Access to Residence Halls

All residence building entrance doors are locked at all times. It is prohibited to prop doors. Students are issued an exterior door access card. Matriculated students who are assigned housing on the Bates College campus are granted access that allows them to open one or more outside doors of their assigned residence building at all times during the academic year. In addition, access is granted to all college residence buildings from 7 am to 12 midnight Sunday through Thursday and from 7 am to 2 am Friday and Saturday, during fall and winter semesters. 

Residences will be closed during the break between fall and winter semester. The College may provide residential accommodations for certain break or recess periods to a limited number of students by prior arrangement. Students approved to remain on campus between fall and winter semester have 24 hour access to their break period residence only. Students returning to Bates early will be allowed access only in special circumstances. The Office of Residence Life shall determine the first day and the final day of residence for all semesters and more information can be found on the Residential Calendar. For specific policies on summer and short term, please see the Residential Life website.  

Student Affairs will determine the termination of access timeframe for students who leave the College during the semester.

Matriculated students who are not living in a college residence building have access that allows them to open one or more outside doors of all college residence buildings from 7 am to 12 midnight Sunday through Thursday and from 7 am to 2 am Friday and Saturday while classes are in session. 

Students who are studying somewhere other than the college campus or students who are on leave of absence do not have access to college residence halls.

Students from other schools, including High School Scholar students do not have access to college residence halls. 

Faculty have access to college residence buildings if one or more of their classes meet in a residence building. Faculty will have access to the college residence building(s) in which their class(es) meet, during class times.

Staff whose job responsibilities require them to enter college residence buildings have access as their duties require. On-call staff who need to enter college residence buildings have 24 hour access.

Requests for access to residence buildings not covered in this document should be made to the Access Control Office for review.

ID cards remain the property of Bates College. When requested by a college official, students are required to produce their college ID. Students using an ID card assigned to someone other than themselves are in violation of the College Code of Student Conduct.

Student Residence Keys

Students are issued one key to their residence room (unless the room has card/pin access). Students are required to present a valid college ID and sign an acknowledgment of the Key and Card Access Policy at the time they receive the key. Keys remain the property of Bates College. Keys may not be duplicated. 

Students are strongly encouraged to lock their residence room while away, especially when leaving for extended periods of time. College officials may lock a student’s residence room at any time. See section for Lock Out below.

Student residence keys must be returned within 24 hours of the final day of residence. The Office of Residence Life shall determine the final day of residence for all semesters and more information can be found on the Residential Calendar. If a student leaves the College prior to the end of the semester, it is the student’s responsibility to return their assigned keys to the Access Control Office. Students are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned keys and charges will be applied to the student account. 

Access and Student Keys for Room Changes

Room changes are managed by the Office of Residence Life. In the event of a room change, the student will be issued the key to their new room and allowed to keep the key to their former residence for a maximum of 48 hours for the purposes of relocating. 

Students will be expected to move their belongings from their former residence from 7 am to 12 midnight Sunday through Thursday and from 7 am to 2 am Friday and Saturday. 

Card access for students who change residence buildings during the semester will be changed to reflect their new residence.

If the key to the former residence is not returned to the Access Control Office within 48 hours, the key will be considered unreturned. Students are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned keys and charges will be applied to the student account. 

One free lock out is permitted each semester per student. A lock out fee will be charged  to the student account for each additional lock out during the semester. 

To request to be let into your room, or, if you have questions about a lockout fee, contact Campus Safety at 207-786-6254.

Students may be issued keys to Student Club and Organization offices. The key request must be made online by the Office of Campus Life. Keys remain the property of Bates College. Keys may not be duplicated. 

Keys must be returned within 24 hours of the student’s move out date. Keys returned after that date are considered unreturned. Keys needed for summer must be returned and reissued. Students are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned keys and charges will be applied to the student account. 

Students may be assigned keys to rooms in academic buildings when necessary for their academic or employment responsibilities. Students will not be issued master keys. 

The request for keys must be made online and be approved by the Department Chair or appropriate staff member. After approval from the Access Control Office, the keys will be issued within one business day. Keys remain the property of Bates College. Keys may not be duplicated. If a key is not picked up within four weeks, the request will be deleted and another request will need to be issued to obtain the key.

Keys must be returned on the last day of the employment or academic assignment. Keys returned after that date are considered unreturned. Students are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned keys and charges will be applied to the student account. 

Requests for the issuance of keys may be made by an employee’s supervisor or a person responsible for an area. Supervisors are responsible to keep keys secure and ensure best practices for keys within their department.  

College employees will be issued keys based upon their access needs. Key requests shall be made online to the Access Control Office. 

Keys are issued to individuals and not to departments. Departments shall not retain keys returned by employees for reissue. 

Students and non-community members will not be issued keys or access to faculty or staff offices.

Keys need to be picked up within four weeks after the request has been approved. Faculty and Staff are required to present a valid college ID and sign an acknowledgment of the Key and Card Access Policy at the time they receive the key. If a key is not picked up within four weeks, the request will be deleted and another request will need to be issued to obtain the key.

Departments are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned key charges for their employees. 

Supervisors will hold the keys of employees who are on leave, out of season, outside the academic year, etc. If the employee is not returning to the college, keys have to be returned to the Access Control Office. It is not permitted to hand keys to a new employee in the same role.  Departments are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned key charges for their employees. 

Master keys will be issued on a very limited basis and only to individuals who need access to multiple locations for their employment. Students will not be issued master keys.  

Supervisors and their employees are collectively responsible to secure master keys. Supervisors are required to establish and communicate clear policies for master keys. See best practices to keep master keys secure. Departments are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned master keys charges.

Employees with Master Keys might be required to have a bluetooth tracking device on their key ring. See more information under Bluetooth Tracking for Key Rings.    

Keys remain property of Bates College. Returning keys to the Access Control Office is mandatory. Keys are considered “returned” once they have been returned to the Access Control Office, either by handing to an Access Control employee during business hours, or by using the drop box available 24/7 at the Access Control window. 

Employees are required to return keys they no longer need to fulfill their job responsibilities. Departments will be charged for unreturned keys.  

Employees leaving the college are expected to return all college keys to the Access Control Office on or before the last day of employment. Keys given to supervisors, or left in offices, rooms, or rental units are not considered returned and may be billed as unreturned. 

A key is considered unreturned once it is exactly one week past the last day of employment. At this point the department will be charged. Charges will not be removed once issued because the college will have already taken action to replace the key and make necessary arrangements. If costs to replace hardware associated with the loss of key exceeds $3,000 and must be replaced, these costs will also be charged to the employee’s department.

Departments are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned key charges.

If a key is lost or stolen, it must be reported to the Access Control Office and to Campus Safety immediately. 

An ID card that is lost, stolen, or not working needs to be reported in Garnet Gateway or in the Access Control Office or Campus Safety as soon as possible. Outside of business hours, a temporary card will be issued by Campus Safety, valid until 12 noon the next business day. A temporary card will have the same building and meal access as your ID card. Your replacement ID card needs to be picked up at the Access Control Office after 9 am on the next business day. You are required to return the temporary card at the time the replacement ID card is issued. 

Student Accounts will be charged for lost ID card and lost temporary ID card.   

For vendors working with Facility Services, the Facility Services’s Vendor Key and Access Card Issuance Policy applies.

For all other departments: The expectation of working with vendors is that an employee of the department remains the primary campus contact with the vendor. The campus contact will request access. Keys and cards will be issued within one business day. The campus contact is responsible for picking up the keys from the Access Control Office. 

By requesting access, the department agrees to be responsible for the keys and cards and to ensure all items are returned by the end date specified. If an item is not returned by the designated date it is considered unreturned. Requests for a vendor must be made using the Key & Card Access Request Form for Non-Bates Community Members.

Lost keys and cards need to be reported to the Access Control Office and Campus Safety immediately (24/7) so that access permissions on lost cards can be revoked. Access cards and keys will be reissued after the requesting department has paid the charge and requested in writing, replacement card and keys. 

Host departments are responsible for lost, stolen, and unreturned key charges. Departments are responsible to communicate costs related to lost keys with vendors and include them in their contract agreements. 

Tenants of college are issued two keys to each entrance. More than two keys will be issued in certain circumstances. The keys need to be picked up at the Access Control Office. A photo identification is required at the time of pick up. 

All keys must be returned to the Access Control Office on the day the tenant vacates the rental unit (24/7). Keys are considered unreturned the day after the rental contract ends. 

Lost keys need to be reported to the Access Control Office and to Campus Safety immediately (24/7). Access Control decides if and when a lock change is warranted. 

Tenants will be charged with the cost of lost, unreturned keys and lock changes.  

Faculty and Staff Keys – Lost, Stolen, or Unreturned (charged to the department) 

• $120 for each key 
• $1,500 for one master or sub-master key 
• $3,000 for a key ring of master or sub-master keys
• If costs to replace hardware associated with the loss of key exceeds $3,000 and must be replaced, these costs will also be charged to the employee’s department.
• $50 for Tile Pro
• $10 for tamper proof key ring

Student Residence Keys – Lost, Stolen, or Unreturned 

• $120 for each key 

Student Non-Residential Keys – Lost, Stolen, or Unreturned 

• $120 for each key

Student Lost ID Card, Temporary ID Card

• $25 for each replacement ID card
• $10 for each unreturned temporary card

Student Lock Out 

• One free lock out per semester
• $25 for each additional lock out

It is prohibited to tamper with Access Control equipment, e.g. card readers, doors, locks, pin pads, etc. Replacement costs for damaged access equipment will be charged to the person responsible. 

It is prohibited to prop doors. The propping of exterior doors compromises that safe living environment, and it is requested that community members do not prop exterior doors to Bates College buildings. Campus Safety will secure any propped exterior doors that they locate while on shift either responding to calls or while traveling campus proactively. 

Security screens need to be closed at all times. Open security screens are a violation of the policy and Campus Safety or other Facility Services will secure open security screens.  

Electronic Access System Information 

The Electronic Access System records entrances to all student residences and other designated buildings as well as other access points. The system accomplishes this by recording the information from the card presented for entry and verifying that the individual to whom the card has been assigned has permission to enter the building. The system creates and stores a record of the date, time, and location of events, including entries, alarms, malfunctions as recorded by the card readers.

While the system verifies the card was issued to a person who has permission for entry, it cannot ensure the person presenting the card is actually the person to whom the card was issued. The system stores a record of card accessed entries. Individuals gaining entry without use of a card will not be recorded by the system. The system will not record individuals exiting the building.

Data Retention

The event monitor, located in the Security building, contains an event screen which displays current status of the system, and produces an event notice for such things as propped doors, forced entry attempt, entry attempt by an invalid card, etc. The event log will be cleared periodically.

In addition to the event log, the electronic access system maintains an activity log. This log retains a record of all activity across the card system. Data will be retained pursuant with Maine statutes and may be retained indefinitely.

System Administrators

Designated staff will have access to the security system permissions file and database. These individuals include: The Director of Campus Safety, the Director of Campus Safety’s designee(s), Electronic Access System Management designee(s), the Campus Events Office, and Information and Library Services designee. These individuals are responsible for the development and maintenance of access permissions, timely updating of permissions (using the College’s central administrative database as the source), and routine system maintenance.

Bluetooth Tracking (Tile) of Key Rings

Access Control is the owner of the Tile. Access Control will authorize the holder of the key ring to be able to update the Tile’s location, ring the Tile, look for its last known location on the map, and ask to be notified when the Tile is found. 

Requests for Access Control Electronic Data Including Tiles

Subpoenas, warrants, court orders and other requests for the release of any electronic data related to a civil or criminal investigation or legal proceeding should be directed to the Director of Campus Safety who will confer with the General Counsel.

Requests for the release of any electronic data for matters unrelated to a civil or criminal investigation or legal proceeding should be directed to the Director of Campus Safety, who will have the authority to respond on behalf of the College except in the case of release of data involving employees. Such requests require the approval of the Assistant Vice President for Human Resources.

The following procedures have been established to authorize the review of individual information associated with electronic access data.

1. A written or verbal request by an authorized administrator must be made to the Director of Campus Safety or a Student Affairs designee stating the information requested and the reason(s) for the request. The Director of Campus Safety or a Student Affairs designee will review the request and recommend approval or denial of the request. 

2. To assist in an on-going investigation, The Director of Campus Safety, or the designee of the Director of Campus Safety, may review card-system information. 

3. System information, including records of individuals, will be retained pursuant to Maine statutes and may be retained indefinitely.