Campus Building Access

Our campus building access emphasizes safety and building security while still providing convenient access for students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Most academic buildings with scheduled classes will be open and unlocked between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, to allow non-affiliates access to scheduled events and other activities. 

  • Doors unlocked between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. are electronic doors only. Manual action doors will remain locked at all times and be available for exit only. 
  • CU students, faculty and staff will continue to have extended access (from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.) to these same academic buildings via Buff OneCard swipe. 
  • A few buildings may maintain slightly different hours based on class schedules and staffing.

Prior access preferences established on Buff OneCards for students, faculty and staff will remain in place. Students, faculty and staff who normally have weekend and after-hours access to specific buildings will still have access to those buildings. 

CU affiliates needing special access to a specific building are asked to contact their building proctors, C-CURE operators or department chairs to request the authorization/access needed on their Buff OneCards. 

University Libraries, the Recreation Center, the UMC and Health and Wellness Services publish their respective hours on their websites.

Tips for Accessing a Building with Your Buff OneCard

  • Always have your Buff OneCard.
  • Depending on the type of card reader, make sure you are either
        ​- swiping with the stripe on the back of your card facing to the right, or
        - tapping the card on the proximity reader with your photo facing toward you.

If You Need Help Entering a Building

If you never had a card, you will need to request a new card online or by emailing boc@colorado.edu. If you need a replacement card, please visit the Buff OneCard office in Room N180 in the Center for Community (C4C) building.

The Buff OneCard office can be reached at 303-492-0355 or boc@colorado.edu.

Those who forget Buff OneCards or keys, but usually have building access will be granted entrance into their offices/buildings. If you experience problems with accessing a building with your Buff OneCard, you can contact Access Services 303-492-6609 during regular business hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After hours, you can contact the Operations Control Center (OCC) at 303-492-5522 or occ@colorado.edu. The OCC is operational 24 hours per day.

Those who forget Buff OneCards or keys, but usually have building access will be granted entrance into their offices/buildings. If you experience problems with accessing a building with your Buff OneCard, you can contact Access Services 303-492-6609 during regular business hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After hours, you can contact the Operations Control Center (OCC) at 303-492-5522 or occ@colorado.edu. The OCC is operational 24 hours per day.

Other Questions

CU affiliates needing special access to a specific building, lab or after hours not previously granted on their Buff OneCards are asked to contact their building proctors, C-CURE operators or department chairs to request the authorization/access needed is added to their Buff OneCards.

A select few buildings will maintain their own business hours during which they are unlocked. This includes the University Memorial Center, Regent Administrative Center, Center for Community (C4C) and Wardenburg Health Center. Select research buildings without scheduled live classes may also operate under different protocols. Follow the links below for information on other specific facilities:

Certain buildings may be exempt from standard access controls pending direction from campus executive leadership. If building proctors or programs have questions or concerns, please contact Andrew Kosinuk at the CU Police department.

These protocols are being put in place to support campus efforts focused on ensuring campus safety, research protection, and the return to a more traditional in-person, on-campus experience. These protocols should also:

  • Help minimize confusion about when building access requires Buff OneCard swiping
  • Streamline cleaning processes by having campus buildings on one schedule
  • Limit potential for criminal activity in sparsely populated buildings
  • Faculty and staff should have access via their Buff OneCards to the buildings and spaces they can normally access after-hours.

Non-CU Boulder campus affiliates will be able to access most academic buildings on campus between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Those seeking building access outside these hours will be asked to call the CU Police Department (CUPD), which will work alongside the Operations Control Center and building proctors to vet non-affiliate access. If approved, a CSO or police officer will provide access. Community Safety Officers (CSOs) will be on duty from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, and will work with Access Services to evaluate open-door assistance requests from non-CU Boulder affiliates.

Spring 2025 Buff OneCard access dates

To increase campus security and safety measures the CU Boulder campus will be locking the exterior doors to academic buildings on specific dates. Anyone with a Buff OneCard will be able to swipe into academic buildings during regular building hours and no additional access needs to be granted.  

You will need your Buff OneCard on these weekday dates to access campus buildings:

● Friday, May 2 (Reading Day) 
● Saturday, May 3–Wednesday, May 7 (final exam period)
● Campus commencement (May 8)

Days may be added in case of other impactful events

Holiday and break building access

  • During spring, winter and fall break weeks, most buildings will be available via Buff OneCard swipe between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
  • On University holidays and Administrative Leave days, building access will only be available for affiliates with Buff OneCards who have been provisioned for 24/7 access to their respective facilities.
  • A few buildings may maintain slightly different hours based on schedules and staffing.

Read the full details for December 2024 (finals and winter break).

swipe card

Swipe card reader

tap card reader

Tap card reader