Dining services raises plan rates
Amount comparable to what students use
By Bill Morrison
Staff Reporter

Dining services plans will increase across the board next year, Residential Services officials say, but the fee increases are not that drastic and keep with what a student spends on food.

The minimum dining plan for incoming freshmen is being increased from $800 to $1,000 a semester. Also, returning student plans are raising from $600 to $750 and from $400 to $500 for students in the Tom Brown-Pete Wright Residential Community.

However, Residential Services Director Roger Fisher said although all plans will be increased, the increases seem more than they really are because the way the taxes are collected is changing.

Fisher said in the past, tax was added onto the bill in addition to the cost of the dining plan. For example, Fisher said, if you put $800 on your card, his office would bill the student for $866 once tax was included. Now, the $1,000 will already include the additional tax charge, so the increase will amount to $134 each semester.

He said students were confused because they saw a tax on their bill and when they bought something from dining services they thought they were taxed again. Now, they will only see tax at the register.

“The taxing has been very confusing to us and very confusing to students,” Fisher said. “So now we hold your money like a bank. You will only pay taxes when you purchase something.”

Matthew Gamble, a freshman history major, said students eat out a lot and do not need more money to spend on campus. He said if students need more money, they can go to the ID Card Center and add money to their cards.

“I ate out a ton my first semester, so when spring came around I had well (more than) a $1,000 on my card,” Gamble said. “Instead of making everyone pay more up front, just let those who run out of money add it as needed.”

Fisher said only 1 percent of the dining plans is not spent. Fisher said the majority of students add money to their plan.

“We’re not going out and ripping students off to the tune of thousands and thousands of dollars,” Fisher said. “Most of them are spending the money anyway.”

Fisher said according to the National Association of Food Services, it takes $1,500 to $2,000 to feed a student a semester. Fisher said the increases are consistent with what it takes to feed a student.

“I’ve been here nine years, and we’ve raised the rates for living in the residence halls every year for nine years and students haven’t squeaked very much,” Fisher said. “But in those nine years we’ve raised food prices twice and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, what are you doing?’ But this isn’t much of a raise.”

Beginning last year, money left on student plans at the end of the year was kept by the university, Fisher said. He said this is not done to make money, but that it must be done to encourage and ensure that students do eat on campus.

“We have to give our contractor a base to operate from, and we can’t do that if we say you don’t have to spend anything and you’ll get all your money back,” Fisher said.
Fisher said unlike other universities’ dining plans, Sodexho only gets paid when a students eats there.

“A consultant said we should make the students purchase a meal plan and we’ll make more money, but that’s not the TCU way of doing things,” Fisher said. “Here, (Sodexho) only gets paid if you spend it, so they are motivated to provide a better service.”

Sue Duncan, a manager of Southern Methodist University’s dining services, said all students living on campus must have a dining program. The meal plans for everyone except seniors are $1,710 a year, Duncan said. She said their plan is a combination of flex dollars and meals a day.

For students who are not able to spend the money on their card, Flores said they will have a truck sale like they had last year along with special promotions. He said students can also pool their resources and get catered food that ranges from pizza to shrimp scampi.

“Once the (outdoor) pool opens we’ll offer catering for pool parties and grill outs,” Flores said. “We are also working on doing catering for March Madness like we did for the Super Bowl.”

w.c.morrison@tcu.edu