Key Management and Building Access

Policies and Procedures

Key management and building access at the College of Mount Saint Vincent is overseen by the Operations Department with support from Facilities, Campus Safety and Security, and Human Resources. This policy seeks to address all access-related concerns while maintaining the highest level of security throughout the buildings.

The following are the policies and procedures that govern key requests, key distribution, key inventory, and access across the entire college campus as well as off-campus locations.

Proprietary Statement
All locks and keys are the sole property of the College of Mount Saint Vincent. The College reserves the right to change locks and keys as needed. No one may place any type of lock on a College of Mount Saint Vincent facility, interior, or exterior. Card swipe access is managed by the Department for Information and Technology. All keys issued must be handled responsibly and with care. If you are issued a key, you are not permitted to duplicate, destroy or tamper with that key. It is also prohibited to loan, transfer, or give possession to anyone other than who signed out that key. The Operations Department and Facilities Department are responsible for the maintenance of accurate controls and records to provide accountability for all keys issued.

Issuance of Keys/Access
Faculty, staff and administration may be issued keys to College of Mount Saint Vincent facilities based upon need of access. Employees are permitted keys to their office. Access to spaces other than their office must be approved by the Operations Department (see Requesting a Key in next paragraph). Building exterior door keys or master keys will not be issued to occupants of a building. There are set hours of operation for each building, by which Security will unlock and lock the main entrances (see Appendix A: Building Hours of Operation). In the event that you do need access to a building outside of the hours of operation, you may contact Security at (718) 405-3434 or x3434. Students shall not have access to academic/administrative buildings outside of the hours of operation. Security shall not grant anyone access to designated custodial or mechanical rooms.

Requesting a Key
In order to request a key, the electronic Key Request Form (sample shown as Appendix B) must be completed and submitted via email to keyrequest@mountsaintvincent.edu . The bottom portion of the form, titled “Acknowledgement” should not be signed until the key(s) requested is/are issued. Key requests are approved/denied by the Operations department. If denied, the Operations Department will contact the requester. If approved, the request will be forwarded to the Facilities Department so that the key(s) can be prepared for pickup. Once the key is prepared, the Facilities Department will notify the requester that the key is ready for pickup at the Facilities office (Spellman Hall Loading Dock – Alumnae Parking Lot). The electronic Key Request Form can be found on the College’s website. Upon pickup, the
Key Request Form will be electronically signed, acknowledging receipt of the key(s), at which point the keys will be issued. Only the requester can pick up and sign for their keys.
To fill out the electronic form, download and open the PDF file. Fill out the required, blank fields and save the document. The saved document can then be attached to your email.

New/Departing Employees
Upon getting hired, new employees will be issued keys to their respective offices as requested by their Direct Supervisors, Vice President, or Human Resources. The appropriate party shall submit a key request to the Operations Department on behalf of the new hire with at least 48 hours’ notice of them needing a key (see Requesting a Key under the Procedures section). The keys will be ready for pickup based on when the request was submitted. It is preferred that requests be submitted with as much notice as possible so that the key is available on the new hire’s first day. An employee departing the college must turn over all keys issued to Human Resources at his/her exit interview. Master keys or keys to exterior doors of a building are only issued to those approved by the Vice President for Operations. Any keys to furniture (desk, file cabinet, etc…) shall be left in their respective locks or turned over to the department chair or supervisor for use by the next occupant.

Procedures

Lost Keys
In the event that a key is lost, it shall be reported immediately to the Operations Department and Campus Safety and Security. In the event that a key is lost, the doors to which that key had access will need to be re-cored to maintain security of that space.

Worn or Broken Keys
If a College-issued key breaks or wears over time, it shall be reported immediately to the Facilities Department. A replacement key will be provided once the broken/worn key is turned in.

Excess Keys
Should any excess key(s) be found that were not issued to an individual, left behind, or in existence for some other reason, they shall be turned in to the Operations Department. Excess and unnecessary keys in circulation compromise the security of college facilities.

Office Relocation
Office relocations are conducted by the Department of Operations. Upon scheduling a relocation, the Operations Department will make arrangements for the appropriate keys to be provided and signed out. Any keys issued for the existing office must be turned in prior to keys being issued for the new office. Employees shall not take it upon themselves to give keys to other employees. Keys can only be issued or transferred by the Operations and Department of Facilities.

Residence Hall Keys
All necessary residence hall keys will be issued to Residence Life at the start of each semester. Residence Life will then issue the keys to the students on their own accord. At the end of each spring semester Residence Life will return all keys to the Facilities Department. If a resident student withdraws or moves out, they shall return their room key to the Residence Life office. Residence Life shall sign out their keys in accordance with this policy as if it were any other key request.

Custodial/Maintenance/Grounds Keys
Custodial staff keys shall be assigned for daily use through the Facilities Office. Members of the Custodial staff shall not be issued keys directly, but rather sign out a key ring to their respective areas. The keys shall be signed in and out daily. Maintenance and Grounds staff keys are to be issued on an individual basis.

Security Keys
Security staff keys shall be assigned for daily use to the supervisor on duty. Members of the Security staff shall not be issued keys directly, but rather sign the master key ring in and out daily.

Non-College Personnel Keys
Non-College personnel, vendors, contractors and guests shall not be issued keys on a permanent basis.
Keys/access needed by such entities must be approved by the Operations Department. 48-hours’ notice shall be given to the Operations Department should keys/access be needed. Vendors who are performing work through the Operations Department shall be issued one of the “Contractor Key Rings” upon signing in at the Operations Department Office (Founders Hall 308B), which must be turned in by the end of the day. Similarly, vendors who are performing work and/or maintenance through the Facilities Department shall be issued one of the “Contractor Key Rings” upon signing in at the Facilities Office (Spellman Hall Loading Dock), which must be turned in by then end of the day as well. The “Contractor Key Rings” contain an ID card with access to building front doors and keys to mechanical/electrical rooms/closets.

Key Returns (Internal Process)
Upon employees departing the College or office relocation, the Operations department shall notify the Facilities department by completing the first section of the Key Return Form (sample shown as Appendix C). The Facilities department will return the form to Operations noting all keys currently issued to that employee. For employee departures, Operations shall work with Human Resources to make sure all issued keys are collected prior to the employee’s last day. For office relocations, the Operations department will make sure unneeded keys are collected and returned while instructing the employee to submit a key request for their new office location. Upon final collection, the keys shall be returned to the Facilities office along with submitting the fully-completed Key Return Form.

Building Hours of Operation

(Refer to Appendix A)
All buildings have set hours of operation. When a building is being opened, Security shall open select exterior doors and in some cases, the interior doors. The Peter J Sharp Recreational Center, Residence hall exterior doors and Seton Hall Elevator/Corridor access from stairwell operate on card access, controlled by the IT Department with collaboration from Residence Life and Campus Safety & Security. When securing a building at time of close, Security shall lock all the exterior doors, turn off all the lights and secure all the windows. If for any reason you need to enter a building after the hours of operation, you must call security (see Contacts) and they will grant access if deemed appropriate. Students shall not be granted access to Academic/Administration buildings after hours, unless it is for an event coordinated by Campus Events.

Please note: Security reserves the right to deny access to any building after hours.

Contact
Department of Operations
(718) 405-3401
operations@mountsaintvincent.edu

Department of Facilities
(718) 405-3211

Key Request Form Submission
keyrequest@mountsaintvincent.edu

Security Main Gate

(718) 405-3434