New Mexico State University is deploying new campus vending machine on its Las Cruces campus this fall that dispense face masks and other safety supplies designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The new vending machines are the result of a joint effort between the university and industrial and safety supplies reseller, Fastenal.

Syracuse University is exploring the idea of using student ID cards, among other measures, to keep track of student COVID-19 testing, and to ensure that students living off-campus are in keeping with university testing requirements. Syracuse is considering a team of up to 50 trained students to act as contact tracers.

College of Charleston has outlined much of its return plan for this fall, including the decision to convert an entire dorm into an isolation facility for students that test positive for COVID-19. The dorm repurposing joins other measures being taken in dining halls and campus facilities for students as part of the college’s Back on the Bricks plan.

The fall semester is just around the corner, as is the return to campus for students, faculty and staff. With this in mind, the University of Georgia has outlined its approach to COVID-19 surveillance testing and notification for its campus community that will begin on August 10, with the first day of UGA’s Phase Three reopening plan.

Financial aid disbursement can carry certain attendance requirements, and without accurate reporting that funding can be put in jeopardy. That’s precisely the experience for New Orleans, Louisiana’s Dillard University, where Transact has provided a new attendance system to replace the university’s dated, paper-based attendance tracking system.

Stephen F. Austin State University has made changes to campus housing guidelines amid COVID-19, including the lifting of a requirement for freshmen to live in on-campus residence halls. The freshmen housing requirement joins other changes designed to prevent the spread of the virus within residence halls.

A new survey conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology asked MIT students how they felt about the return to campus this fall. The survey results point to some concerns around the coronavirus and how the university will implement new safety restrictions this fall.

Campus ticketing solutions provider, AudienceView, has launched new software specifically for higher education that helps manage capacity in spaces where students congregate. The company’s new Campus Flow ticketing platform integrates with other critical university systems to create a packaged offering designed to support physical distancing measures.