Background

Card reader locks were installed on several suite and lounge doors in April 2005. Card readers allowed students living in a suite to grant access to people from outside the suite to visit without needing to prop open the suite door. The readers thereby increased the overall security of students' living spaces.

Card readers are now installed in Atwood, Linde, Sontag, South and Case Dorm. These Dorms have readers that allow access to the common exterior entrances. East Dorm has card readers on individual room doors. West and North have auto-locking mechanisms on individual room doors.

Adding Authorization for Entry

Only students residing behind a door with a card reader are automatically assigned access to that door. All students in a dorm have default access to the common areas of that dorm (e.g., lounge, laundry room, and kitchen).

As a consideration for those living behind doors with card readers, students have the ability to authorize the College to give their friends access to their room/suite. (See policy below). The Dormitory Affairs Committee agreed all students residing in a suite must unanimously decide to approve authorization for any friend to enter a room or suite with a card swipe lock on the door. A Card Swipe Authorization Form must be completed. On the form residents detail the location of the lock, and the names of the people they would like to approve for authorization to enter their locked area. The form is invalid unless everyone in the room/suite has printed their names and included their signatures as approval to proceed. Signatures on the authorization forms will not be checked for authenticity, but will be accepted as true and legitimate as a part of the HMC Honor Code.

Students who live in Case will be granted access to every card swipe at each L section of the dorm. Those friends who are approved for access will be given access to only the nearest door to the area they are approved to enter.

Completed forms are delivered directly to the Facilities & Maintenance front desk. Facilities & Maintenance staff will update the appropriate locks on campus.

Removing Previous Authorization for Entry

Removing previously authorized access for a person can be done with a Card Swipe Removal Form. Once the form is turned in to Facilities & Maintenance it will be processed the same day. If some suite members do not approve of a removal, they may take their case to the Dean of Students Office, where the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis. In emergency removal situations, a student may contact the dean on call through the proctor on call at (909) 717-7183 or by calling Campus Safety directly at (909) 607-2000. The dean will make the decision on a case-by-case basis.

Card Swipe Authorization Policy

Academic Year access

Students may submit a Card Swipe Authorization Form to Facilities & Maintenance during the first week of each month throughout the fall and spring semester. Please note only one form per suite per month can be submitted. The Facilities & Maintenance staff will begin to process the forms during the second month of each semester, as processing academic access is priority during the start of the semester. Thereafter, Facilities & Maintenance will complete the processing of forms by the third week of every month throughout the academic school year.

Each resident may authorize no more than ten friends to have access to their suite/room. The authorization form must include the authorizing names and signatures of all roommates/suitemates. Non-HMC students can be granted access, but an additional Non-HMC Card Swipe Authorization Form must be completed. These forms should be submitted to the Dormitory Affairs Committee chairs. Proctors and mentors are the only residents who have the option to allow all or more than 10 residents, of their own dorm, access to their suite/room. Please note, any student with visiting guests accepts responsibility for those guests' behavior, and the guests are responsible for observing the regulations of Harvey Mudd College and other colleges in the Claremont community. Any person who has been invited, either explicitly or implicitly, to one of the colleges in the Claremont community by a member of ASHMC is defined to be a guest of that member.

Summer access

Each student can request access for ten of their friends, during the summer, only if they live in a suite/dorm with a kitchen. The forms are due within the first week of each month during the summer. The Facilities & Maintenance staff will begin processing the forms in June, once the majority of summer room moves have been scheduled.

Off-Campus Authorizations (CGU/Brighton Park residents)

HMC students living off campus may be authorized under the same conditions, procedures and policy as on campus students.

Lost ID Cards

Being that ID cards are also keys to more private areas of student housing, when an ID card is lost, it is necessary to immediately report it as lost. Please notify Facilities & Maintenance immediately. The ID card will then be deactivated. Student will need to get a new ID card from the Claremont Card Center, Connection, in the Honnold Mudd Library. A replacement fee may be charged at the time the new card is issued. If your ID card is damaged, you may take the pieces to the Card Center and get a new ID free of charge. New cards must be brought to Facilities & Maintenance to be encoded to allow HMC housing access.