Housing gets new Mcards for added security in halls

Students, faculty and staff who have access to any of the residence halls will be asked sometime during August and early September to trade their Mcards in for new ones as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the security of the card and access control into campus residential buildings.

Last week some 800 University Housing staff members received new cards. First-time students are being issued the new card during summer orientation. Those who live, dine and offer programs in the residence halls will have their cards converted when they return to campus, beginning this week with East Quad.

University Housing began installing card reader access systems more than 10 years ago and video cameras more than three years ago at entrances as part of an overall plan to improve safety in the residence halls. Student rooms and bathrooms were upgraded to require card access beginning in 2002. Recent upgrades to the software that controls the systems allows for the more advanced cards to be used.

"Operating residence halls that are as safe as possible has been and remains our paramount concern," says Larry Durst, University Housing business manager. "We are very pleased that recent technology advances are enabling us to make further improvements to the Mcard that makes it even more secure than was the case up to now."

Durst says there are more than 6,000 people whose cards will need to be exchanged. They include returning hall residents, off-campus students enrolled in the Entrée Plus meal program, contractors that work in the halls, and a number of faculty, staff and students who offer services and classes in the residence halls, and those who make deliveries. Cardholders will be notified when it is time to make the exchange. While the conversion is taking place, older cards will continue to work.

The procedure for access will not change for the occasional visitor to the halls, Durst says. Phones outside each hall's front entrance are available for visitors to contact residents to gain entry into the building.

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