Access Control

I.      Policy and Purpose

This Policy and its Supplemental Procedures establish standards for the issuance of and accountability for methods of access to the UNC Charlotte Campus buildings and restricted areas, including keys, 49er ID Cards, and their temporary or digital counterparts, as well as the regulation of building and guest access areas on Campus. This Policy and its Supplemental Procedures also provide standards for access to the restricted areas of university buildings, rooms, and labs.

The purpose of this Policy and its Supplemental Procedures is to provide standards to limit and control access to sensitive, restricted and controlled areas of UNC Charlotte to authorized persons only through access procedures specific to location and user. This Policy and its Supplemental Procedures apply to all University buildings.

II.      Applicability

Access to each building on Campus, including access to building perimeters, areas and equipment, is regulated by the Office of Safety and Security, in conjunction with the departments and/or colleges that are responsible for the applicable building(s) and areas. The appropriate level of access control is to be determined by the needs, responsibilities, and privileges of a given user or group, including dates and time that a particular user or group requires access. The Associate Vice Chancellor for Safety & Security has final authority to make all access control decisions not assigned within or conflicting with this Policy.

III.     Definitions

A.    49er ID Card (“Card”): A virtual or physical identification Card issued to every person who is affiliated with UNC Charlotte, either through enrollment, employment, or as otherwise authorized, in the appropriate category as follows:

1. Student Cards: An ID Card indicating the status of a student as a member of the Campus community entitled to certain services. Such services may include, but are not limited to, Campus spending accounts, meal plans, housing access, library services, recreational services, academic buildings, lab access, and the Charlotte Area Transit System (buses and light rail).
2. Faculty/Staff Cards: An ID Card indicating the status of an employee, Emeritus Faculty, or member of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees as a member of the Campus community entitled to certain services. Such services may include, but are not limited to, Campus spending accounts, library services, access to recreational services, academic buildings, lab access, Kronos timekeeping systems (for employees), and the Charlotte Area Transit System (buses and light rail).
3. Authorized Guest Cards: An ID Card issued at the request of a division, college, department, program, or other unit to a person who is not otherwise associated with the University.

All Cards and temporary or digital counterparts are subject to the terms and conditions listed at https://aux.uncc.edu/49er-Card/49er-Card-terms-and-conditions.

B.    ARCHIBUS: A facility management system used to request Card and Key access, report lost keys, and make work requests, informal Project requests, and Motor Fleet Vehicle requests.

C.    Authorized Access Approvers: University employees designated by their supervisors to authorize individual Card access, key access, and lock/unlock schedules for buildings, rooms, and facilities within their assigned area of responsibility. Designation as an Authorized Access Approver may not be delegated. Authorized Access Approvers must hold the following positions or positions senior to the following positions:

1. Assistant Vice Chancellor
2. Associate Dean
3. Academic Department Chair
4. Director
5. Environmental Health and Safety Official, only for applicable areas with hazardous materials, safety issues, or training requirements, and only in conjunction with designation of an Authorized Access Approver in (1) through (4) above. 

D.    Authorized Guest: Any person who has been invited to Campus by a University official in order to fulfill an authorized specific purpose. Authorized Guests include, but are not limited to guest lecturers, contractors, vendors, alumni, emeritus faculty, and volunteers.

E.    Campus: All property owned or leased by UNC Charlotte, including The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City.

F.Campus Access Applications Coordinator (FM Lock Shop): The University employee in the FM Facilities Management (FM) Lock Shop responsible for implementing all relevant provisions of this Policy; creating keys; issuing, receiving, and maintaining key assignments, key inventories, forms, and records; and maintaining the University’s lock and key system.

G.   Campus Access Security Administrator: Employee in the Office of Safety & Security who has daily oversight of and is responsible for application of this Policy.

H.    Department/Building Access Coordinators: Employees assigned to a college, department, or unit to coordinate building access. Only full-time faculty and/or staff are eligible to be designated as Department/Building Access Coordinators; graduate assistants, student employees, and temporary workers are not eligible to be Department/Building Access Coordinators.

I.      Facilities Information Systems (FIS): A unit within OneIT that provides ongoing consulting, research, training, administration, software support, and systems implementation and support to Facilities Management (FM), as well as training, maintenance, administration, and systems implementation of the ACM Software ARCHIBUS, and GFMS.

J.     General Public: Members of the General Public are persons who are not current UNC Charlotte students, employees, faculty, Emeritus Faculty, or members of the Board of Trustees.

K.    Keys: University keys are physical keys that provide access to buildings or rooms. Keys are the property of UNC Charlotte. Some Restricted areas cannot be accessed with the 49er ID Card and require physical keys.

L.     Key Global Facilities Management Systems (GFMS): The GFMS is a security system that controls key boxes within each building. The GFMS software is used to keep track of keys that have been removed. The software alerts the manager of the key box when a key has not been returned at the end of the day. Boxes hold 8 to 96 keys. Building and area master keys are stored and controlled through the GFMS. GFMS stores and tracks master keys that are typically used by mechanics and maintenance staff. GFMS key boxes are also used by Departments so that a higher-level key can be used and tracked without being individually assigned, thereby reducing the chance of theft or loss.

M.   Access Control Management (ACM) Software: The ACM Software is a system that controls access to over 90 buildings and 5,000 access points and Card readers on campus. The ACM Software assigns access, generates reports, and administers the electronic access control system.

N.    Room Security Levels: There are four levels of room security within the University. These levels range from low security to restricted access and are assigned by Campus Access Security Administrator through consultation with the room owner.

1. Low Security: General access. These rooms and facilities are open to most faculty, staff, students, Authorized Guests, and the General Public during normal business hours. Examples would include exterior doors on most academic buildings, corridors containing offices, rooms reserved for general instructional purposes, and computer labs requiring basic Card permissions.
2. Medium Security: Rooms where unauthorized entry is unlikely to pose a threat to the facility or the research, work, or other academic use of the space.  However, these areas may contain materials, equipment and information of value, therefore, entry to these areas require special access authorization or supervision. Examples included in this classification would be fabrication labs, equipment storage areas, specialized computer labs, etc.
3. High Security: Rooms with a high security level may have one or more of the following properties. Additional safeguards, such as background checks, may be required before being provided access to High Security Facilities.
   1. Unauthorized entry could pose a threat to the integrity of the facility or the research, work, or other academic use of the space.
   2. May contain materials or equipment that could pose a threat to the health and safety of untrained personnel entering the facility.
   3. May contain data or information of a sensitive nature. Entry to these rooms would require training, authorization or supervision. Examples included in this classification would be the Vivarium in Woodward, chemistry equipment and material storage facilities, and laboratories where sensitive and ongoing research is being conducted. A relatively small number of students, with proper authorization and supervision, may be granted access to these facilities. Service personnel would rarely enter these facilities unless authorized, or under unusual or extreme circumstances.
4. Restricted: This level of security is the most sensitive. Additional safeguards, such as background checks, may be required before being provided access to Restricted Facilities. All Restricted and High Security room access approvals must be granted by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Safety & Security, or designee. Rooms with a restricted security level may have one or more of the following properties:
   1. Unauthorized entry could pose a significant and immediate threat to the integrity of the facility or the research being conducted within.
   2. May contain materials or equipment that could pose an immediate and significant threat to the health and safety of untrained personnel entering the facility.
   3. May contain data or information of a highly sensitive and confidential nature. Entry to these rooms would require advanced training, special authorization and close supervision. Examples included in this classification would be the restricted laboratories, campus server rooms, medical records storage and the pharmacy located in the Student Health Center. Any special hazards, biological and chemical, need to be registered with Environmental Health & Safety; special instructions and protocols need to be on file with the university police department. Students would rarely, if ever, be granted access to these facilities. In addition, service personnel would rarely, if ever, enter these facilities, and only under the most unusual or extreme of circumstances. In case of an emergency, a person should be available on site to facilitate entry for emergency responders.

O.   Separated Employee or Student: A separated employee or student is a person who was once but is no longer employed by or enrolled at UNC Charlotte. A person is considered separated from the University after their last day of employment or enrollment. Once this person is separated from the University, all previous building access shall be revoked immediately, and the person will become considered either a part of the General Public or an Authorized Guest if invited back to the University.

IV.    Responsibilities

All members of the University community are required to adhere to the applicable responsibilities outlined in the Procedures supplemental to this Policy.

Specific responsibilities are assigned to:

1. Members of the University community;
2. Authorized Guest Card Holders or Key Holders;
3. Authorized Access Approvers (Assistant Vice Chancellors, Associate Deans, Department Chairs, and Directors);
4. Department/Building Access Coordinators;
5. Campus Access Security Administrator (Safety & Security);
6. Campus Access Applications Coordinator (FM Lock Shop);
7. Housing and Residence Life Access Applications Coordinator (HRL Lock Shop);
8. Departments;
9. Building Directors;
10. Facilities Management (FM);
11. Housing and Residence Life (HRL); and
12. Key Shop.

V.     Procedures

All members of the University community are required to adhere to the applicable procedures outlined in the Procedures supplemental to this Policy. Those procedures include:

A.    Access Request, Approval, and Implementation Process;

B.    Emergency and Global Access;

C.    Remote Key Distribution Points;

D.    Access for After Hours Events; and

E.    If Key or Card is lost/stolen.

VI.  Compliance

Failure to comply with this Policy and its Supplemental Procedures may result in disciplinary action appropriate to the person’s status as an employee or student. The University may conduct access audits on a periodic or random basis for compliance purposes.  All Authorized Access Approvers, Departments, and Buildings must comply with periodic or random audits.