How Higher Education Institutions Are Using Smart Lockers: 4 Key Takeaways from the University at Albany

What are higher education institutions doing with lockers today? More than you might think. As package volumes surge and students demand instant access to their deliveries, universities are rethinking how they manage mail services. Limited space, stretched staff, and 24/7 student expectations have created a perfect storm that traditional mail rooms can no longer handle efficiently and effectively.

That’s why we invited Steve Lampedusa, Director of Mail Services and Copy at the State University of New York at Albany, to share his institution’s smart locker success story. During our November 2025 webinar, Lampedusa revealed how University at Albany implemented lockers campus-wide, the creative ways these systems are being used beyond package delivery, and the tangible benefits for both students and staff.

Below, we explore the key insights from this conversation, including how Parcel Pending by Quadient smart locker solutions are delivering MORE for UAlbany students, staff, and faculty.

Smart Lockers Manage Growing Volume Without Increasing Staff or Space

The University at Albany’s mail services operation serves 15,000 students and 5,000 faculty and staff members. But when the school reopened after COVID, its mail services director witnessed something he’d never seen before: package volumes skyrocketing, carriers delivering at all hours, and his team struggling to keep pace.

The numbers were jaw-dropping. “To give you context, when I first started this job [in 2016], we were looking at 70,000 packages a year,” Lampedusa shared. “Last year, we surpassed 350,000 packages—and we’re probably going to surpass that number this year.”

Facing a 400% increase in volume alongside budget constraints, Lampedusa knew the writing was on the wall. The traditional mailroom couldn’t scale to meet demand. He needed a more innovative solution, and he began making the case for lockers.

In 2021, UAlbany installed 908 lockers, fundamentally changing how the institution handles package delivery. The lockers extended service beyond the mailroom’s 7 AM to 3 PM hours, staying open for pick-up until 11 PM. Recipients are encouraged to collect packages within two days, allowing lockers to turn over quickly for incoming deliveries.

The impact on operations has been remarkable. Lampedusa’s team of seven full-time staff members and 12 work-study students now processes 1,200 to 1,500 packages daily through the locker system. During peak periods, the numbers climb even higher. “One day we were able to distribute 2,000 packages in one day,” Lampedusa noted. “And that was because [the lockers] were repurposed a couple of times. That’s the record.”

Smart Lockers Solve Problems Far Beyond Student Packages

While University at Albany initially deployed lockers to handle surging student package volumes, Lampedusa quickly discovered their versatility extends across the entire campus ecosystem. In fact, he now wishes he had gone “all in” from the start, using lockers for letter mail, refrigerated items, and even installing outdoor units for on-demand 24/7 access.

The success of the mail room lockers also triggered requests from other departments. The library implemented its own locker system, and other departments are now exploring how lockers could streamline their operations. New use cases emerge regularly, often in unexpected ways.

One recent example perfectly illustrates this flexibility. UAlbany’s athletic director contacted Lampedusa late one evening, urgently needing an item for an out-of-town game the next morning. Lampedusa located the package and placed it in a locker for after-hours pickup. “First thing in the morning, like five in the morning, he was getting it and heading off to Villanova,” Lampedusa recalled. “So, you see a lot of different ways to utilize a locker besides just general student packages.”

The takeaway for mail service directors? Smart lockers aren’t just a mailroom solution; they’re a campus-wide asset that can support athletics, facilities, libraries, departments, and any operation that needs secure, flexible, time-sensitive delivery and pickup.

Do Your Homework, Then Trust the Experts

When Lampedusa began exploring lockers for the University at Albany, he took a two-pronged approach: learning from peers and leaning on vendor expertise. Both proved essential.

First, he reached out to colleagues at other institutions that had already implemented lockers. He asked about their experiences, gathered information for budgeting conversations, and, most importantly, visited campuses to see the systems in action. “I recommend anyone considering lockers visit a campus with lockers and talk to peers in similar roles,” Lampedusa advised. Understanding how the system works in real life is imperative. Talk to students and mail managers to see how they interact with the system.

Of course, peer insights are only half the equation. Lampedusa also emphasizes trusting your vendor partner’s assessment. “Parcel Pending by Quadient does a great job of giving an assessment of the school’s needs and providing an estimate of lockers needed, as well as ways that the lockers can be repurposed,” he observed.

His most critical piece of advice? Don’t scale back the vendor’s recommendations to save money upfront. “Work as hard as you can to get the amount that is recommended, because in two or three years after you have the lockers, you’re going to be like, ‘this is what we need’.”

In other words, peers give you confidence in the concept, but experienced vendors understand capacity planning based on data from hundreds of implementations. Listen to both.

Let Data Drive Your Operations Strategy

University at Albany installed its initial locker banks mid-spring semester, giving the mail services team a whole summer to analyze usage patterns. What they discovered fundamentally changed how they staffed their operation.

The data revealed that the percentage of packages picked up after 3 PM, when the traditional mailroom closed, was significantly higher than pickups during standard operating hours. “The percentage of pickups after 3:00 was significantly higher, so the data speaks for itself,” Lampedusa explained. “We used the data and leveraged it to make decisions accordingly.”

This insight led to a crucial operational adjustment. After consulting with its Parcel Pending customer success representative, who connected them with other schools experiencing similar pickup timing, UAlbany found a solution: utilizing student staff to load lockers after full-time mailroom staff went home. This better aligned staffing with actual student demand patterns.

The data also proved essential in securing more flexibility for how student workers were deployed. And those student staff members? They’re believers. “One of my [staff] always says, ‘when are we getting more lockers?’ And I say, ‘I’m trying,'” Lampedusa shared. “They understand that when something goes in a locker, it’s a slam dunk.”

The lesson for mail service directors: don’t just install lockers and hope for the best. Use the usage data to continuously refine your workflows, staffing schedules, and service model. The lockers provide the infrastructure; the data shows you how to optimize it.

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This University at Albany case study offers a roadmap for mail service directors navigating similar challenges. From handling 400% growth in package volume to discovering new use cases across campus, the lessons are clear. Smart lockers aren’t just for managing packages more efficiently; they’re helping higher education institutions reimagine the full potential of campus deliveries. As one institution after another discovers, the question isn’t whether to implement lockers, but how quickly you can get them in place.

Click the image below to get these insights and more in the free recording of our “How Are Higher Education Institutions Using Smart Lockers Today?” event.