Dining Services unveiled the meal plan structure for the 2002-2003 school year yesterday, which includes smaller numbers of meals per week but greatly increased numbers of dining dollars attached to many of the plans.
The proposal follows last spring's Dining Services public relations fiasco, when the department made several unpopular changes, including mandating that incoming freshmen purchase at least 17 meals per week. Students reacted negatively to the changes, and Dining Services later reversed some of them, only requiring a 14 meal-per-week plan for freshmen.
Next year, freshmen will be required to purchase a minimum of nine meals per week. The nine meal plan, though, will come with 400 dining dollars to be used at University dining halls and campus retail operations like Houston Hall and, when Huntsman Hall opens in the fall, the two cafes in that building.
Although last year's changes in the meal plan system were instituted partly to help stabilize Dining Services' finances, officials say this year's system of smaller plans will serve essentially the same purpose.
"Bundling the dining dollars with the plans enables us to have a revenue source that we're able to predict," Associate Vice President of Business Services Marie Witt said.
"We're also assuming we're going to attract more customers [because] we've got a program now that people embrace, as opposed to maybe boycotting when they're angry about not getting what they need," she added.
Vice President of Business Services Lee Nunery said Dining Services will not be seeing significant profits from the new meal plans, though.
"We're still heavily dependent upon people signing contracts, there's no question about that," Nunery said. The plan "doesn't generate huge surpluses...."
Even though Dining Services will now offer smaller numbers of meals per week, many prices have gone up, due in part to the increased numbers of dining dollars attached to the plans.
For example, while this year's 14 meal per week plan, which does not include any dining dollars, cost $3,262, next year's, which will come with $100 dining dollars, will cost $3,432, or $170 more.
However, the cost of other plans have increased even more.
For example, last year's 10 meal per week plan, which did not include any dining dollars, cost $2,698. This year's 10 meal plan, which will include 150 dining dollars, will cost $3,162 -- a $464 difference.
The increase in the number of dining dollars associated with meal plans means that Dining Services can expect next year's revenue from freshmen to be comparable to this year's. This year, freshmen were required to buy a 14 meal-per-week, $3,262 plan. Next year, they will have to purchase at least a nine meal-per-week plan, which costs $117 less.
Next year, the minimum meal plan upperclassmen living on campus will be able to buy will be 75 meals per year plus 400 dining dollars. Off-campus upperclassmen will be able to buy 50 meals per year plus 450 dining dollars.
Other changes Dining Services will roll out in the fall include expanded kosher options at on-campus retail venues, longer hours for some meals at certain dining halls and a more upscale Sunday brunch at dining halls, complete with pastries, gourmet coffee and students' hometown newspapers. Also, starting in the fall, dining hall employees will start to undergo customer service training.
According to Campus Dining Managing Director Peg Lacey, Dining Services plans to make big changes to the 1920 Commons Dining Hall, bringing retail establishments into the building at which students can use their dining dollars.
"We don't know which ones, we don't know what it's going to look like, but we're going to take that middle floor and turn it into retail," Lacey said. "Even though you don't see anything now, that will be done over the summer...."
The dining changes come on the heels of an Undergraduate Assembly dining resolution passed in January which was based on a student survey.
In the document, the UA called for sweeping changes in Dining Services, including smaller meal plans, hours of operation staggered among the dining halls and no required meal plan for freshmen. UA members also worked with Dining Services to hammer out a new dining plan.
And even though not all of their proposals were enacted, UA members were pleased with the plan, which they said encompasses the main ideas of their resolution -- namely, smaller meal plans and more options for a la carte dining.
"This dining proposal adequately addresses [our] concerns," UA Chairwoman Dana Hork said. "We're happy from our end how much of our proposal they took into account."
