October 2008 |
VIRGINIA TECH DINING CENTERS BURSTING AT THE SEAMS When was the last time that you heard of a “lottery system” being considered to determine who gets to buy a meal plan? Never. However, Virginia Tech Dining Services is considering how to accommodate the growing number of board plans until a new dining center is completed in 2012. Virginia Tech sold an unprecedented 9,400 off-campus meal plans this fall, bringing its total meal plan number to 18,500. When Rick Johnson, director of housing and dining services, was asked how dining was going to accommodate this large and growing number of students that want to dine on campus, he joked, “We may have to start a lottery system to buy a meal plan. In the old days, students moved off-campus to avoid meal plans, now we are seeing 9,400 off-campus students voluntarily buying meal plans—it’s unheard of.” Virginia Tech has developed a reputation for high-quality dining service and was ranked #1 in the nation for student dining satisfaction on a national benchmarking survey in the summer of 2008. In addition, Virginia Tech Dining Services was rated #1 in the Princeton Review 2008 Edition for Best Campus Food. The Virginia Tech dining program uses Flex Plans, a declining-balance system that works just like a debit account, instead of the traditional meals-per-week plans. Students pay a flat rate at the beginning of each semester and use their money in the 11 à la carte and all-you-care-to-eat restaurants on campus. When Johnson was asked what he was really going to do about 18,500 board plan members, he said, “We have a great staff that is working very hard every day to serve our student customers. We have requested permission to open more dining venues on weekends. At lunch time all facilities are open and maxed out; however, we are still working to ensure each guest has a quality experience.”
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