ORONO — The University of Maine has received the Innovation of the Year Award from ticketing firm Paciolan for utilizing its system to streamline the process for COVID-19 testing on campus. At UMaine, the program is typically used for issuing tickets for patrons of the Collins Center for the Arts and Black Bear Athletics, according to UMaine, in a news release. It was reengineered to support UMaine asymptomatic testing by systematically scheduling participants. 

The university needed a solution for weekly testing of nearly 9,000 students, faculty and staff in the spring 2021 semester. Doug Meswarb, UMaine manager of ticket operations, determined that the ticketing system could be used to deliver mobile tickets with testing dates and times. He developed reports for university officials to track attendance via scanned tickets. As a result, UMaine was able to monitor — in real time — those individuals who had been selected for testing and engage in immediate follow-up regarding missed appointments.

“COVID-19 testing has been crucial to enabling us to be on campus during the pandemic," said UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “Thanks to our ticketing team, led by Doug Meswarb, we’ve been able to efficiently schedule appointments and thoroughly track the participation of people in our campus-based testing program.

“The pandemic has challenged us in so many ways here at the University of Maine and across the country,” said Ferrini-Mundy. “I’m very proud of this team for its incredible innovation and creativity that help keep our community safe.”

Daniel Williams, executive director of the Collins Center for the Arts, says the award recognizes the exceptionally successful and responsive UMaine initiative that eased a difficult situation. 

UMaine's entry for the award was among an unprecedented number of nominations submitted to Paciolan. 

Paciolan is a leader in ticketing solutions, powering more than 500 live entertainment organizations that sell more than 120 million tickets per year. Paciolan acknowledged UMaine as an organization that exceeded expectations and achieved uncommon results, with a focus on strategic pivots, revenue retention, and innovation during the pandemic.

 
About the University of Maine:

The University of Maine, founded in Orono in 1865, is the state's land grant, sea grant and space grant university. It is located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation. As Maine's flagship public university, UMaine has a statewide mission of teaching, research and economic development, and community service. UMaine is the state's only public research university and among the most comprehensive higher education institutions in the Northeast. It attracts students from all 50 states and more than 75 countries. UMaine currently enrolls 11,741 undergraduate and graduate students who have opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research with world-class scholars. UMaine offers more than 100 degree programs through which students can earn master's, doctoral or professional science master's degrees, as well as graduate certificates. The university promotes environmental stewardship, with substantial efforts campuswide to conserve energy, recycle and adhere to green building standards in new construction. For more information about UMaine, visit umaine.edu.