diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/JsonUserListInputStreamWrapperTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/JsonUserListInputStreamWrapperTest.java
index ce4caa3360b90e476ddbf3ff6e984fc96c5e2e39..b79620b0b0b5c1a8ca7755a22502a0a89fd29975 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/JsonUserListInputStreamWrapperTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/JsonUserListInputStreamWrapperTest.java
@@ -68,21 +68,13 @@
 
 package ca.nrc.cadc.ac.client;
 
-import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PersonalDetails;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.TestUtil;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.User;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.json.JsonUserListWriter;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.xml.AbstractReaderWriter;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.HttpPrincipal;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.util.Log4jInit;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
 
 import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.StringWriter;
 import java.io.Writer;
 import java.net.URI;
-import java.security.Principal;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -90,21 +82,41 @@ import java.util.UUID;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Level;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PersonalDetails;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.TestUtil;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.User;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.json.JsonUserListWriter;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.xml.AbstractReaderWriter;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.Log4jInit;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 
 public class JsonUserListInputStreamWrapperTest
 {
     private static final Logger log = Logger.getLogger(JsonUserListInputStreamWrapperTest.class);
-    
+
     static
     {
         Log4jInit.setLevel("ca.nrc.cadc.ac", Level.INFO);
     }
-    
+
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
+    {
+        System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
+    {
+        System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void readInputStream() throws Exception
     {
@@ -131,7 +143,7 @@ public class JsonUserListInputStreamWrapperTest
         userListWriter.write(users, writer);
         String json = writer.toString();
         log.debug("user:\n" + json);
-        
+
         final InputStream inputStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(json.getBytes());
 
         testSubject.read(inputStream);
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/UserClientTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/UserClientTest.java
index 4aa6144492cbfa9011c3eae711e42264e322414a..f4a9040c139053b323a402c9abe6d22b40fe303a 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/UserClientTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/client/UserClientTest.java
@@ -81,7 +81,9 @@ import javax.security.auth.x500.X500Principal;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Level;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
 import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.HttpPrincipal;
@@ -89,6 +91,7 @@ import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.NumericPrincipal;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.reg.Standards;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.reg.client.LocalAuthority;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.util.Log4jInit;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 
 public class UserClientTest
@@ -98,6 +101,18 @@ public class UserClientTest
 
     private URI umsServiceURI;
 
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
+    {
+        System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
+    {
+        System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
+    }
+
     public UserClientTest()
     {
         Log4jInit.setLevel("ca.nrc.cadc.ac", Level.INFO);
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonGroupReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonGroupReaderWriterTest.java
index e2079a714ad88a7c7aba053229e1c4bdc5e64c7a..50b73124358a3570c9e8c938f8cfbeeac94cf812 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonGroupReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonGroupReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ import javax.security.auth.x500.X500Principal;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Level;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
 import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
@@ -103,6 +104,7 @@ import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.WriterException;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.xml.AbstractReaderWriter;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.HttpPrincipal;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.util.Log4jInit;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 /**
  * @author jburke
@@ -111,12 +113,23 @@ public class JsonGroupReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(JsonGroupReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @BeforeClass
-    public static void setUpClass()
+    static
     {
         Log4jInit.setLevel("ca.nrc.cadc.ac.json", Level.INFO);
     }
 
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
+    {
+        System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
+    {
+        System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testReaderExceptions() throws Exception
     {
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserListReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserListReaderWriterTest.java
index c03f4b01c456e8e3ca165d9e1cad280f613d273a..e6b4a7933a9be9d1da71de255ba0299fe1746cc0 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserListReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserListReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -1,5 +1,22 @@
 package ca.nrc.cadc.ac.json;
 
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.Reader;
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.util.UUID;
+
+import org.apache.log4j.Level;
+import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PersonalDetails;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PosixDetails;
@@ -7,21 +24,9 @@ import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.TestUtil;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.User;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.WriterException;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.xml.AbstractReaderWriter;
-import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.HttpPrincipal;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.NumericPrincipal;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.util.Log4jInit;
-import org.json.JSONObject;
-import org.junit.Test;
-import org.skyscreamer.jsonassert.JSONAssert;
-
-import java.io.*;
-import java.net.URI;
-import java.security.Principal;
-import java.util.*;
-import org.apache.log4j.Level;
-import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-
-import static org.junit.Assert.*;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 
 /**
@@ -30,12 +35,24 @@ import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 public class JsonUserListReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static final Logger log = Logger.getLogger(JsonUserListReaderWriterTest.class);
-    
+
     static
     {
         Log4jInit.setLevel("ca.nrc.cadc.ac", Level.INFO);
     }
-    
+
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
+    {
+        System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
+    {
+        System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testReaderExceptions()
             throws Exception
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserReaderWriterTest.java
index dd88de293772a27f73e56daae329291486ced152..9daa80fcedf0e033a998d53983708cd49311d200 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -68,6 +68,22 @@
  */
 package ca.nrc.cadc.ac.json;
 
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.Reader;
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.util.UUID;
+
+import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PersonalDetails;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PosixDetails;
@@ -76,19 +92,7 @@ import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.User;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.WriterException;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.xml.AbstractReaderWriter;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.NumericPrincipal;
-import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.io.Reader;
-import java.net.URI;
-import java.util.UUID;
-
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
-import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 /**
  *
@@ -98,6 +102,18 @@ public class JsonUserReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(JsonUserReaderWriterTest.class);
 
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
+    {
+        System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
+    {
+        System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testReaderExceptions()
         throws Exception
@@ -110,7 +126,7 @@ public class JsonUserReaderWriterTest
             fail("null String should throw IllegalArgumentException");
         }
         catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {}
-        
+
         try
         {
             InputStream in = null;
@@ -119,7 +135,7 @@ public class JsonUserReaderWriterTest
             fail("null InputStream should throw IOException");
         }
         catch (IOException e) {}
-        
+
         try
         {
             Reader r = null;
@@ -129,7 +145,7 @@ public class JsonUserReaderWriterTest
         }
         catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {}
     }
-     
+
     @Test
     public void testWriterExceptions()
         throws Exception
@@ -142,7 +158,7 @@ public class JsonUserReaderWriterTest
         }
         catch (WriterException e) {}
     }
-     
+
     @Test
     public void testReadWrite()
         throws Exception
@@ -166,5 +182,5 @@ public class JsonUserReaderWriterTest
         assertNotNull(actual);
         assertEquals(expected, actual);
     }
-    
+
 }
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserRequestReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserRequestReaderWriterTest.java
index f383d07b46f6ce302ceb5692dfb0a8e24af5be44..17f68819988570a7f5e1efb1f39c0bd6915b2f37 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserRequestReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/json/JsonUserRequestReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -67,6 +67,21 @@
  */
 package ca.nrc.cadc.ac.json;
 
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.Reader;
+import java.net.URI;
+import java.util.UUID;
+
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PersonalDetails;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.TestUtil;
@@ -75,23 +90,24 @@ import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.UserRequest;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.WriterException;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.xml.AbstractReaderWriter;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.HttpPrincipal;
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.io.Reader;
-import java.net.URI;
-import java.security.Principal;
-import java.util.UUID;
-
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertNotNull;
-import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 
 public class JsonUserRequestReaderWriterTest
 {
+
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
+    {
+        System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
+    }
+
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
+    {
+        System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testReaderExceptions()
         throws Exception
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupListReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupListReaderWriterTest.java
index 364c4c93cade77db258e8909bcaa8a9478413396..cefbb2a24a2c49163cd3812bb13a394fe13e6483 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupListReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupListReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.Group;
@@ -96,14 +96,14 @@ public class GroupListReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(GroupListReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupPropertyReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupPropertyReaderWriterTest.java
index 9b3f2da9efc6496bcff3d84f9ab6600ce99a2ded..201892be2cd78e200326ee8d5153ca51a6e87391 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupPropertyReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupPropertyReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -75,8 +75,7 @@ import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
 import org.apache.log4j.Level;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.jdom2.Element;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
 import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
@@ -94,14 +93,14 @@ public class GroupPropertyReaderWriterTest extends AbstractReaderWriter
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(GroupPropertyReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupReaderWriterTest.java
index 655d41a5e0269c7d55697780f569b0f74cab055f..17343df0eb1058d06c2cf84f73e243abfdf1b40a 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/GroupReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -85,8 +85,8 @@ import java.util.UUID;
 import javax.security.auth.x500.X500Principal;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.Group;
@@ -108,14 +108,14 @@ public class GroupReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(GroupReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/IdentityReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/IdentityReaderWriterTest.java
index 1bfb9429387188ee17fe849f9b8c0bdf57f8e88d..5e09999ccabc9c4c8a7cae4d191196e3703fb631 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/IdentityReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/IdentityReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ import javax.security.auth.x500.X500Principal;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.jdom2.Element;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.ReaderException;
@@ -99,14 +99,14 @@ public class IdentityReaderWriterTest extends AbstractReaderWriter
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(IdentityReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserDetailsReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserDetailsReaderWriterTest.java
index d8ca1b752fb335c912bfa934e8880d9cfb6cdfc4..c7ab9890fd5fc61cd74bcb3faa7c1b2ac242de17 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserDetailsReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserDetailsReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -74,8 +74,8 @@ import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.jdom2.Element;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.PersonalDetails;
@@ -92,14 +92,14 @@ public class UserDetailsReaderWriterTest extends AbstractReaderWriter
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(UserDetailsReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserListReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserListReaderWriterTest.java
index 605015c0b38ce941baaa1e0bb762c61a4a44efa5..47b88e0501dbb58177885df6e14d6135a750ab5f 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserListReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserListReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.UUID;
 
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
@@ -29,14 +29,14 @@ public class UserListReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(UserListReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserReaderWriterTest.java
index 2d5904c01a9e7da8b515879ba51a31c1c44d60e2..4769314b4247e677ebc7e7d0b8e54fe85387c73f 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -79,9 +79,10 @@ import java.io.Reader;
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.util.UUID;
 
+import org.apache.log4j.Level;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.TestUtil;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.User;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.WriterException;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.NumericPrincipal;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.Log4jInit;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 /**
@@ -100,14 +102,19 @@ public class UserReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(UserReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    public UserReaderWriterTest()
+    {
+        Log4jInit.setLevel("ca.nrc.cadc.reg", Level.INFO);
+    }
+
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }
@@ -116,6 +123,9 @@ public class UserReaderWriterTest
     public void testReaderExceptions()
         throws Exception
     {
+
+        System.out.println("config dir: " + System.getProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir"));
+
         try
         {
             String s = null;
diff --git a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserRequestReaderWriterTest.java b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserRequestReaderWriterTest.java
index b438d15b6138862300b40be3a8ab4abe56919ad8..3b4a9fad401b6860d0c1528d928c7cb1494e25ef 100644
--- a/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserRequestReaderWriterTest.java
+++ b/cadc-access-control/src/test/java/ca/nrc/cadc/ac/xml/UserRequestReaderWriterTest.java
@@ -79,9 +79,10 @@ import java.io.Reader;
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.util.UUID;
 
+import org.apache.log4j.Level;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.InternalID;
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.User;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.UserRequest;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.ac.WriterException;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.auth.NumericPrincipal;
+import ca.nrc.cadc.util.Log4jInit;
 import ca.nrc.cadc.util.PropertiesReader;
 
 /**
@@ -101,14 +103,20 @@ public class UserRequestReaderWriterTest
 {
     private static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(UserRequestReaderWriterTest.class);
 
-    @Before
-    public void setup()
+    public UserRequestReaderWriterTest()
+    {
+        Log4jInit.setLevel("ca.nrc.cadc.ac", Level.INFO);
+    }
+
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setupClass()
     {
         System.setProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir", "src/test/resources");
+        System.out.println("set config dir to: " + System.getProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir"));
     }
 
-    @After
-    public void teardown()
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void teardownClass()
     {
         System.clearProperty(PropertiesReader.class.getName() + ".dir");
     }