Controlling campus access control costs with dual technology card reader solutions

Campuses throughout the North America have used various types of cards over the last 30 years for identification, access control, cafeteria vending and check-out. One of the most common technologies placed on these cards has been magnetic stripe due to the relatively low cost of magnetic stripe cards and readers.

An identification number is encoded onto the stripe on the back the card and the card reader reads the data and performs the appropriate function (open a door, debit an account or record a transaction).

Unfortunately, the low cost of the card has been negatively off set by high maintenance of magnetic stripe card readers. Today, with a smaller maintenance staff and higher labor costs, many campuses are installing new proximity card readers that provide more functionally combined with less overall maintenance costs.

In order to change a complete infrastructure based on magnetic stripe some campuses have installed transition or combination card readers that are able to read both magnetic stripe and proximity cards. This transition method provides campuses a simple way to replace their magnetic stripe only card readers and upgrade to proximity cards as budgets permit. This approach provides a simple, cost effective migration without the headaches of having to install new readers and issue new cards simultaneously.

Dual technology card readers provide a solution to two basic challenges facing many campuses:

- The need to support two access control card technologies in order to ensure high levels of security and at the same time control the cost of issuing access control badging to high-turnover populations on campus.

- The need to support older magnetic stripe technology while transitioning to more reliable, higher functionality proximity card technology.

A major US military academy has implemented a combination card reader solution for access control to various campus facilities. The primary consideration was cost control.

By installing a dual technology card reader, proximity cards could be issued to cadets, instructors, and permanent staff while lower cost magnetic stripe cards are used for the hundreds of contractors that work on the campus for limited time spans. Using magnetic stripe cards for contractor badging, the university can provide a high level of security access control on campus and control card costs.

A large public university had a mix of two brands of magnetic stripe readers and a small population of HID proximity card readers.

To provide access control for holders of either type of card, the university decided to replace the entire population of magnetic stripe readers and proximity card readers with one combination reader. In the future they will start to issue proximity cards only replacing the older magnetic stripe cards.

This approach enables the university to transition to proximity technology without the expense and logistical disruption of issuing all new proximity-based access control cards to the entire campus population at the same time.