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Entering and Leaving Your Residence

For your safety, Stanford’s residence halls are always locked and accessible only to students with keys or access cards. Your odds of being a victim of theft or other crime drop dramatically when you keep doors closed and locked and call police - 9-911 from a campus phone or 911 from a cell phone - if you see suspicious people in or around your residence.

Card Access for Student Housing

Your Stanford ID card will give you access to the residences to which you have been assigned or which have shared spaces with your residence. 

Safety in the Residences Begins with You

Treat your SUID card like a key:  if you lose or misplace it, report it immediately to the SUID card office, located in the Student Services Center, second floor, Tresidder Memorial Union. Just like residences managed with keys, card access doors are locked 24/7.   All exterior doors have alarms that sound when the door is not fully closed and within 20 seconds after the door is opened when exiting.

You can further ensure a safe and secure environment for yourself and your residential community by:

  • Ensuring that doors are not propped
  • Carrying your key and SUID at all times and remembering that your key and card are assigned to you and should not be shared with others
  • Making sure doors always latch shut behind you when you enter and leave a building, even if you plan to be gone for just a minute. Take your room key with you when you leave. 
  • Reporting any door/lock that is not functioning correctly to your Housing Service Center (HSC), or by calling the 24 hour Housing Maintenance Hotline at 650-725-1602
  • By not allowing “tailgaters” to follow you into your residence
  • Locking your room door and window when you leave
  • Keeping screens on your windows at all times (where provided)
  • Having your key or card in hand when approaching your residence
  • Storing valuables out of sight
  • Using a security device with your computer and labeling valuable equipment with your name. 
  • See something, say something! Call the Department of Public Safety immediately to report a crime or suspicious activity:
    • Emergency: 911 (cell phone) or 9-911 (room phone or campus phone) 
    • Non-Emergency (24/7): (650) 329-2413 (Stanford and Palo Alto only)
    • Department of Public Safety: (650) 723-9633 (Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) 
    • 911 Emergency Telephone Tower (Blue Tower)

 

Access Cards for Spouses/Partners

Non-student partners residing with students in buildings that either have card access at the building entry or utilize card access to reach common areas such as laundry rooms may apply for “spouse” ID cards at the Campus Card Services desk within the ID Card Office at Tresidder Student Union.  Spouses/partners are required to show proof of relationship, such as a copy of the first page of your housing agreement (obtainable from your Housing Service Center or Housing Assignments), a marriage certificate, or a checkbook with both names on the account.

When You Have Visitors

In select graduate and undergraduate residences, R&DE Student Housing has installed electronic access devices at the entrances of student residences with interior hallways. Called DoorKing, these telephone-based security systems give residents control over who can and cannot enter the building. For problems relating to DoorKing, their email is doorkingadmin@lists.stanford.edu.

If you visit a residence with DoorKing security:

  • Locate the name of the person you are visiting by scrolling through the DoorKing directory; press the A button to scroll up and the Z button to scroll down. The DoorKing directory shows the last name each resident and a three-digit directory code. It doesn’t display telephone or room numbers.
  • Use the telephone keypad to enter the three-digit code that appears next to the student’s name. DoorKing automatically rings the resident’s telephone.

To give a visitor access to your residence:

  • After the DoorKing unit rings your room phone, press 9 on your campus telephone keypad to allow access to your visitor ONLY after you've verified their identity. Cell phones won’t work for this purpose.

To deny entry:

  • Press # on your telephone keypad or hang up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions about Building Access Control:

How do I turn off the door alarm?

  • The door alarm sounds at a set interval to indicate that it is open. If the door alarm is sounding, simply close the door. 

Why didn’t the alarm stop when I closed the door?

  • The alarm will stop once it has completed the message cycle. If the alarm does not stop and continues to repeat its message, try pushing the door closed again. If it still continues, call 650-725-1602 to report a problem with the door.

Will the door alarm go off if I have the door open while standing there?

  • If there is continued motion in the building at the door, the alarm will not sound.

Will the door alarm sound if I prop the door open for a few minutes?

  • Yes, it will sound after 20 seconds.

What do I do if the door alarm goes off because a door is not closing properly?

  • Try closing the door again.  If it is still not closing fully, report the problem by completing an on-line fixit request (fixit). Report the problem to the Housing Service Center.
  • If it is after 5pm, a weekend, or holiday, call the after-hours Housing Maintenance Hotline 650-725-1602.

What do I do if I misplaced my card, forgot it, or left it in my room and I want to get into my building?

  • Go to the Housing Service Center for lockout assistance.
  • Use the phone entry system to call your roommate, housemate, or RA (Resident Assistant - undergraduate housing only).
  • If it is after 5pm, a weekend, or holiday and no one is home to let you in, call the after-hours Housing Maintenance Hotline 650-725-1602.

What do I do if I lost my card or it is stolen?

  • You must get a new SU ID card. You should go the SU Card ID Office, Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm and they can issue you another card.
  • If it is after 5pm, a weekend, or holiday, call the after-hours Housing Maintenance Hotline 650-725-1602.

What do I do if my card does not open the exterior doors to my residences?

  • Go to the Housing Service Center for assistance.
  • If the Housing Service Center is not open, use the phone entry system to call your roommate, housemate, or RA (Resident Assistant - undergraduate housing only) to let you in. Report the door problem to the Housing Service Center once the office opens.
  • If it is after 5pm, a weekend, or holiday and no one is home to let you in, call the after-hours Housing Maintenance Hotline 650-725-1602.

How do I get a package delivered to my room when the doors to my residence are locked?

Graduate Housing

  • If you know you will be home, have the delivery person use the phone entry system to call you.
  • If you will not be home, leave instructions for the delivery agent at the front door (e.g. to call a designee that will accept the package).

Undergraduate Housing

  • Mail and packages should not be addressed to you at your residence or to your Housing Service Center. Mail or packages sent to the residence address will be returned to sender. Undergraduate Housing residents must address all mail and packages to the Undergraduate Mail and Package Center. The Undergraduate Mail and Package Center, operated by UG2, is located on the first floor of Tresidder Memorial Union. Please see Mail and Deliveries for more details.

What if I have a guest coming by?

  • If your residence is equipped with DoorKing, you may tell them to use the phone entry system when they arrive to call you to be “buzzed in”. If your residence does not have a DoorKing, please allow your guest in directly.

How do I get food or groceries delivered?

  • We encourage you to meet with the delivery person directly to collect your items.

Why did my card stop working when I punched a hole in it to put on lanyard/key chain?  I did not punch through the black stripe on the back.

  • The card access system does not utilize the mag-stripe (the black stripe) on the back of the card.  There are wires embedded around the card that the system “reads.”
  • We recommend using an ID card holder on your lanyard, rather than punching a hole.
  • Lost or damaged ID cards may be replaced (for a fee) at the ID Card Office in Tresidder Union.