Far too often, changes to campus security are driven by headlines. A door is rekeyed after a break-in. Cameras are upgraded after an incident. Emergency procedures are revisited after something goes wrong.
In higher education, where thousands of students, faculty, and staff move across open, complex environments every day, this kind of reactive approach carries real risk. And while institutions care deeply about safety, security upgrades are frequently delayed due to time, budget, or uncertainty around where to start.
In 2021, over 31,000 criminal offenses were reported on U.S. college campuses. Notably, 42% of these were classified as Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) offenses—including domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. These aren’t edge cases or isolated incidents—they’re part of a persistent, national concern. And they highlight why a reactive approach to campus safety simply isn’t enough.
But proactive security isn’t just a best practice, it’s now a baseline expectation.
When campuses take a reactive approach to security, upgrades tend to happen only after something has gone wrong. While it might feel like progress to replace a camera after an incident or update access to a building following a breach, this mindset often leaves deeper vulnerabilities unresolved. Surveillance coverage may still have blind spots—especially in high-traffic or transitional areas like residence halls, parking structures, or loading docks. And if video, access, and emergency systems aren’t integrated, it can delay response times when every second counts.
Many institutions rely on outdated or siloed access control platforms that make it difficult to manage credentials efficiently or respond to evolving needs. Without centralized visibility, it’s harder to quickly revoke access, audit entry points, or enforce consistent policies across buildings and departments. Over time, this patchwork approach places an increasing burden on IT and facilities teams, who must maintain, troubleshoot, and coordinate across multiple disconnected systems.
In short, reactive security creates operational strain and leaves campuses vulnerable to both safety risks and inefficiencies. The longer those gaps persist, the more costly they become to address.
Proactive campus security focuses on prevention, integration, and readiness. Instead of waiting for threats to emerge, institutions that take a forward-thinking approach invest in infrastructure that delivers real-time awareness, data-driven insights, and system-wide coordination. That often starts with unifying core technologies—video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, and emergency alerting—into one centralized platform.
With integrated systems, campus safety teams can monitor activity in real time, respond faster to incidents, and make better-informed decisions. Credential-based access systems become more effective when they’re tied into a broader security ecosystem, allowing for centralized policy enforcement, easier credential management, and comprehensive reporting. Instead of juggling multiple tools or relying on manual oversight, security teams gain the ability to manage who has access, where, and when—with precision and visibility.
A proactive approach also ensures that technology investments are scalable. As campuses grow or risks evolve, your systems are ready to adapt—whether it’s expanding coverage, adding new facilities, or responding to emerging compliance needs. Most importantly, proactive security builds a stronger foundation for safety, improves operational efficiency, and gives your campus community the confidence they deserve.
If being proactive is so effective, why do many campuses still default to reactive measures? The answer usually comes down to budget. Modern security infrastructure can be a significant investment, and when schools are faced with competing priorities, it’s easy for upgrades to fall to the bottom of the list.
But funding challenges don’t have to delay critical safety improvements. In fact, for many institutions, help is already available.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Campus OVW Grant, administered by the Office on Violence Against Women, is now accepting applications for FY25. This program offers up to $400,000 per institution to improve campus safety, specifically focused on preventing and responding to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Security improvements like video surveillance, access control, emergency alert systems, and visitor management solutions are all eligible under this grant. These are the same systems that enable institutions to move from reactive to proactive security.
At Parallel Technologies, we help higher education leaders design and implement campus-wide security strategies that align with federal funding requirements. And through our partnership with Genetec’s professional grant-writing team, we offer no-cost support to help your institution build and submit a strong, compliant application.
If your institution is ready to modernize its approach to safety, this is your moment. You don’t have to wait for a crisis to act—and you don’t have to tackle it alone.
Let’s talk about how to strengthen your campus security and how federal funding can help make it possible.
Explore the Campus OVW Grant →