California State University-Channel Islands (CSUCI) in Camarillo, Calif., is using Schlage COBRA and computer-managed locking systems, supplied by IR Security & Safety, to protect students, faculty and staff and to meet state-mandated requirements for information security on the two-year-old campus.

"The nice thing about it is that students don't have to carry a bunch of keys," says Don Fleming, an electronic technician at CSUCI. "We program their credential into all the locks that each student is supposed to have access to, and then the student can access the locks with one PIN code and their key fob."

The locks also simplify access for CSUCI 's emergency response personnel. Officers on campus each have their own PINs, which gives them access to any door on campus. "They don't have to carry a huge ring of keys and they don't have to remember which key goes to which lock," Fleming says.

COBRA locks are electronic cylindrical or mortise-style locks that can store up to 100 3- to 8-digit user codes and allow locksmiths to add or delete codes in seconds. Until it receives an authorized code, the clutching lever simply gives way, discouraging vandals and others from breaking it to gain entry.