Security Updates at Iowa Lakes Campus

By Michael Houseman

Iowa Lakes community college updates dorm security to the same tier as D1 universities

This year here at Iowa Lakes Community College the college has updated its security system to get into the dorms. The dorms have been updated by using a barcode on the back of your Iowa Lakes student ID instead of a key. This system has been used at D1 universities across the nation for security to enter any campus building. It also limits who has access to what dorms or facilities.

Director of housing Joesph Pavlovich is very happy with the new security updates at Iowa Lakes.

              “Our main priority here at Iowa Lakes is the safety of our students,” said Pavlovich.

              Unlike the easy of copying a key, it is harder to get into the dorms if you are unwanted.

              “The security level of the keyless entry is top-notch. No ordinary student can hack into your card to gain access to your dorm. The only way someone would be able to enter is if they would break-in,” said Pavlovich.

So was this update to security due to past events at Iowa Lakes? No that isn’t the case at all.

Iowa Lakes passed a bond before the 2016 school year, which allowed them to install keyless entry on all exterior doors at the main building. Iowa Lakes always planned on adding a keyless entry in the dorms since the bond passed, but just got around to it this year as Iowa Lakes has been making improvements to its main campus.

“Our next step was to install keyless entry into our dorms,” Iowa Lakes executive director Delaine Hiney said. “This allows students a single entry ID card which is more secure, as keys can be duplicated.”.

Iowa Lakes will be doing away with the key fob for entering the building as staff and students will only need to use their student ID’s to gain access to the facilities.

These changes at Iowa Lakes are just the beginning of the upgrades.

“ One item you will notice this year is new LED lighting in our housing areas,” said Hiney.  “The college will continue to upgrade our lighting throughout the campuses.  Iowa Lakes installed additional cameras at key Estherville and Emmetsburg Campus doors.  The cameras are not monitored 24/7, but can be utilized to review events and to observe access when needed. Iowa Lakes also continues to upgrade existing cameras.”