Georgia State considers new commuter meal plan
20 October, 2017
category: Dining
A new meal plan is being proposed at Georgia State University that could benefit commuter students on a budget. The new plan will offer an alternative to the two existing meal plans students can choose from.
As reported by The Signal, the new meal plan has been proposed by the university’s student government, which has been researching ways to implement a more flexible alternative to traditional meal plans. The new plan would leverage the student ID card to provide access to dining facilities, but would instead provide students a max number of dining hall entries per semester. This new structure would join the current 5- and 7-day unlimited-style meal plans already on offer.
As at other institutions, commuter students typically visit campus dining facilities far less often than their residential student peers. With this in mind, the proposed meal plan would allot students a set number of dining hall entries to be used across a semester without having to pay for a full meal plan. The added dining option is intended to offer a service to commuter students that may be unable or too busy to leave campus for a quick meal.
Georgia State currently offers two separate meal plans, both featuring unlimited access to campus dining facilities. The 5-day plan is priced at $3,630 and includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and an overnight service Monday through Friday for the full academic year. The second is a 7-day plan priced at $3,832 that bears similarities to the 5-day plan but provides additional brunch and dinner on weekends. The proposed commuter plan, in contrast, would implement swipe limits rather than provide unlimited access.
Before the commuter meal plan can be implemented, the proposal must first garner approval by the university, as well as the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents. As the proposal continues to gain steam, those close to the proposal at Georgia State are studying neighboring four-year institutions that source their own dining services for further inspiration.
Student government officials are hoping to implement the new plan starting with the 2019 academic year, and will first collect data to see how many students would leverage the commuter plan, as well as determine which students would benefit most from the new offering.
