From Safety to Strategy: How to Leverage Data Security In Higher Education

• By Bruce Canal
• February 25, 2025

Today’s higher education campuses function much like small cities. Each department works autonomously yet relies on shared resources to operate effectively. Since these departments often work independently, collaboration can be difficult, leading to inefficiencies.  

This includes physical security teams, who often only focus on the traditional functions of their solutions. Video cameras provide real-time surveillance and forensic evidence in the event of an incident. Access control systems enable the locking and unlocking of doors.  

Automated license plate readers (ALPR) are mostly used to identify vehicles permitted to park in specific areas. At other times ALPR may help identify vehicles of interest and their movements on campus. In either instance, it is most likely two different departments utilizing the same equipment and software.  

On the surface, these tools perform their core functions to keep students, faculty, and visitors safe. Behind the scenes, however, they also gather valuable data. When shared with other departments, this data provides insights that enhance operational efficiency, resource allocation, and strategic planning.  

There are a few ways that you can achieve this, and it starts by assessing what you already have.  

Applying Security Data in Higher Education
Consider your university’s performing arts center. You might find a handful of surveillance cameras installed around the building and inside the main hallways. You may have installed these cameras to monitor for potential threats or act as a crime deterrent.  

Now imagine yourself as an attendee of a show at the performing arts center, and it’s intermission. You have 15 minutes to grab a snack at one of the four concession stands; the lines look long, and time is tight. What if the same hallway cameras used for security could also track the length of each line using a crowd estimation (people counting) tool? A video announcement could inform you that concession stand 1, line 3, has the shortest wait time.  

This wouldn’t only improve the flow of people and improve the overall experience but also increase sales for the fine arts department. Now, an original security investment becomes an interest for the fine arts department as it contributes to their bottom line. You can begin to visualize other applications of your security system across campus.    

Take a sporting event managed by the school’s athletic department as another example. Stadium cameras can also use a crowd estimation tool to track vendor performance. With eight to ten food vendors, the athletic department can analyze foot traffic to each stand. In this way, identifying which vendors are the most or least popular. This data then helps inform lease renewals, ensuring maximum revenue while improving operations.  

Once the sporting event is over, traffic becomes the main concern. The ALPR tool, originally intended for security purposes, can be used to optimize traffic flow. The vehicle data gathered from ALPR delivers key insights related to parking capacity, attendance, and more.  

These are just a few examples of how security data helps optimize various campus operations. To fully harness the potential of this data, however, universities need effective tools to collect, manage, and analyze it all. This is where a unified platform comes into play.  

The Tool of the Trade
A unified platform can aggregate and synthesize security data, helping promote productivity, communication, and collaboration. It brings multiple data sources together within one interface.  

A unified security solution is different from one that merely integrates different systems. An integrated system requires connecting, upgrading, and maintaining different systems. Sometimes those connections can break. A unified system, in contrast, is developed as one unit with different modules that can be switched on or off as needed.  

It also simplifies the use and visualization of security data. This is critical to break the silos and create a cohesive approach to campus management. You can customize reports, charts, and graphs for each department, but maintain a single source of data.  

To make this a reality, work with your solutions provider and discuss the needs and concerns of all departments. Your unified platform should be aligned with your specific business processes.  

The Benefits of Data Sharing
Armed with your security data and their related insights, you’re ready to collaborate with other department heads. Gaining their buy-in is essential, as many view security as a cost center rather than a value driver. You can change this notion by demonstrating how an investment in security also directly supports their unique goals.  

Start by letting your other department heads know what tools your security team already has available. It could be existing security cameras installed in the performing arts building. Or a report identifying the school’s underutilized parking lots. Next, focus on highlighting their return on investment (ROI). Every department wants assurance that their investment will yield tangible benefits. This is where your security data proves its value.  

Cross-department collaboration benefits your security team, too. By demonstrating how security data aligns with other campus objectives, you open the door to shared budgets and resources. You also save on the resources required to manage security as security integrates into the larger campus framework. When other departments use your data to meet their own goals, they become invested in maintaining the systems that generate data.  

Security Data as an Investment
In today’s campus environments, the role of security data has evolved beyond forensics and real-time monitoring. However, most schools don’t have the right tools to access and assess the wealth of data available to them. You can gather key insights that support broader campus operations by using a unified platform designed to do just that. These insights fuel collaboration across teams, uniquely positioning security as a campus-wide investment.  

This article originally appeared in the March / April 2025 issue of Campus Security Today.