KEY REQUEST POLICY & PROCEDURES

The Facilities Services Department is responsible for installing, maintaining, servicing, replacing and updating all locks used to secure University facilities and property. This responsibility includes design of lock systems, maintenance and service of locks, issuance of all keys, and maintenance of cores, keys and records. No outside locksmith may perform work at the University without the prior approval of the Director of Public Safety and the Director of Facilities Services.

The Department of Public Safety, with input from the Facilities Services Department, will establish and implement procedures and will prepare such forms as are necessary for the management of keys.

Individual room or area keys will be issued to University employees upon the request of the appropriate unit administrator (Vice-President, Dean, Chairperson or Director). Keys will be issued to individuals by name and they will be held responsible and accountable for such keys. Spare keys will not be issued.

Building keys or keys to one or more areas within a building may be obtained from Public Safety by the responsible Vice President, Dean, Chairperson, Director or other unit head. Such keys will be issued only if there is a need for access to multiple areas for performance of assigned duties and responsibilities.

Loss or theft of keys must be reported immediately to Public Safety by the person to whom the key was assigned.

Obsolete and unneeded keys should be returned to the Facilities Services Department for disposal. Department heads, or their designees, are responsible for retrieving issued keys from employees prior to termination, separation or retirement from the University.

Certain non-University personnel (e.g., telephone service, elevator service, meter readers and certain vendors) have an ongoing need for access to University facilities. In such cases the head of the unit which contracts for these services will provide appropriate keys to the vendor or contractor. The unit head will maintain a record of each key provided to a vendor or contractor.

In other cases where there is no ongoing, continuous need for access to University facilities, vendors and contractors will obtain keys for temporary use from the Work Control Clerk in the Facilities Services Department. Authorization for issuance of such keys should be by the unit head responsible for each vendor with appropriate notification to the department head responsible for the space.

Whenever possible, the key policy for leased facilities should duplicate that of owned facilities, and responsibility for the issuance and control of keys should be contained in the language of the lease.

Current use of the card access system fall into two distinct categories: residence halls and other facilities. Student residence hall access is granted through the Office for Residence Life, while access to other facilities is managed by the Department of Public Safety in conjunction with the responsible Vice President, Dean, Chairperson, Director or other unit head. Each of these managing entities defines levels of access security appropriate for their respective users.

The WildCard Office is responsible for assisting both Public Safety and Residence Life in implementing their predefined access schema on the actual system and for carrying out the encoding of the actual software to ensure that the different levels of access function as intended. The WildCard Office does not define or grant levels of access to users except in emergency situations.

The WildCard Office will produce and distribute access cards to all new users. Replacement and deactivation of lost or stolen cards will also be carried out by the WildCard office during the normal work day. After hours replacement and deactivation of lost or stolen cards will be handled through the Department of Public Safety. Lost or stolen cards must be reported for deactivation to the Public Safety Department.

Temporary WildCards can be issued by the Public Safety Department outside of the normal working hours of the WildCard Office. These cards issued by the Public Safety Department will expire at the start of the next business day that the WildCard Office is open.

The Office for Residence Life is responsible for defining levels of access privileges for entry to the residence halls by all students and the following groups of non-student users: Hall Ministers, Residence Life professional staff, Resident Assistants, Head Residents and Student Life staff. The Office for Residence Life is also responsible for granting access and facilitating entry to the halls for contracted vendors providing services under the direct supervision of its office, (e.g., moving, extermination, laundry and vending). Such vendors will be required to return temporary access cards to the Office for Residence Life prior to departing the campus each day.

Student access to the residence halls is limited to undergraduates enrolled at the University on a full-time basis. The level of an individual student's access is determined by place of residence and/or gender as follows:

Residents of a hall will be provided with 24 hour access to their own building or community of buildings (Austin/St. Rita's and all apartment and Commons buildings are considered as single living communities).

All students may access all residence halls during the published visitation or entry hours relevant to each building, as well as halls of their same gender on a 24 hour basis.

Changes of residence or resident status that necessitate a corresponding change of a student's access privileges will be administered by the Office for Residence Life.

Hall Ministers, Office for Residence Life professional staff, Resident Assistants, Head Residents and designated Student Life staff may access all residence halls on a 24 hour basis.

Outside contractors operating under the direct supervision of the Office for Residence Life will be provided with the minimum level and duration of access required to accomplish their work. Entry will be facilitated via a temporary access card issued to Residence Life by the WildCard Office.

Access privilege is defined as the minimum level of access individuals need to carry out their work and/or study related tasks. During times of low occupancy or break periods, WildCard access to some campus facilities and residence halls may be restricted, subject to consultation between Public Safety and the appropriate Vice President, Dean, Chairperson, Director or other unit head.

Full access privileges will be made available to members of the University community only. Restricted access privileges may be made available to outside contractors and vendors to facilitate the delivery of their goods or services.

Limited WildCard admission into Athletic and Library facilities may be granted to friends and alumni of the University, subject to residency and membership requirements.

The WildCard Office will function as the coordinator for reports of damage or needed repair to gates, doors or the electronic components associated with the access system. Repairs to the mechanical components of the access system will be coordinated with the Facilities Services Office. The WildCard Office is responsible for basic trouble shooting, diagnosis and repair of the electronic components of the access system.

The WildCard Office will coordinate the reporting of any problems of the access system which could create security risks or operational difficulties.

Expansion of the system will be in accordance with established University standards for doors, alarms, strikes and associated hardware.

No campus area may be secured by an unauthorized locking device. Modifying, removing or attempting to defeat or disable any access control systems, except in cases of system failure, maintenance or repair, are not permitted.

Any person causing intentional damage to University access control devices and associated hardware or software, or who props, holds open or in any way interferes with the proper securing of an access controlled entryway is in violation of University regulations and will be subject to appropriate sanctions and/or prosecution.

1. Notify the Public Safety Dispatcher Office at Ext 9-6979, option #1, to check Lost/Found property for a missing key and to report the circumstances of a stolen key.
2. If key has not been found, initiate a replacement key request.
   1. Use the on-line Key Request Form
   2. Complete all sections of the form and submit it if you are a Dean, Director, Department Head, or their appointed designee.
   3. Electronic confirmation of your request will be sent to your e-mail account when your request has been received with the proper approvals.
   4. A representative of the Lockshop will deliver, and when possible, test each new key produced. Alternative delivery instructions can be arranged when needed.

1. Use the on-line Key Request Form
2. Complete all sections of the form and submit it if you are a Dean, Director, Department Head, or their appointed designee.
   1. Use one form per type of key requested. Only multiple copies of the same key can be produced using each form.
   2. Requestors may only request key production for areas under their control. Keys for other areas must be requested by the department that administers that area.
   3. Request forms must be routed appropriately and include proper approvals prior to key production.

 Elevator key requests for injured or disabled faculty/staff members:

1. Route appropriate medical verification of need, along with an endorsement of need, from your supervisor to the employee benefits department.
2. Benefits department will coordinate the delivery of all appropriate elevator keys to requestor, along with associated record keeping.

1. Deans, Directors, and Department Heads are to review all key requests submitted within their areas and approve or deny them.
2. Approved requests should be submitted via the on-line Key Request Form.
3. Approvals or denials of requests should be consistent and in accordance with the Policy on Access to University Facilities.
4. Requests for key approval are routed via e-mail as follows:
   • Step 1. Requestor
   • Step 2. Requestor's Supervisor
   • Step 3. Public Safety Key-Master
   • Step 4. Maintenance Work Control Center
   • Step 5. Lockshop
   
   

The estimated turn around time is several days, but requests that are especially critical will be processed as quickly as possible.

Faculty and staff key(s) that are returned to a Supervisor, Dean, or Director must be forwarded to the University lockshop for proper disposal and updating of key inventory records.

Keys should be placed in a suitable envelope along with an explanatory note and sent via campus mail to:

University Lockshop
Maintenance/Keys
Maintenance Building - 1st Floor

Note: Even if the same number and type of keys are to be reissued to a subsequent employee, the recovered key(s) must be returned and then reissued via the Key Request Procedure.

1. New employees should go to the Wildcard Office (1st floor Dougherty Hall) accompanied by his/her supervisor or with a letter of introduction or appointment, to secure a wildcard, during Wildcard Office hours.
2. The supervisor of the new employee should call (Ext 9-6979), visit Garey Hall or e-mail the Department of Public Safety to establish access privileges. Privileges will be granted in accordance with University Policy. Please review the Policy on Access to University Facilities.
3. Individuals who need modifications to their access privileges due to reassignment should follow procedure 2, immediately above.