unlike traditional Direct To Card (DTC) printers, HDP printers actually print a high resolution image to a transfer film which is then adhered to the card This process not only delivers exceptional image quality, but also eliminates the possibility of print head damage caused by direct contact with the card’s contact chip As a result, HDP printers can be used to print cards made from a variety of materials, including those with embedded electronics Another benefit of today’s high-throughput solutions is they can run operations in parallel, speeding issuance by encoding one student’s card while it’s printing another These solutions also support both centralized and distributed printing, so universities can pool two or more desktop units at the card services office for large-volume, centralized card runs, as well as individual units at locations such as residence halls where authorized users there can print cards and issue them to students This can alleviate long card pickup lines while improving student convenience ARTICLE Speeding the printing process is particularly important at the beginning of each semester, enabling universities to minimize or eliminate long lines and make the registration experience quick and painless for staff and students, alike There are two key ways to this First, inline personalization solutions can be used, enabling universities to combine what previously were multiple processes into one automated step A second way to speed card issuance is to pre-print cards with static information ahead of time This information might include the school seal, logo, and mission statement Universities can also pre-print visual security elements, so that all remaining items can be printed on issuance day using faster, partial-ribbon printing Doing More with the Card With its new system, Academy of Art University can more with its ID cards than just open doors, including entering Urban Knights sporting events, or making purchases using Knight Kash, the university’s debit program for meals and cashless vending The Knight Kash program was created its Knight Kash program to be the ultimate complement to the university experience ID cards are used not just for dining on campus, but also at off-campus merchant partner establishments to provide the greatest possible flexibility, variety and value The university also uses the cards for a part- and full-time employee payroll system, and is considering using the cards for student attendance systems and other applications in the future, as well as enabling users to carry the ID cards on their smartphones The university has realized a number of important benefits from its new access control system, including documented reductions in theft even as enrolment has increased, and an improved campus experience The system has also significantly improved reporting capabilities, enabling the security team to, for instance, provide valuable input about building usage that resulted in new building access hours and policies With its new access control foundation in place, the university can now embrace change and rely on this system infrastructure to support future improvements that will benefit faculty and staff, as well as students and their parents Plus, the university believes that driving its students to be ID-centric in how it accesses campus facilities, services and events better prepares them for corporate life after graduation ### About the Author Brett St Pierre is the director of business development, Education Solutions with HID Global In this role, he is responsible for coordinating the company's vertical business strategy and product roadmap and plays a key role in extending HID Global's industry leadership in this rapidly growing market .. .ARTICLE In addition to increasing campus safety and security through smart card technology, Academy of Art also needed its access control system to be easy to expand without forfeiting... residential hall and computer lab is now protected, and the university continues to install new readers as it acquires buildings and adds or reconfigures rooms to house valuable equipment and assets... off -campus merchant partner establishments to provide the greatest possible flexibility, variety and value The university also uses the cards for a part- and full-time employee payroll system, and