Meal plans at Miami, other colleges outpace tuition increases

While college students face ever-growing tuition bills, those increases in many cases are being outpaced by another rising cost: meal plan charges.

An analysis by this newspaper found that meal plan charges have skyrocketed more than tuition and fees at six of 10 local institutions. Miami, Wittenberg and Wright State are among the universities where meal plan charges grew at a greater rate than tuition between 2004 and 2014.

The typical Miami University student paid $5,650 for a meal plan in the 2014-15 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The cost of Miami’s meal plan jumped more than 60 percent in the past decade — one of the largest increases in the state during that span.

To attract students, colleges and universities are beefing up their dining halls with larger selections, more local produce and top-flight amenities. Ultimately, industry experts say, that cost is passed on to students through fees or rising meal charges.

Dawn Aubrey, an associate director of housing at the University of Illinois, said dining halls across the country are trying to meet the demands of current and future students. She said in recent years that has meant more “sustainable” or local food, as well as waste reduction.

“Who’s producing it? Who’s transporting it? How’s it prepared? And making sure that all aspects of the food are sustainable,” Aubrey said.

She acknowledged that there is a cost to meeting those demands, but argues that it’s a necessary expenditure.

Aubrey says colleges have to bow to student demands or risk them going elsewhere. She cited a 2013 study by Technomic — a Chicago-based food service consulting firm — that found around 1 in 5 students say they choose a college based on amenities. The firm also found that dining services are the top amenity cited by students.

Learning curve

A typical meal plan at the University of Dayton cost $4,740 for the 2014-15 school year, slightly less than what Wittenberg charged and slightly more than Central State and Cincinnati.

Darian Washington, a second-year finance and economics student at UD, said the school’s meals are worth the price, but his parents were surprised at the cost.

“I was the first in my family to go to college. So my family was a little shocked about the amount of money spent on food,” the 19-year-old Maryland native said.

Industry experts say that schools with large international student bodies, such as Ohio State and UD, need to offer larger food selections. UD, for example, has expanded its food selection to include more traditional Chinese and Middle Eastern dishes.

In recent years, UD has built more cafeterias on campus and now has 10 dining service locations.

One common complaint about meal plans is that they can be confusing. When Gypsy-Storm Davis enrolled at Wright State in 2014, she purchased a plan that would give her 12 meals a week. The second-year finance student says she didn’t realize that the plan would mean that she would only eat one meal two days each week.

“I didn’t have a job at first as a freshman and didn’t have much education about the meal plan,” Davis said. “The first couple weeks on the weekends I was hungry. I couldn’t drive somewhere to eat, because I didn’t have a car. Those weekends were pretty hard freshman year.”

She isn’t alone. A study released in November by the American Public Health Association found that 1 in 3 college freshmen experiences food insecurity or “lack of consistent access to adequate foods.”

Davis says Wright State should do more to educate incoming students about plans she calls “complex.”

Miami and Wright State officials both said they make efforts to educate students and parents, yet confusion does persist.

Davis acknowledges that even if she had known more about Wright State’s meal plans, she might not have been able to afford the appropriate plan. The most expensive plan at Wright State currently costs $2,569 per semester. Meanwhile, the cheapest plan costs $1,555 per semester.

Davis recommends that incoming students do research about meal plans and whether dining halls will close for holidays.

“I didn’t go home (to Youngstown) for Thanksgiving,” she said. “That week I only got half of my meals, because the cafeteria closed for four days that week.”

Miami has changed its meal plan price structure in an effort to prevent student confusion.

“Our goal is to be transparent, and to be flexible as well,” said Brian Woodruff, director of housing options, meals and events at Miami.

How plans work

Another common complaint of college students is that meals don’t roll over to the next semester, meaning students face a “use it or lose it” scenario when it comes to eating.

That’s the case at Wright State, which offers four options: a plan with 19 meal swipes per week, costing $2,569 per semester; 14 meal swipes per week, costing $1,713; 12 meal swipes per week, costing $1,671; and 10 meal swipes, also known as the “budget plan,” which costs $1,555.

Some plans also offer “dining dollars” that can be used at locations other than dining halls.

Gheretta Harris, executive director of business services administration at Wright State, says unused swipes disappear. For instance, a student who purchases the “budget plan” and uses only six of their swipes one week loses the remaining four swipes.

“If you don’t use it, you lose it,” Harris said.

Miami has a different setup. The school allows students to pick from an unlimited buffet meal plan, or a plan with either 262 meals or 225 meals. Miami students have the entire semester to use the swipes, but just like Wright State students, they lose unused swipes.