Undergraduates could have late-night access to most Houses next year following a decision this week by the Council of Masters that allows individual Houses to determine their own keycard policy.

Although universal access will be the “default” system beginning in September, the Council agreed in a closed meeting Wednesday that individual masters would be allowed to exempt their own Houses from the policy—meaning universal access is not guaranteed for everyone. Quincy, alone among the Houses, has permitted UKA since 1998.

Wednesday’s decision signals a step toward the end of a nearly decade-long push by students to gain universal keycard access (UKA) to all Houses between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Currently, access during this period at most Houses is restricted to residents.

Yesterday, Adams House Master Sean Palfrey wrote in an e-mail that his House will implement UKA next fall and several other masters said they were likely to grant access if their students supported the policy change.

Undergraduate Council President Matthew W. Mahan ’05, who made UKA part of his campaign platform, said that he thought most Houses would support the extended policy. He has argued that the access will make the campus safer because students will not have to wait outside entryways late at night.

Mahan said that one major objection to the policy—that students would allow “piggybacking” by swiping others in late at night—was unfounded.

“Giving access to everyone certainly won’t make you swipe in more people,” he wrote in an e-mail. “More importantly, the numbers are clearly on our side. Quincy House has had an excellent experience with UKA and students really appreciate that.”

Council of Masters Chair and Mather House Master Sandra Naddaff said the decision to allow individual Houses to opt out of the new policy was made with an eye toward the varying architectural configurations of each House and the individual concerns of some masters.

Associate Dean of the College Thomas A. Dingman ’67 said while strong student support and the policy’s success in Quincy were reasons for the new policy, implementation would depend on masters.

“If the masters have concerns that this will not work whatsoever, they can tailor an alternative schedule that we will fold into the overall plan,” Dingman said.

Leverett House Master Howard Georgi ’68 wrote in an e-mail that Leverett was likely to move toward universal access.

“We have not yet discussed this fully within the House, but my guess at this point is that we will go with the default option to have 24/7 access,” Georgi wrote.

But Currier House Master Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. said that while his “sympathy” lies with universal access, he first wants to hear student opinion on the safety questions raised by not permitting access and by permitting it.

“The safety issue is really one that students have to have a say in,” Badaracco said, adding that undergraduates can already swipe into the lobby of Currier House—where phones are readily available—at any hour.

Similarly, Cabot House Master Jay M. Harris wrote in an e-mail that although he was inclined to allow UKA, he planned to seek input from the House Committee (HoCo) and other students before making a final decision.

Kirkland House Master Tom Conley said that so far, the student feedback, both from the HoCo and from “students at large,” has been positive.

He said that he expected to know definitively within the week whether or not Kirkland House would choose to implement UKA.

Naddaff said she did not know what policy Mather House would choose to follow next year.

Masters of Eliot, Dunster, Pforzheimer, Lowell and Winthrop Houses could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Matthew J. Glazer ’05, who co-wrote a successful council bill urging the adoption of UKA, said that a majority of masters have said they support the policy.

Glazer, who is the chair of the council’s Student Affairs Committee, said that he hasn’t heard from the Freshman Dean’s Office whether or not it will change its policy to grant upperclassmen access rights to first-year dorms.

Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans could not be reached for comment yesterday. She was out of town for the Council of Masters’ meeting Wednesday, according to Dingman.

HoCo members had mixed reactions to the decision, although none said they opposed extending keycard access.

Eliot HoCo co-chair Anna R. Himmelrich ’05 said the implementation of 24-hour UKA would be a “nominal measure,” contending that the number of people affected by the policy change—those entering between 2:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.—is minimal.

But she was also quick to add that she had no objections to 24-hour UKA as it had “no overwhelmingly negative consequences.”

Lacey R. Whitmire ’05, the Currier HoCo secretary, said she supported the change because it would be more convenient for students.

She said the current restrictions are unnecessary because “[a]nyone can eventually find someone, i.e., another student, to let them in.”

—Staff writer Margaret W. Ho can be reached at mwho@fas.harvard.edu.