In 2026, smart lockers for universities are moving from peripheral storage to core campus infrastructure. Campuses now support larger pools of shared laptops, tablets, AV kits, and specialty equipment across libraries, labs, academic departments, and student support centers.
As hybrid study patterns continue and student equity programs expand, the operational question is no longer whether institutions need secure storage. It is whether they can distribute, charge, track, and recover devices without forcing every transaction through a staffed service desk.
Why Universities Are Deploying Smart Lockers for Campus IT Infrastructure
The case for campus device management is getting broader, not narrower. Universities are being asked to support flexible learning models, longer service hours, and more visible student support without adding the same level of staffing or operational overhead. That shift is showing up across campus technology planning in 2026.
Part of the reason is student expectation. EDUCAUSE’s 2025 Students and Technology Report points to the growing importance of technology-related services, hybrid learning preferences, and access to digital resources as part of the overall student experience. For many institutions, that means device access can no longer be limited to a single desk or a narrow service window.
That pressure shows up in practical ways. Student laptop lending programs expand beyond the library. Departments begin sharing tablets, field devices, and loaner machines across multiple buildings. Service desks are expected to support more users without adding hours or headcount. At the same time, Inside Higher Ed’s 2024 survey of campus CTOs and CIOs highlights the ongoing strain campuses face around online education, staffing, cybersecurity, and flexible operations.
From a strategy perspective, Gartner reinforces the same direction: CIOs are being pushed to build a resilient digital foundation and connect technology investments to institutional outcomes. In that environment, legacy checkout models create familiar bottlenecks — manual equipment checkouts at service desks, limited tracking of shared devices, slow turnaround during peak periods, and too much staff time spent on routine exchanges.
Smart lockers for higher education help close those gaps by turning campus technology storage systems into self-service access points. Instead of functioning as passive cabinets, they become part of university IT asset management: a place to issue, return, recharge, and monitor shared equipment with a clear audit trail. For shared device management in universities, that matters because availability, accountability, and labor efficiency are now closely linked.
5 Smart Locker Solutions for Higher Education IT Departments
Universities are implementing smart lockers, device lending systems, and automated equipment storage to support campus technology programs and improve device availability for students and staff.
The five vendors below represent different approaches inside that market and are best read as solution categories rather than a strict product ranking.
1. ForwardPass — Smart Locker Infrastructure for Campus IT Programs
Smart lockers allow campus IT departments to manage large pools of shared devices accessible to students, faculty, and staff around the clock. Universities implementing modern device lending programs can use the ForwardPass solution to automate equipment distribution, provide secure storage for shared devices, and streamline IT operations across campus technology programs.
In higher education, ForwardPass is positioned around automated device handoffs: laptop loans, returns, charging, repairs, deployments, and replacements. Its public higher-ed materials emphasize secure, self-serve access, centralized oversight, and 24/7 student laptop lending, while its broader platform positioning centers on audit trails, real-time visibility, and cloud-managed workflows that can align with campus credentials, including campus ID, PIN, RFID, or SSO-based access.
For campus device management teams trying to distribute devices across multiple buildings without tying every exchange to staffed hours, that makes ForwardPass relevant as infrastructure rather than just storage.
2. LocknCharge — Charging Lockers for Campus Devices
LocknCharge sits in the charging-oriented segment of this category. Its higher-education positioning centers on loaner laptops, specialty devices, secure charging, and self-serve access, while the broader portfolio includes charging carts as well as FUYL smart lockers. That matters on campuses where device programs still rely on a mix of fixed library lending points, classroom support, and departmental storage rather than a single distribution model.
From an operations standpoint, LocknCharge is most relevant when universities need campus technology storage systems that combine charging with controlled pickup and return. Its FUYL platform is structured around charging, loaning, repairs, and deployments, which fits common higher-ed use cases such as campus libraries, student device lending programs, temporary replacement devices, and shared tablet pools. For institutions balancing device availability with straightforward physical storage, LocknCharge remains one of the more visible names in this part of the university IT asset management conversation.
3. Gantner — Access-Controlled Smart Lockers for Universities
Gantner is notable where universities want locker access tied into the same identity and facilities framework that already governs movement around campus. The company’s education positioning emphasizes RFID-enabled access control, smart locker locking systems, and student or staff IDs that can be used for building access, locker access, and other campus services. That makes Gantner especially relevant for institutions treating lockers as part of digital campus infrastructure rather than a stand-alone lending tool.
In practice, this model fits campuses that want automated locker access for broad university populations, including libraries, learning areas, and classrooms, with centralized locker administration in the background. Gantner’s education materials also highlight integration with locker management software and existing customer systems, which is important for facilities managers and campus security teams that care as much about access governance as they do about storage itself.
4. Vecos — Locker Management Platform for Campus Environments
Vecos is most associated with software-led locker management across larger campus environments. Its schools and universities positioning focuses on reducing administrative effort for facility managers, while university case studies point to on-demand locker use, cross-campus access, and remote oversight. At Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, for example, students and staff can use lockers at any location with a card or locker app, and the ICT department manages all locations through a central portal.
That profile makes Vecos relevant when universities need dynamic locker allocation across multiple buildings rather than permanently assigned storage. In other words, the strength is less about a single device-lending workflow and more about managing locker availability as a campus-wide resource. For digital infrastructure leaders dealing with expansion, renovation, or mixed-use academic buildings, that platform approach can fit broader campus planning goals. TU Eindhoven’s search for a central locker management system under its Campus Strategy 2030 points to the same multi-building, planning-led use case.
5. Quadient — Smart Lockers for Campus Logistics and Device Access
Quadient enters the higher-ed locker discussion from the logistics side. Its university positioning centers on parcel lockers, mailroom automation, and organized pickup for on-campus deliveries, but the company also explicitly frames its higher-education footprint around bookstore merchandise, class equipment, and IT equipment exchange points. That makes Quadient relevant for institutions that want one locker layer to support both campus logistics and selected technology handoffs.
This is a different operating model from a pure device-lending system, but it is still part of the same campus automation shift. On large campuses, mailrooms, student centers, housing operations, and IT departments increasingly overlap in how items are delivered, stored, and collected. Quadient’s higher-ed materials emphasize chain-of-custody visibility and scale, including its statement that more than 300 higher education institutions in the U.S. rely on its lockers for a range of campus exchange scenarios.
Future-Proofing Campus Technology Infrastructure
The broader direction is clear: universities increasingly need automated infrastructure that keeps devices available without adding friction to the student experience or manual burden to IT. That means automating device lending at scale, improving equipment availability for students 24/7, reducing repetitive workflows in libraries and service centers, and securing valuable campus technology assets with better tracking.
In practice, campuses may reach that goal through different mixes of technology. Some will prioritize device-centric automation and distributed lending through platforms such as ForwardPass or LocknCharge. Others will focus on access control and campus-wide locker administration through systems such as Gantner or Vecos. And some will expand locker programs through logistics-led models such as Quadient.
What matters most is that smart lockers for universities are no longer just furniture. They are becoming an operational layer for campus device management, university IT asset management, and automated IT asset storage across the modern campus.
