Student Services

Campus Adopts Mobile App to Accommodate Campus Dining

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 09/28/20

New Jersey's Fairleigh Dickinson University began its fall semester on Aug. 17, with courses being delivered online. By Sept. 14, a small number of classes began in-person sessions at two campuses, primarily involving labs, health sciences and psychology clinical courses and a few others. Between those two dates, the school also allowed students to move into residence halls, following a "de-densified" housing plan. The on-campus dining options have been reconfigured with sneeze guards and Plexiglas barriers, physical distancing for seating, prepackaged meals and lots of sanitizing.

The university has also adopted an app that allows students and others to put in their orders at campus dining options before they arrive to pick up their food. The school is requiring people to use Transact Mobile Ordering from Transact to access campus and nearby dining menus and cover payment. According to the institution, the app allows for accommodation of dietary needs and customization of orders. The app is available for iOS and Android.

The software also provides for mobile ordering in retail outlets and bookstores on and off campus. According to the company, the app, which notifies the customer when the food is ready, has built-in capacity management functionality to meet physical distancing protocols.

"Prior to the pandemic, FDU was already working to update our technology and processes — COVID-19 only accelerated our plans and overall approach to how we can best serve students, faculty and staff," said Bob Valenti, the university's associate vice president of Auxiliary Services, in a statement. "This is much more than providing new technology to students. It's an opportunity to provide outstanding service to our school community and help ensure a safe environment for all."