Bowdoin will see the installation of a long-awaited new ID card system this Winter Break. Operations Manager of Residential Life Lisa Rendall announced in an e-mail to the campus last Friday that all faculty, staff and students will receive new, redesigned ID cards and that card readers in 22 buildings will be replaced as part of an effort to move toward one door access system.
Currently, two door access software systems run simultaneously: Millenium, which operates "proximity" readers (where the card is placed next to the machine) and CS Gold, which operates all "swipe" readers. However, the Millenium system is near the end of its useful life and "requires a tremendous amount of campus resources to maintain it," said Rendall.
In order to discontinue use of the Millenium software, all Millenium readers will be moved to CS Gold, a system that several hundred colleges and universities use, according to Rendall. The readers will function in the same way, but will be significantly smaller.
"We want to be proactive and make the change before we experience any real problems," Rendall said. "The CS Gold system will allow us much more flexibility on the back end for programming door access and effectively managing access. Additionally, consolidating card-related functions into one office that can assist with door access, vending, laundry and various account balance issues just makes sense."
The systems are now managed by both Residential Life and the OneCard Office, but following their consolidation into one system, the OneCard Office will administer all ID card affairs.
Buildings affected by the change include all College houses, upperclassmen dorms, Thorne Hall and various computer labs.
Each residence hall receiving a new reader will also have at least one "prox/swipe" reader because the swipe portion of an ID card continues to work even when the proximity chip stops functioning. This way, when the OneCard Office is closed, students will still be able to enter buildings by using the swipe portion of the reader.
Additionally, visitors who need temporary cards to enter residence halls for on-campus events, such as Admissions invitationals, Reunion and summer programs, can be issued more economical ID cards without proximity reader capabilities. These cards will be able to open doors with the swipe reader instead.
All access systems have the ability to track when an individual's card is used. A history of all activity is archived on an IT server and only accessed in response to a specific concern, according to Rendall. Such information has been used in the past to assist Security in the case of a theft or vandalism.
Rendall cited a specific instance when a large Thorne Hall window was smashed. Security asked Residential Life for the records of the lobby door of Coles Tower so that it could contact recent passers-by about the damage.
New cards will continue to function the same way, but will carry a new design.
"Communications has been interested in creating a new look for the ID card for some time," said Rendall. "It made sense to incorporate the new design when, as a result of this project, we are required to reissue ID cards to all students, faculty and staff on campus."
Despite the slumping economy, costs for the new readers are not a concern.
"This project has been planned for several years with a high priority as we knew that Millenium was nearing its end of life. We are now at the implementation phase of the project which includes the recent communications to the campus community."
Students, faculty and staff can exchange their old cards for new ones at the OneCard Office on the first floor of Coles Tower beginning Monday, December 22.