Food and Housing considers year-to-year meal plan rollover
Food and Housing is considering a change in the policy concerning money left in student meal plans at the end of spring semesters.
Under current policy, any money unspent at the end of that semester is appropriated by F&H.
An oversight committee is now looking into a proposal which would allow students to roll any leftover money into their next year's meal plan.
Director of F&H Marion Hicks said, "It was recommended that we go back to RCMAC [Residential Colleges Management Advisory Committee] to look at how it would be done [in order to] finalize the details, recommendations and financing."
If the oversight committee approves the proposal, F&H will receive less money in the future. In this event, the lost revenue would have to be subsidized by some other means.
The oversight committee consists of Hicks, Vice President for Student Affairs Zenaido Camacho, Vice President for Finance and Administration Dean Currie, Lovett College Master William Leeman and the presidents of, or representatives for, each residential college.
Hicks said the concern is "to get the income and outcome to come out to zero on the bottom line. Any decrease [in funds] will mean some income that we must earn elsewhere."
While there are no plans at this point to replace any revenue lost by F&H, Hicks says that it is possible that room and board costs might have to be increased to compensate.
Not all students see the need for such a policy shift if it is accompanied by an increase in room and board.
Brown College junior Pippa Eltringham says that previous changes in policy are sufficient for students' needs.
"Because we are now able to add $25 increments of money throughout the semester, I don't think the ability to carry over meal plans from the spring to the fall is worth an increase in the cost in room and board," she said.
The major concern of students is keeping their overall costs down.
Brown College sophomore Al Suarez said, "A rollover plan is great, but if this is accompanied by an increase in room and board, then the marginal benefit is less than the marginal cost. In short, this would be another victory for [F&H] since they can charge us more yearly."
Hicks says that it is important for RCMAC to do what is best for the students and the colleges.
This issue should be decided at the next RCMAC meeting.
This item appeared in the News section of the March 1, 1996 issue.
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