By Raffaela Kenny-Cincotta, News Staff

Dorm rooms, dining halls and the library: For students, a Husky Card often seems more like a master key than a student ID, and soon it will have more features than ever before.

Within the next three years, all residence halls will be converted from deadbolt locks to wireless locks, according to a statement issued by Northeastern Assistant Vice President of Student and Administrative Services and Student Affairs Marina Macomber.

Under the new system, locks will be tied to the myNEU portal and a smartphone application so students can unlock their doors remotely if they forget their Husky Cards. The system is already being tested in Speare Hall.

Such a system requires smartcards that will enable students to tap their Husky Cards at a room’s keypad for access instead of swiping.

Locksmiths will install 4,000 new locks this summer, and over the next two summers, all remaining residence halls will have their locks converted as well, Macomber said in the statement. All students on campus will therefore need new IDs eventually.

Available via myNEU, the new smartcards will allow students to access a portal called the Husky Card Center, which will provide options to deactivate lost Husky Cards, to reset dorm room pin numbers and a new Open MyDoor feature.

Open MyDoor, and its counterpart Open MySuite, will give students the ability to unlock their doors with a smartphone app or through text message if they do not have their Husky Cards on hand.

Over spring break, locksmiths installed the new locks in Speare Hall. All residents of Speare were given the new smartcards to test their effectiveness.

“The students in Speare are excited to be testing the new technology for us, and we are all excited about our plan to bring all of the residence halls online,” Macomber said in the statement.

Currently, all students in International Village are being phased over to the new cards as well.

Rachel Deutch, a freshman finance major who lives in Speare Hall is one of the many students who uses the new ID.

“I don’t really notice a difference,” she said when asked how it compared to her previous card.

“It is nice that you can unlock your door over the Internet,” Deutch added. “I’ve never gotten it to work but it’s a good concept.”

Speare resident and undeclared freshman Terry Koor said he has successfully used the Open MyDoor feature already in the last month.

“It’s a good idea,” he said. “I’ve already used the thing where you can unlock your door with your phone. It’s pretty easy.”

Freshman marketing major Madison Smith was critical of the new system.

“I think it’s a waste of money,” she said.

University officials could not be reached for more details about the new system or how much it will cost.

Smith, also a resident of Speare, said her new ID “doesn’t save any time.”

Her other major complaint was that the new locks do not allow students to prop open their doors by dead-bolting them, she said, preventing friends from being able to easily come and go while she is in the room.

Stetson East resident Ally Michaud, a freshman marketing major, said she looks forward to the new system, particularly the Open MyDoor application.

“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “In [Stetson] East, if you lock yourself out more than three times you have to go through OSCCR.”

Chelsea Tomlin, a sophomore political-science major, works as a proctor in residence halls across the Northeastern campus and said that the new cards will probably make RAs’ and proctors’ jobs easier.

“Lockouts will probably be lower, especially on weekends,” she said. “I know that as of right now freshman buildings and buildings with keycard entry during the overnight shift on weekends are hell for the person proctoring.”

Tomlin did, however, express concerns about security.

“Lockouts were the bane of my existence freshman year,” she said. “But with a system like this there might be a safety risk if students don’t take the measure of securing their door or lock information. The university should definitely stress safety and security when they implement this technology school-wide.”