Why Campus Credential Professionals Need a Seat at the Campus Safety Table
Why Campus Credential Professionals Need a Seat at the Campus Safety Table
Earlier this month, I shared a post on LinkedIn about a report from the Utah Board of Higher Education that caught my attention. I was still working my way through the report at the time, but one thing was immediately clear to me: campus credential professionals have an important role to play in the conversations taking place about campus safety. The more I considered the report, the more I felt this was worth exploring beyond a LinkedIn post.
In response to the September 2025 tragedy at Utah Valley University, the Utah Board of Higher Education convened a statewide task force to take a comprehensive look at campus safety across Utah's public colleges and universities. The resulting report addresses behavioral threat management, facilities and events, emergency response, professional preparedness, and post-incident review.
It is a thoughtful examination of the many responsibilities and systems involved in keeping a campus community safe. And while I certainly don't expect every campus safety report to specifically reference campus card programs, I do believe the professionals who manage credentials and access systems should be part of these conversations.
That brings me to a question I think every NACCU member should consider: Who is at the table when your institution makes decisions about campus safety?
Campus safety is not solely a public safety responsibility. It depends on many departments and systems working together, often behind the scenes. Identity, credentials, access permissions, technology, facilities, data, and emergency procedures all play a role.
Think about the number of campus departments involved in these processes and how often the campus card or credential office connects them. Our members understand these relationships because they work with them every day. They know how the systems operate, where the challenges exist, and what it takes to make everything work together. That knowledge is valuable, particularly when institutions are reviewing existing safety procedures or considering changes to their infrastructure.
Where Credential Expertise Matters
Access Control and Permissions
Who should have access to a building or restricted area? Who approves that access? How quickly can privileges be changed or revoked?
Credential professionals understand the full lifecycle of access, from provisioning through termination, and the systems and integrations that make those decisions operational.
What may appear to be a straightforward decision about building access can involve several departments, different systems, and policies that must work together. Having someone in the conversation who understands those dependencies can make a significant difference.
Emergency Response
During a lockdown or other emergency, what happens at electronically controlled doors? Can first responders access the spaces they need? Who can override normal permissions? What happens if power, networks, or other systems are unavailable? These are questions that need to be answered well before an emergency occurs.
I suspect many NACCU members have participated in discussions about these scenarios, whether through formal emergency planning or simply troubleshooting how systems will respond under unusual circumstances. That practical knowledge deserves to be part of broader institutional planning.
Identity and Campus Populations
Students and employees are only part of the campus community. Contractors, vendors, visitors, affiliates, conference attendees, temporary employees, and others may also need physical or digital access. Credential professionals understand the complexities of establishing identity and appropriately managing these populations.
As campuses become more complex, so do the expectations for managing access. Understanding who is on campus, what access they should have, and how that access is maintained is an important part of the safety conversation.
Events and Temporary Access
Large or high-risk events may require temporary credentials, modified building schedules, visitor management, special permissions, and changes to normal access patterns. Credential and access professionals should be included when event safety plans are developed, not simply contacted when it is time to implement them.
I think this is an especially important distinction. There is a difference between being asked to carry out a decision and being invited to help inform it. Our members can often identify operational considerations that might not be obvious to someone who does not work with these systems regularly.
Data and After-Action Review
Access control systems can provide valuable information following an incident. Institutions should determine in advance how access data is retained, protected, interpreted, and appropriately used during investigations and after-action reviews.
There is also an important responsibility to understand what the data can and cannot tell us. Credential professionals can help institutional leaders understand the capabilities and limitations of these systems while supporting appropriate data governance and privacy practices.
A Seat at the Table
One recommendation in the Utah report specifically calls for assessing secure entry and badge access as part of campus facility safety reviews. I was encouraged to see that recognition. But it also made me think about the people behind those systems.
At NACCU, we regularly see the depth of expertise our members bring to their institutions. They manage complicated systems, solve problems that cross departmental boundaries, and often serve as the connection between technology, operations, and the campus experience. Much of this work happens quietly, and when everything works as it should, few people give it a second thought.
That doesn’t make the work any less important.
So here is my challenge to campus credential professionals: Find out whether your program is represented in the conversations where campus safety decisions are being made.
Is someone from the campus card, credential, or access-control program involved in your institution's safety committee, emergency planning team, event risk-management process, or facility security assessments?
If the answer is no, consider how you might start that conversation. It could begin with a meeting with your supervisor, a colleague in public safety, or someone responsible for facilities or emergency management. Ask where your expertise could be helpful and how your department might contribute to the institution's existing efforts.
And if you are already part of these discussions, I hope you will share your experience with other NACCU members. What has worked? How did you become involved? What advice would you offer someone who wants to take that first step? This is exactly the kind of knowledge sharing that makes our NACCU community so valuable.
I want to be clear that I am not suggesting campus card offices should assume responsibilities that belong to public safety. What I am suggesting is that campus safety decisions are stronger when the right people are involved, including those who understand the credential and access systems that support campus operations every day.
This also connects directly to NACCU's Making the Case for the Campus Card initiative shared first at the NACCU Annual Conference. We have been encouraging members to think more broadly about the value of their programs and to build relationships with institutional leaders who may not fully understand the scope of their work.
Campus safety is one important opportunity to demonstrate that value. Our members have expertise worth bringing to the table. The next step is making sure the right people know it. NACCU can help – watch for the release of the Making A Case for the Campus Card toolkit next week!
Until then, I am interested in hearing from NACCU members who are already involved in campus safety planning. How did you become part of those conversations, and what have you learned along the way? Message me at dawn@naccu.org – I would love to talk with you.
Source: Utah System of Higher Education, Campus Safety Task Force Report, October 2026.