Despite a vast majority of students returning to their homes for the remainder of the academic calendar, many universities are still serving a small number of students for whom traveling home isn’t an option. Vanderbilt University is one such campus, and Vandy Campus Dining has established a care package service for its remaining on-campus residents to help them during the pandemic shutdown.

Campuses are now beginning to strategize and plan for on-campus life in the wake of the pandemic lockdown. With this in mind, CBORD is launching a FREE webinar series beginning Tuesday, April 28, designed to help universities in reopening facilities with a focus on making the campus environment healthier. The series, entitled “A Healthy Return,” will feature sessions throughout May, June and July covering topics for card office, food service, security, IT, and housing staff.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a number of campus housing changes. Michigan State University’s Housing Assignments Office is already looking to the summer with new options for students intending to live on the East Lansing campus this summer.

In response to the campus shutdowns and students moving to either their homes or off campus, Grubhub has instituted measures to help universities adapt to the new landscape. The company is enabling students to use their campus funds at Grubhub restaurants across the country along with a handful of other initiatives designed to provide dining alternatives during campus closures.

In an effort to help its surrounding community, staff members from the University of Kentucky dining services have partnered with local organizations to prepare meals for those in need. UK Dining chefs have provided some 200-300 meals per day to people in need over the last two weeks.

Transact is hosting a free webinar detailing ways that universities can leverage Transact Mobile Ordering to continue to serve students that have remained on their campuses during the coronavirus pandemic. The webinar will draw experiences from a panel of university leaders that are currently using mobile ordering to serve students and faculty.

One of the immediate challenges that campuses across the country are facing as a result of the spread of the COVID-19 virus is how to move students off campus. This has also led institutions to determine how to issue room and board refunds to residential students who will no longer be utilizing those services. The University of Connecticut is the latest to announce that it will be issuing refunds to its residential students who can no longer call their campus home.