If you have the weekly meal plan,how many times have you been in a situation where you weren’t able to use all your swipes, or used them too fast? The weekly meal plans refresh every week and are designed for students who eat two meals or less per day at dining halls. These plans are convenient, especially for students who live off campus, because students are not limited to only eating on or off campus. However, if students are not able to use all their swipes in a particular week, those swipes are essentially wasted.
The Block 60 and 90 meals plans allot students a total number of meals they can have per semester, giving students the freedom to use as many swipes per week as long as they do not exceed their 60 or 90 meals. The weekly meal plans, on the other hand, restrict the number of meals per week and do not reimburse students if there are unused swipes. According to Baylor Dining, “meal plans are convenient, flexible and loaded with options,” but with the weekly meal plans, students are very limited.
Scheduling out meals may come easily for some students, but for others, it can be very situational. Some weeks, students may find themselves at home more, allowing them to cook instead of having to dine on campus. Other weeks, students may find themselves on campus all day where their closest dining choices are the dining halls. The weekly plans forces students to use up all their swipes on campus if they don’t wish to waste them instead of giving students a roll-over option.
Implementing roll-over meals would give students the chance to eat their money’s worth. This way, students would not be penalized for not using all their swipes. It would also give students the ability to save meals for certain occasions. All weekly meal plans, with the exception of the Light Eater, are above $1,000. Since students are paying a substantial sum for their meals, Baylor Dining should offer more flexibility or alternatives, such as the option of roll-over meals or reimbursement in other means such as Dining Dollars or BearBucks. This way, student spendings would still circulate through Baylor.
These alternatives should be given until the end of each semester with no direct reimbursements for meals missed, such as giving credit to their Baylor Bill for missed meals. By doing so, Baylor gives students the chance to use all the meals, but leaves students fully responsible at the end of the semester if they choose to waste their meals.
