Creating Advanced Technology for Flexible and Secure Campus Classroom Access

Blackboard Transact is an innovative, integrated technology system that oversees both security and financial transactions, along with off-campus solutions, all through the security and convenience of a single campus ID. Additionally, Transact incorporates a classroom door access module with the capability to integrate custom academic event schedules, such as spring break, commencement, or reunion dates.

The existing platform had an imposed limit of 30 events, which forced Administrators to manually remove old events so they could create new ones. Blackboard partnered with our team to design and develop a more sustainable and flexible framework that would make scheduling events and classroom access easier for admins.

Blackboards existing application was hindering the efficient scheduling of events and classroom access, since the platform had a limitation of 30 events. Administration was spending far too much time having to delete old events just to create new ones, which resulted in unintentional deletions, confusion, and heightened frustration with the process as a whole.

Goals

Our team of experts created an initial module as part of their envisioned cloud-based solution known as Security Management Solution (SMS). This solution interfaces with on-premises hardware (S2 Netbox) at universities to control door locks using access cards and a configurable schedule.

Furthermore, our team built a next-generation framework in which all modules can reside, including the initial module providing flexible, configurable options with an unlimited number of schedules. This framework also integrates with a module to grant room access based on user access level.