The University of Vermont offers its students allergen-free, gluten-free and kosher food stations—plus cage-free eggs, fair trade coffee and locally sourced organic food (including Vermont maple syrup). Hunger cravings can be satisfied at any of three dining halls and 12 retail locations on campus, yet meal prices haven't increased at rates higher than the cost […]
What do you see as the biggest trend in meal plan design? "Meal plans are being designed to provide the greatest balance of convenience and value for the meal plan holder. You are seeing the addition of various types of unlimited access plans, meal plans with large balances of declining balance dollars for retail purchases, […]
When Quinnipiac University's aging door readers had outlived their usefulness, Sandip Patel, financial systems specialist, and John Meriano, associate vice president for auxiliary services, knew they had reached a turning point with its QCard campus card system. "The door readers basically made the decision for us," said Patel. "They were coming to end-of-life and we […]
Columbia University students concerned with hunger on campus launched two initiatives this fall—one involving a mobile app—that help provide struggling classmates with meals. The Emergency Meal Fund allows students on Columbia's meal plan to donate up to six unused meals per semester. Any Columbia undergraduate or graduate student can register to receive a donated meal, […]
Over the years, college applications have become increasingly similar, with seemingly generic questions and check-boxes that often leave prospective students to wonder, "What does this have to do with me?" That's part of what the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success aims to change. The goal is not just to revise a few forms, but for […]
The number of forms at the University of Delaware, just like at any other higher ed institution, is large. From course withdrawals for students to facilities requests by staff, a stakeholder is often required to fill out a specific form deep within various web applications in order to make a business action happen on campus. […]
When making decisions about Hope College's website redesign, project team members found themselves looking at a photo of Adam, an 18-year-old freshman, to gauge what he might think is the most logical place for a piece of content—or whether he thinks the content should be there at all. And then, knowing Adam's mom is very […]
Students may forget their campus cards in their rooms or figure they don't need their wallet for a short walk around the quad. But the one thing they are likely never to be without is a phone. In the consumer space, customers want to use their phones for many purposes, most certainly including retail transactions. […]
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has been recognized as the third greenest college in America — and the greenest college in Wisconsin — by the Sierra Club, the largest grassroots environmental organization in the country. The Sierra Club noted the university's success in water and energy conservation, wind-powered electricity and recycling. At UW Oshkosh, it takes […]
For centuries, colleges and universities have been exempt from paying property taxes, and there's no good reason to change. But that's not stopping people from trying. From Connecticut to California, critics are questioning property tax exemptions while arguing that colleges are getting a free ride on the backs of taxpayers. With states and municipalities still […]
