May 2007 — News
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Biometrics in K-12: Vendor Claims and Your Business Plan
The main point is that Bucyrus district's General Manager tested the vendor claim that using fingerprint readers can speed up lunch lines. She found no real difference when compared to using the PIN pad. The time to take the print and verify the individual might actually have been longer than the PIN pad, which read and verified identity almost immediately. Their fingerprint readers do not always pick up the fingerprint, and the fingerprinting software does not always activate when the system is launched, requiring a reboot. However, there are similar issues with the PIN pads.
Enrolling individuals initially was time-consuming, particularly when students or staff had hot, sweaty, dirty, dry, or even too-clean fingers. Sometimes prints could not be captured at all, and despite the product claim for fast capture, the district has had cases taking up to five minutes, and still gave up, asking those students to try again on another day. For an added level of security, when students transfer to another school in the district they must be reenrolled in the system, as fingerprint data reside only in the building of use.
Consider claims for attendance. For most of my years as a secondary educator, the attendance office distributed printed attendance sheets as soon as possible from attendance data collected during the first class of the day. The sheets might not have been accurate, and teachers wrote "cut slips" every class period for students who did not appear in class and should have been there. Automation helped speed up the process when the district began using IBM punch cards. Yes, that's a way back. If you use a biometric reader for period by period attendance, you won't necessarily save time because the teacher still must double-check that attendance is correctly noted; he or she is ultimately responsible. A teacher who uses networked attendance software that is password-protected can call up the roster from a classroom workstation and just as easily use a mouse to mark those present on time or present but late. This also ensures accuracy, saves time over a system relying on paper, and is less expensive than coupling the system with the biometric. While the cost of a fingerprint reader is not prohibitive, about $90 to $100 each (Kiernan, 2005), it quickly adds up for a large school that might have 100 classrooms, as each must be equipped with a reader. Readers might only last a couple of years before replacements are needed.
Building security might not be improved over what you currently do either to justify the cost of a biometric solution. If you use a biometric system to capture a fingerprint when a student enters a selected door in the morning, the student can still leave the building through another door before attending any classes, and you won't know unless the biometric is also used to activate a door's opening when exiting. You'd still need good locks, metal detectors, alternative non-biometric ways to enter/exit a building, back-up plans for when the power is out, surveillance cameras inside and outside of the building, ways to detect the presence of illegal substances and weapons, and so on. The 'bad guys' can always find a way in.
Before You Buy
Even before a vendor steps in your door to pitch a biometric solution, develop a good business plan to justify the expenditure. Then stick with it. Include the reason for the project, objectives, benefits, costs, and what happens if you do nothing. Look at alternatives that might equally address the problem you are trying to solve. Consider costs for hardware, software, maintenance, training, personnel, and the impact on what you currently do for both the biometric solution and alternatives. Then look for a vendor who can meet your specifications. In the long run, without your plan, you might have cause to worry (UK Biometrics Working Group, 2002).
You need to consider those for whom a particular biometric might not work, such as those with disabilities, and how you will handle those exceptions. Accessibility is an issue for all, so the placement of those devices must also be considered in your plan. You need a vendor with a good track record. If needed, hire a security specialist who might better take an objective view of the security level you really need. This individual might bring up points you might not have considered.
