Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Building access protocol

Purpose

This procedure describes how Portland Community College manages the opening and securing of buildings, how access to facilities is granted, and the roles and responsibilities of Public Safety and Facilities Management Services (FMS) in authorizing and monitoring building access, consistent with PCC’s Freedom of Expression Administrative Procedure (2021).

Narrative

Portland Community College must maintain a safe, accessible, and secure learning and working environment while supporting the college’s educational mission, public access responsibilities, and legal obligations. These procedures are designed to:

• Protect the safety and security of individuals.
• Prevent theft, damage, unauthorized access, and misuse of facilities.
• Ensure college facilities are used only for authorized instructional, administrative, operational, and expressive purposes.
• Support appropriate access to designated public forums while protecting restricted instructional, administrative, and emergency areas.

These procedures apply to all PCC-owned or leased facilities, including campuses, centers, instructional sites, and administrative buildings.

Building operating hours

Buildings open according to published location hours, class schedules, department office hours, and approved event schedules. Campus exterior doors open between 7am and 10pm, Monday through Friday, except during scheduled closures or holidays. Center locations vary by location. Departments may request that specific areas be designated “closed” in the college’s scheduling system, even when adjacent areas are open through PCC Public Safety.

Digital access management responsibilities

Most exterior doors are controlled by an electronic access system, managed by Public Safety, in partnership with Facilities Management Services and Information Technology. FMS assists Public Safety with unlocking some of the doors without electronic access during the day. Public Safety unlocks scheduled spaces without electronic access throughout normal operations, and after-hours, on weekends, and on holidays.

Public Safety officers may open offices or sensitive areas only after verifying the identity and authorization of the requestor in person. All such unlocks must be logged in the Public Safety Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.

Most campus buildings lock at 10pm Monday-Friday, or when scheduled academic, administrative, or public activities have concluded. (These hours are subject to change throughout the day, pending class schedules, public forums, or campus/center specific hours of operation). Center hours, as well as Saturday and Sunday hours, differ across the district. Public Safety Officers may secure buildings and rooms throughout the day if there are no scheduled classes and/or public forums taking place.

Public and private spaces

When exterior doors are unlocked, general lobbies, hallways, and restrooms are considered public-accessible spaces. Classrooms, PCC Centers, labs, faculty and administrative offices, IT spaces, storage areas, and secure workspaces are considered private or restricted spaces. These spaces are only available to employees, registered students, invited guests, or external users who have reserved specific spaces as approved through the college scheduling system or via formal invite.

These spaces are non-public forums and are not available for unauthorized expressive activity or uninvited access under the Freedom of Expression Procedure.

Expressive activity and building access

Outdoor walkways, quads, and designated, authorized tabling areas serve as public forums for expressive activity when they do not block entrances, impede ADA access routes, or disrupt normal college operations.

Indoor spaces, including hallways, entrances, lobbies, classrooms, labs, and administrative areas, are considered non-public forums and are not open for unscheduled or expressive use, except in designated tabling areas reserved through Scheduling and Events.
All expressive activity must maintain a 15-foot buffer around building entrances, loading zones, emergency exits, and ADA ramps, and must comply with PCC’s time, place, and manner regulations.

After-hours access

To prevent unsupervised facility use after hours, Public Safety will not open any department area for student, group, or community use unless it is scheduled through Scheduling and Events and a designated employee, student employee, or approved facility supervisor is present.

Any person requesting after-hours building access (after normal business hours and on the same day in question) must be referred to the Public Safety dispatch or an officer on duty. Public Safety officers may verify identity and authorization before unlocking any area.

Individual access requests

No individual request is permitted. The exception to this rule is if the individual accidentally forgets their access card and needs entry into a space/building for that day (see next paragraph for process). If an individual is requiring a request for long-term brass key access to a building/room, they need to go through their department’s Administrative Assistant, who will complete a Ready request (Ready Request) with a Managers approval.

If an individual accidentally forgets their access cards and needs entry into a space/building for that day, they need to contact Public Safety. If Public Safety admits any individual to a non-public area, officers must verify the individual’s identity and authorization in person and document the access in the Public Safety Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. This includes:

• Name of person admitted
• Area accessed
• Date, time, and purpose of admission

Public Safety officers will not permit student access to any closed or unstaffed area unless the student is an authorized student employee and the building is officially open.

Building exterior access

All exterior doors are either placed on schedules or opened by Public Safety officers during normal operating hours where Public Safety Officers are assigned. Where Public Safety Officers aren’t assigned the responsibility falls with the Building/Centers manager,
who can request Unlock/Lock Cards (Ready Request) or request the exterior doors be placed on schedules (This is subject to change per operational needs).

Access control system

Public Safety administers the electronic Access Control System, which includes electronic locks, smart cards (proximity badges), readers, and remote monitoring capabilities. Key features include:

• Remote locking of exterior doors
• Reduced unauthorized after-hours access
• Controlled access to high-value asset areas
• Support for emergency lockdowns

Lost, stolen, or damaged cards must be reported to Public Safety immediately at publsafe@pcc.edu.

Emergency control

In emergency situations, Public Safety can remotely secure or restrict access to campus buildings. This may include, but is not limited to:

• Active shooter or violent threat
• Hazardous materials incident
• Intruder threat or breach of restricted areas
• Riots, civil disorder, or crowd control concerns
• Large planned expressive events that threaten safety or operations

Public Safety will coordinate with emergency first responders and law enforcement during emergency responses.

Related policies, procedures, and references

• PCC Freedom of Expression Administrative Procedure (2021)
• PCC Access Control (Public Safety)
• PCC ID Badge Policy
• Scheduling and Events (AstraSchedule)
• Facilities Management – ReADY Request System
• Board Policy BP5410 Safety
• Board Policy BP205 Asset Protection
• PCC Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
• PCC Public Safety Timely Warning and Campus Alert Procedures