Boise State Dining Services has been working with card system vendor, CBORD, to implement the GET app and to update health policies surrounding campus food services. The efforts have seen the addition of the GET app to bolster contactless transactions for students and faculty.

According to a report from The Arbiter, the university worked with card system vendor CBORD to implement the GET app at the beginning of August to support contactless transactions for students and faculty, to pre-order food, view account balances, and more.

“It’s really helpful for students to budget their meal plans and flex dollars in live time,” says Meaghan Compton, assistant director for Campus Services. “Historically, that’s been really cumbersome for students to get access to, so this provides instant transparency on their part and accessibility to their account.”

The GET app also brings mobile food ordering to Boise State, enabling students to skip the line for pickup. Mobile ordering is another way that Boise State is attempting to add more touchless transaction experiences and keep in line with social distancing requirements.

“The app is there to help students understand the scope of their meal plan and know where their meal plans can be used outside of the traditional dining hall," says Compton. "It provides a safer alternative, especially when it comes to eating at all the retail locations."

Students don't need a meal plan to use the GET app. The university wanted to ensure GET was available to all students on campus, and can log in to GET using their Boise State credentials to link a personal credit or debit card for payments.

Boise State has future plans for the GET app that include meal donations, where students can donate meal swipes to fellow students in need. Boise State is also looking to include the ability to purchase meal plans through the app, instead of through the university website. Future rollouts will also enables students to add and update their meal plan funds, and implement a rewards program for students.

According to Compton, dining services have implemented contactless credit and debit card transactions through Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Boise State dining services is encouraging students to use digital currency as much as possible.

Other safety precautions taken by Boise State dining, beyond the GET app, include social distancing in lines with floor markers six feet apart. Dining Services has also limited the number of guests inside certain locations, limited the amount of seating available and has been offering more pre-packaged food. And introduced cleaning protocols for disinfecting high-touch areas like cash registers, door handles, and counter tops.

As for personnel, all Boise State dining employees are required to wear face masks, take part in COVID-19 safety training before working, and have their temperatures taken prior to each shift.