On Sept. 9, the Ashland University Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs partnered with the food delivery company DoorDash to assist those involved with the programs in virtual learning.

The One-Year International MBA Program involves providing in-person classes on Saturdays for those working full-time jobs, including two international study tours. The program also provides breakfast and lunch during class sessions free of charge.

However, Ashland University and the MBA programs announced that all in-person would be suspended and that the programs would go to virtual learning. The situation put executive director of MBA Programs at Ashland University,Ronald Mickler,in a precarious situation.

“We were faced with the difficult situation of how we were going to provide meals to students,” Mickler said. “That’s one of the main features of this program. With keeping our students safety in mind for those in quarantine, that was how this partnership was born.”

Mickler said that all the students involved in the One-Year International program will receive five hundred dollars in DoorDash credit while also receiving a free DashPass subscription, which those in the program will be able to use until graduation. 

“Students with that five hundred dollar credit will be able to use it however they want,” Mickler said. “If they wish to use that money to buy food for them and their families, they are more than welcome to do so. This is their money and they can use it however they want with DoorDash and their affiliates.”

Mickler said that the only responses that the executive director had heard were predominantly positive by those in and around the One-Year International MBA program. Mickler also stated that the main reason the program chose DoorDash was due in large part to the responsiveness of the company, something that Mickler stated other companies lacked.

The partnership with DoorDash makes Ashland University the first university in the state of Ohio to partner with the company, but Mickler stated that the situation is still very fluid.

“It all depends on the feedback from the students,” Mickler said. “If they are not receiving the same level of responsiveness that I have received, we will not hesitate to look for a different vendor. If we go back to in-person classes, we may go back to our previous catering setup. There is still so much left to be determined and this whole pandemic makes this situation very fluid.”