Located in Collegedale, Tennessee, Southern Adventist University is a co-educational institution established by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, offering doctoral, master’s, baccalaureate, associate degrees, and one-year certificates to more than 3,150 undergraduate and graduate students.
access points
academic buildings
million covered square feet of building space
users
At Southern Adventist University, electronic access has been a campus focus since we began using it in 1985. We’ve experimented with various access providers, but Salto has become our go-to provider for campus-wide smart access control. We’ve been most impressed with the options Salto provides us. We can use a standalone smarts lock, RF, BLUEnet wireless communications, or a mixture. This variety of options eliminates the risks and costs of lost keys. and reduces operating costs because we no longer need to pull wires, mount power supplies, or maintain those systems and equipment. And if we lose power to a building, the system continue to work!
Southern Adventist University is an early adopter of electronic access control. They began using it in 1985 and even impressed their peers – who quickly worked to implement lockdown capabilities after the 2007 Virginia Tech campus shooting – because they had already enacted that capability campuswide at the time of that tragedy.
Southern Adventist University’s key access committee regularly reviews needs and solutions and how they can provide secure access to the variety of buildings on the campus: academic facilities, housing, support, and sports complexes. The school began using Salto electronic access products in 2010. As the campus and its number of facilities have grown, the committee has made it a priority to replace the disparate access solutions they had servicing different areas of the campus with Salto electronic locking solutions. This will include adding 5,000 locks over the next few years.
Southern Adventist University, in consultation with Salto manufacturer’s representative Intelligent Marketing Incorporated, has deployed various Salto products throughout the campus. They have installed different electronic locks, most recently deploying the Salto XS4 Mini and the XS4 Original+. Salto Space, the pioneering, data-on-card, smart access solution, manages the system. Salto Space seamlessly delivers a smart on-site access control platform designed to work in a wire-free environment, so there is no need to hardwire any door access points. This allows users to keep original doors in place, an essential factor for colleges with limited budgets.
Salto electronic access has allowed Southern Adventist University the ability to better manage academic building use, said Associate Vice President for Financial Administration Marty Hamilton. Hamilton said Access Manager Don Hart and team have deployed Salto Space throughout the campus to schedule building exterior doors to be unlocked during high traffic times, like Monday through Friday, when classes are in session and students need to come and go freely. Doors are scheduled to be locked – and require a credential – during the early morning, late evening, or weekend hours.
Because it does not require mechanical keys, Salto eliminates the hassles and expense of rekeying locks due to lost or stolen keys. Due to the low maintenance of Salto locks, long battery life, and ease of use, Hamilton said complaints at the campus regarding access have dropped dramatically since they have been using Salto products.
Hamilton said Southern Adventist University will continue to replace existing locks with Salto products for new construction – including a new academic building – and for building renovations. They plan to add up to 5,000 locks over the next few years and increase the use of Salto BLUEnet technology throughout the campus.
Salto BLUEnet Wireless is networked through Bluetooth RF. It can be installed as an independent system or can complement Salto Virtual Network (SVN) data-on-card technology in areas where real-time control is required. The Salto BLUEnet Wireless engine allows users to monitor live access control events. It provides the ability to unlock doors, change opening mode, activate a lockdown, monitor live door status, or change physical access rules in the access plan, all wirelessly and in real time.
- New levels of flexibility, accessibility, security, and improved access control that deliver safety and security to students, faculty, and staff.
- Emergency readiness with lockdown functionality and AMOK function mode. Immediate lockdown capability in the event of campus threats.
- Fits any door or access point with a complete hardware and electronic locking platform.
- Smart access, smartphone, and student smartcard compatibility eliminates the risk and cost of lost keys. One student or employee credential for identification and access.
- Can schedule open access times for the variety of buildings on campus.
- The university has the option to use battery-operated or hardwired locks, reducing installation costs.
- Live reports on access activity, with notifications of any after-hours or unauthorized access.
- Easy installation, door retrofit, and low maintenance. Unique design for easy retrofit that is applicable to existing standard door preparation. This makes it simple and fast to upgrade traditional mechanical master key systems.
Located in Collegedale, Tennessee, Southern Adventist University is a co-educational institution established by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, offering doctoral, master’s, baccalaureate, associate degrees, and one-year certificates to more than 3,150 undergraduate and graduate students.
