An increasing number of Ohio University students living off-campus have agreed to eat at OU dining halls for the 2012-13 school year.
More than 1,000 students have signed up for an off-campus meal plan this year — a number that has more than doubled in the past four years, said Rich Neumann, director of residential dining.
“Students seem to be pleased with the options,” Neumann said. “If you do the math, (there has been a) 102 percent growth (within the past few years).”
During the 2009-10 school year, 529 students used the off-campus meal plan.
Students living off-campus can choose from meal plans that offer 10, 30 or 44 meals without flex points, or 45 meals with $150 in flex points.
Off-campus students can also choose the destination dining meal plan, which has $450 in flex points or the Block 15+ plan, which includes 15 meals and $150 in Bobcat cash.
The flex points cannot be used in the markets, like a traditional meal plan for on-campus students.
“(OU’s meal plan would) probably be easier and more convenient (when) on campus,” said Kendra Kilbarger, a freshman studying biology.
The most popular plans for students living off-campus are the block and flex block plans, Neumann said.
Meal plans for off-campus students do not include as many meals throughout the semester as on-campus students’ plans. Therefore, off-campus students pay less, Neumann said.
The prices of the meal plans that off-campus students hold range from more than $230 to more than $1,700 per semester.
The average on-campus student pays $2,856 for a flex plan per semester while the average off-campus student pays $331 for a block plan per semester, Neumann said.
Some students appreciate the convenience factor of not having to provide meals for themselves, Neumann added.
“I thought it’d be easier (to have a meal plan),” said Zach Haidet, a junior studying mechanical engineering. “I didn’t really want to cook a lot.”
kf398711@ohiou.edu
