University of California, Merced enjoys iCLASS readers with CS Gold

For Immediate Release

Ithaca, New York—When the University of California, Merced opened its doors on September 5, 2005, it marked the opening of the first new American research university of the 21st century. While researching options for campus card technology, the school's employees understood their unique position. With plans to expand its population to more than 25,000 in the coming decades, UC Merced needed a system that would meet its immediate needs, as well as support its vision for the future. The solution: HID^® iCLASS^® card readers integrated with the CS Gold^® campus card system from CBORD^®.

UC Merced has more than 300 iCLASS contactless smart card readers located throughout its campus, controlling facility access, laboratory usage and equipment tracking, and even elevator privileges. The readers communicate with CS Gold via a network of Squadron^® panels, each monitoring up to 32 doors.

"We pride ourselves on being technologically advanced, so we needed a system that was not only powerful and sustainable, but that could carry us into the future," says Steve Noret, Assistant Registrar and Interim Campus Card Manager at UC Merced. "The iCLASS integration with CS Gold offered us that."

"I would definitely recommend the iCLASS/CS Gold integration to other schools," says Frank Fimbrez, Supervising Locksmith at UC Merced. "I have been working in access control for about 12 years, and have never seen a system so easy to manage, or that can do so much with privileges."

"The staff at UC Merced has done a superb job of planning for a campus card and access control system that will remain agile as the campus evolves," says Randy Eckels, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, The CBORD Group, Inc. "As the school and its student population grow from year to year, the system will easily expand along with it. We are glad to have our technology play a part in this innovative security solution."

"UC Merced is the model for other universities to follow," says Mark Doi, Director, Business Development-Education Market, HID Global. "They've realized the true potential of iCLASS by utilizing the Software Development Kit to create their own unique applications and running these applications on the same card."

About The CBORD Group, Inc.

The CBORD Group serves colleges and universities, corporations, healthcare facilities, chain restaurants, supermarkets, and a host of other market segments. CBORD's products are used in ID card privilege control, access control, electronic security, cashless dining, housing services, online ordering, foodservice management, nutrition services, catering, and other institution-wide activities. The CBORD Group serves more than 5,000 clients in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia.

The CBORD Group was founded in 1975. Today it employs more than 475 professionals. To learn more, visit us at www.cbord.com.

About HID Global

HID Global is the trusted leader in secure identity, serving customers worldwide with proximity and contactless smart card technologies; central station managed access controllers; secure and custom card solutions; photo ID and ID card application control software; high definition printer/encoders and secure card issuance solutions. Headquartered in Irvine, California, HID Global operates international offices that support more than 100 countries and is an ASSA ABLOY Group company.

CBORD, CS Gold, and Squadron are registered trademarks of The CBORD Group, Inc. HID and iCLASS are registered trademarks of HID Global Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

“Odyssey allows us to provide a method for staff to access services without having to carry cash. This has improved employee satisfaction and increased revenues.”

Foote Hospital
— Mark DeNato