Roger Williams University selects Quantum Secure to automate its physical identity and access management

Roger Williams Univ.

Quantum Secure, a provider of enterprise software to manage and streamline security identities, has announced that its SAFE for Higher Education software suite has been chosen by Roger Williams University.

The software will enable the university to automate key physical security policies, simplify the on- and off-boarding of identities and improve the overall level of security at the university.

Established in 1956 and located on 140 acres overlooking Mount Hope Bay in Rhode Island, Roger Williams University is a private liberal arts college, currently ranked in the Top 10 of comprehensive colleges in the north by U.S. News & World Report. The university enrolls approximately 3,800 undergraduate and 850 graduate students in 36 liberal arts majors and five professional schools.

Roger Williams University was faced with the challenge of managing security for personnel and property through control of identities, physical security policies, processes and systems without full automation. Strategically, Roger Williams University wished to integrate multiple systems and processes -- ERP, Public Safety, Facilities, Housing, Dining Services and ID Offices -- which would guarantee control over physical identities within multiple disparate systems without compromising risk to the university, said Quantum Secure in a press release it issued on August 25.

With the Quantum Secure SAFE for Higher Education suite of software, the university was able to integrate its ERP systems with its physical access control systems and automate key physical security processes, enabling the effective management of students and faculty access to university buildings, facilities and housing.

With a projected ROI of only six months, Roger Williams University expects the following results from its deployment of SAFE:

• Automation of 40 percent of security operations, leading to a reduction in the Physical Access Management Team’s day-to-day efforts;
• Elimination of up to 95 percent of errors from implementing Right First Time and Reduced Cycle Time for cardholder administration, badge printing, compliance reporting, physical access management and more;
• Significant cost avoidance by not needing to hire additional staff to execute manual functions related to badging and metal key management processes.

“Quantum Secure has helped us immensely in our goals of becoming a 21st century campus, using technology to increase physical security while providing even better customer service,” said Joseph Pangborn, vice president and chief information officer of Roger Williams University. “With SAFE, we have increased our levels of security, improved our customer service and future-proofed our infrastructure for years to come.”

With the SAFE for Higher Education solution, Roger Williams University now operates with a 100 percent confidence level that all identities and related-area access have been properly approved and managed, says the press release. For example, as students are assigned a residence suite for the semester via the Housing Department, SAFE ensures that they are immediately granted electronic access to that residence. Additionally, as students need access to a specific lab as part of that semester’s curriculum, SAFE provides them 24/7 physical access based on their enrollment in that particular course.

The SAFE for Higher Education suite also has allowed Roger Williams University to delegate authority regarding access related to identities to particular departments in the organization. For example, if the Housing Department needs to temporarily disable access of a student as a result of an infraction, they can do so by simply logging into a Web-based SAFE portal and disabling that badge. Upon remediation of that infraction, that badge can automatically be re-activated to again allow physical access to that housing facility.

“We are proud to work closely with Roger Williams University in this deployment of the SAFE for Higher Education solution,” said Ajay Jain, president and CEO of Quantum Secure. “Our focus on higher-education leaders continues to highlight both the need for improved identity management and the direct strategic and operational improvements that can be gained with our enterprise software-based approach to physical identity and access management.”