Universities continue to prioritize safer, more secure campuses for students, faculty and staff. While challenges like legacy infrastructure and budget constraints exist, so do opportunities for smart, scalable upgrades — especially at the door. With hardware playing a key role in access control, locksmiths are uniquely positioned to support retrofit projects and contribute to long-term safety goals.
Because universities retain full control and ownership of their installed security systems, they follow clearly defined procurement processes and technical standards. These standards — often published online — are managed by facilities teams, updated periodically, and require leadership approval before changes can be made. Understanding and aligning with these requirements is essential for locksmiths supporting campus projects.
Many campus security upgrades today are in response to evolving risks and recent incidents. According to the University of Bridgeport, colleges are taking a more proactive approach by adopting new technologies such as biometric readers and mobile-enabled alert systems. “Colleges are also starting to utilize more biometric access control, with some campus buildings protected by fingerprinting and facial recognition technology to prevent unauthorized entry. Smartphones and apps can often pair with emergency alert systems so students can instantly report dangers and receive safety notifications.”
The Role of the Locksmith
Locksmiths and systems installers are integral to successful university retrofit projects — ensuring secure openings while preserving life safety. Their responsibility is twofold: maintaining safe egress for students and staff and preventing unauthorized access. At the heart of mechanical door security is the master keying system, which must remain intact and functional when upgrading or replacing hardware. All selected products must meet ANSI/BHMA durability standards and support high-throughput usage, while continuing to allow free egress.
Locksmiths carry a strong voice in retrofit decisions, particularly when it comes to door hardware upgrades or changes to the keying system. If a specified product doesn’t align with the campuswide master key system, it’s not going on the door. Uniformity is non-negotiable; every opening must work within the established framework. Locks must also include key bypass functionality to ensure emergency access for first responders.
Retrofit projects don’t happen in isolation. They require input and collaboration from a range of university stakeholders. From facilities and IT to campus security and the fire marshal’s office, multiple departments weigh in to ensure compatibility, safety and compliance. Locksmiths often work directly with facilities teams, but ideally, they’re involved from the beginning — consulting with architects as project parameters are defined.
In networked applications, IT must approve any connected locks to ensure system integrity and prevent cyber vulnerabilities. New technology must integrate seamlessly with existing infrastructure without disrupting installed systems. Meanwhile, physical security departments ensure retrofit plans don’t compromise other areas of protection. Universities often have their own fire inspection departments as well, which oversee egress code compliance and enforce any necessary changes. Lock shops must be prepared to quickly replace or rework any hardware that fails inspection.
By understanding campus standards, aligning with facility goals, and building strong working relationships, locksmiths can become trusted partners in long-term security planning.
Funding, Infrastructure and Future
Any approved university project is assigned to a project manager to oversee implementation. For access control upgrades, the security or physical security team is brought in early to align planning across departments and stakeholders.
Funding, infrastructure and long-term technology initiatives directly impact retrofit and upgrade decisions. While locksmiths can introduce new product options, it’s up to university leadership to justify the investment. Established relationships with distributors and manufacturers help locksmiths stay current with product offerings that meet university standards. In some cases, manufacturers will partner with trusted locksmiths to pilot or demo solutions on campus, opening the door to future installation opportunities.
The age and layout of a university’s infrastructure — including how and when it was built, and the consistency of its master key system — often determines what hardware can be retrofitted. New construction or facility expansions offer greater flexibility, whereas existing buildings may face more limitations. Once a project is defined, the university typically issues a bid request to three manufacturers. The winning vendor’s hardware is then written into the project specifications.
Even well-planned projects can shift unexpectedly. A deployment may be ready to launch when leadership decides to reprioritize due to new safety concerns or institutional changes, reminding everyone involved that flexibility is essential when working on campus.
Insights from a Locksmith
As a credentialed, certified locksmith, I’ve seen all parts of the business, working in the trade and shifting to in-department roles at two major universities. I started locksmithing at a private lock company as a shop helper, answering phones, obtaining on-the-job experience and acquiring skills of the locksmith craft. I continued the trade and worked at a security distributor where I researched new products, how they worked and what features were standout. In my positions at the universities, each of the different departments and stakeholders were in essence my customers. When they wanted to add security or make an upgrade, the physical security department team was called in to offer solutions.
At the end of construction, if anything’s not set to standard, that’s because the user didn’t catch it and we can’t just do a change order. I witnessed one of those issues while working at a university on a construction retrofit. Crews installed soundproof doors in an older building that housed administration and faculty. The four-inch doors and hardware were about a quarter-inch larger than the original doors, and lockouts kept happening when the latch would disengage from the chassis. The locksmith supervisor brought this to my attention because it had become a life safety issue as the potential for people getting locked into a space was high. There aren’t many things that keep me up at night, but until we got that hardware changed out, I was uneasy and worried about someone being locked inside if there was a fire. The university remedied the situation quickly, replacing the hardware at a cost of $40,000.
Events, unforeseen and unfortunate, often create the catalyst of change at the university level, and one of those is active shooter scenarios. When I was at Arizona State University, the head of the security department attended a convention shortly after the Virginia Tech shooting. My colleague learned that one of the reasons the shooter was able to get as far as he did was because he wasn’t wearing a uniform shirt, which none of the facilities personnel wore, and it was assumed he was part of maintenance. The perpetrator was chaining door hardware together to lock people in. Once we discovered this, every time we had a new build retrofit, we suggested a change to change the exterior trim hardware so it could not be chained or obstructed to prevent egress. When possible in design, single bank teller doors were implemented, to prevent the double door hardware from being chained together.
Impact, Service and Durability
There are other considerations above budget, initiatives and infrastructure in dealing with retrofits at a university. Those include the impact on current technology, service considerations and high-traffic survivability. For example, with access control, will a new infrastructure or component impact the current credential, such as smart cards used throughout the campus for housing, meals and other transactions? When it comes to electronics, the credential infrastructure needs to consider if the software platform will require an upgrade or whether the current version is compatible. If the university decides to move to mobile credentials, again the standard will be evaluated and potentially changed.
At the university, we’d often install and evaluate a product on a door. In one example, a networked lock component being tested on an opening kept going offline and was showing up as a discoverable connection, creating a network vulnerability. Survivability can also be a challenge in older infrastructures where the building is part of historical preservation. High-traffic areas need to accommodate countless cycles of many openings and closings, but locks must follow the preservation mandates and aesthetic changes needed to come to the board for approval.
Service, Maintenance and Stock
There’s also the service aspect of retrofit projects to consider. Let’s say you sell 6,000 locks for dorm rooms and the locks only work with batteries, so those components and the investment in batteries become part of the maintenance plan. Questions to ask include: Is manpower available to keep up with that new technology and battery replacement? Is there room for attic stock and inventory to be kept on reserve for future repairs, maintenance or expansion? Stockrooms quickly become overcrowded, especially when you’ve got back up products for hundreds or even thousands of doors.
Universities are proponents of new technologies that address current challenges or accommodate future needs. Locksmiths should be ready to present new technologies they believe will work well within the university environment. End users are thinking ahead, and you should too. At one university, we installed readers on new construction that were Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP)-ready, so we could initiate that connectivity in the future when we were ready to upgrade.
Locksmiths can address the university market by doing research on products and working closely with manufacturers and distributors already in the university’s standards and hardware specifications. Ongoing training and certification will also prepare locksmiths to present new technology advancements to end-users. Networking with other locksmiths, systems integrators and stakeholders helps you become an integral part of the university community. Your voice is important and a core foundation of entrance security and safety, so take your place at the table.
Cynthia Bingham CRL, AFDI is a technical trainer at ASSA ABLOY with over 25+ years of experience in the security industry. Certified registered locksmith by trade, she has served roles as access control technician and installer, program manager of physical security and manager of security and access control within the university environment.
Cynthia Bingham
Cynthia Bingham CRL, AFDI is a technical trainer at ASSA ABLOY with over 25+ years of experience in the security industry. Certified registered locksmith by trade, she has served roles as access control technician and installer, program manager of physical security and manager of security and access control within the university environment.
