COVID-19 has disrupted lives across the world. As cases began to rise in North America, colleges and universities were forced to quickly close campuses. Students and staff were sent home and transitioned to remote learning and work.

In response to early needs expressed by its customers, CBORD launched a relief program for GET CBORD Student schools, offering free mobile ordering for on-campus dining. Additionally, the company expanded its partnership with Grubhub to provide more options for mobile food ordering and contactless delivery.

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Registration now open for the first session.[/infobox]

Both meal ordering programs could be quickly and virtually implemented for customers already on the commerce platform.

“When everything began closing in early March, our team leaped into action to arm customers with information and resources to help adjust operations to serve their communities and patrons,” says Jim Hoefflin, CBORD and Horizon Software president. “A lot of quick decisions had to be made, and we’re still unsure of what to expect over the next few months as campuses reopen at a pace that is right for their community.”

Guidelines seem to be changing every day, leaving some universities unsure about fall semester. Some campuses are considering a late start, with a shorter, more condensed term, while others may decide to continue remote learning.

But whatever the future may hold, 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.

“Life won’t return to normal automatically for any of us, and social distancing will be in place for a while,” says Hoefflin. “For our higher education customers, this may mean remotely issuing campus credentials, limiting the number of people allowed in a building or room, reopening closed residence halls to accommodate single occupancy, possibly shrinking class sizes, ensuring environments and equipment are properly sanitized, and enabling contactless technology to prevent the spread of germs.”

So what does a “healthy return” to campus mean?

“We want what every administrator, faculty, and staff member wants – for campus communities to be healthy and safe,” says Read Winkelman, vice president of education sales at CBORD. “People need to be reassured that they can go back out into the world, to shop, visit friends and family, go to class, exercise, go out to eat, and continue on with ordinary life.”

It’s also critical for universities to reassure students and parents that their campus is a safe place to study, work and live.

“A healthy return means high-traffic, high-touch surfaces are sanitized; procedures are in place to practice social distancing; contactless payments, access, and delivery of goods are available; and most importantly, that our customers are doing absolutely everything they can to take care of their campus communities,” explains Winkelman.

A panel of CBORD team members who have experience working on college campuses will lead the first of the webinars. They’ll share insight from their past experiences in various university departments and offer advice on how to plan and prep for students returning to campus.

“I think the next couple of weeks will be telling as states lift stay-at-home orders,” says Winkelman. “The way communities respond will help colleges and universities better determine plans to reopen.”

All sessions for the “A Healthy Return” webinar series are free and open to anyone working in higher education. The one-hour sessions will include designated time for viewers to submit questions, and all presentations will be recorded and posted on the CBORD website for anyone who can’t attend live.

“Reopening campuses will require a lot of planning and teamwork to ensure students, faculty, and staff can return to a safe, healthy environment,” says Hoefflin. “We’re in this together and will continue to serve alongside our customers.”

Register here for the first webinar session.