1. What policies do other schools (inside UW system and outside) have for bringing items in their dining halls?
2. How does the pricing of our meal plan match with other schools meal plans. (This is pertinent because if other schools allow personal items in the dining hall, are their prices higher to accommodate for food being stolen from the cafeteria?)
I have looked up a few different schools including, UWRF, UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of Wisconsin - River Falls: (Cost per semester)
Dining Service: Sodexo
19 meals per week: $1,127.50 14 meals per week: $1,104.50$60.00 - dining dollars $60.00 - dining dollars
5 guest meals 5 guest meals
120 block plan: 1,145.00 60 block plan: $395.00
$100.00 - dining dollars No dining dollars
No guest meals No guest meals
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities: (Cost per semester)
Dining Service: Aramark
19 meals per week: $1,832.00 14 meals per week: $1,726.00
$100.00 - FlexDine dollars $100.00 - FlexDine dollars
10 guest meals 10 guest meals
10 meals per week: $1,648.00 150 block plan: $1,670.00
$50.00 - FlexDine dollars $100.00 - FlexDine dollars
10 guest meals 10 guest meals
115 block plan: $1,770.00 Unlimited meals: $1,965.00
$400.00 - FlexDine dollars $50.00 - FlexDine dollars
10 guest meals 10 guest meals
University of Wisconsin - Superior: (Cost per semester- data from 2010)
Dining Service: A'viands
135 block plan: $1,120 Unlimited meals: $1,320.00
$125.00 - dining dollars $50.00 - dining dollars
unlimited guest meals 5 guest meals
University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire: (Cost per semester)
Dining Service: Sodexo
Unlimited meals: $1,495.00 Unlimited meals #2: $1,595.00
$75.00 - dining dollars $100.00 - dining dollars
University of Wisconsin - Stout: (Cost per semester)
Dining Service: Done by the university, not an outside provider
Cost per meal:
Breakfast cost: $1.40
Lunch cost: $2.30
Dinner cost: $2.50
Can treat unlimited amount of guests. You just pay the amount for the meal you are buying them.
Plan 1: $1,087.00 Plan 2: $1,157.00
Plan 3: $1,227.00 Plan 4: $1,297.00
100 block plan: $510.00 50 block plan: $270.00
25 block plan: $140.00
I have not yet looked into whether or not students are allowed to bring personal items into the schools' cafeterias or not. I will be updating this more, just figured I would get the majority of it done. Let me know if you have any other schools you think are important to be looking at.
My assignment was to answer the questions: who's affected? and why is this topic important?
ReplyDeleteWho's affected: Any students, faculty, and staff (present or future)who consider eating at Riverside Commons at any point are affected by the stipulations of having to leave their personal items in the cubbies outside of the dining area. Students living on campus especially are concerned with this since they are obligated to have a meal plan. The Sodexo company is also affected because the current policy may persuade students to take part in other dining options so they can keep their possessions with them. This could cause Sodexo to lose service and money.
This topic is an important one as the university strives to increase campus appeal to draw in students. As they consider ways to make students feel safe and comfortable, they need to consider such concerns as meal plan requirements, options, and students willingness to participate. As enrollment numbers are falling, steps should be taken to make this university the most appealing and comfortable in every aspect possible.
This topic is also important on the more basic level of protecting students' property and eliminating conflict.
The 3rd part of my assignment was to speak with a student who has been a victim of stolen property from these cubbies outside the dining area. I have been in contact with such a student and she is more than willing to share her experience. I have sent her questions regarding her story and should be hearing back from her sometime this week so I can share that information at our next formal meeting.
My assignment was to research why the policy of leaving possessions outside in the cubbies was implimented. Also to see if students are having avoiding the riverside commons based on the fact that they may be afraid to leav their things outside.
ReplyDeleteI am in the process of interviewing for both of my questions. I am interviewing both teachers and students that have access to the commons and seeing if they avoid it becuase of leaving possessions outside. I have created a small questionaire just to ask simply that. I will tally my results and add that to my post tomorrow night after school. I will be distributing my questionaires in a couple of my classes to see what the students and teachers that I have contact with. I think this will be helpful becuase I will be talking to students and teachers of differnet schedules, majors, and departments. I am distributing the questionaire to a few differnt classes, to ensure a braud sample of people.
I have to do more research for the questioning of why the policy was implimented, and when it actully originated.
What my short questionair looks like:
DeleteLeaving possessions outside of Riverside Commons
Please circle y/n, or leave a small response when open ended.
• Do you eat at the dining hall?
Yes / No
• When planning for your day on campus do you have to do anything differently if you are going to eat in the dining hall?
• Does it bother you to have to leave your things outside in the cubbies?
Yes / No
• Have you, or anyone you know had anything taken from your things while in the dining hall?
Yes / No
• If yes, what changes have you made because of it?
• Do you avoid the dining hall because of the policy of being required to leave your things outside?
Yes / No
• If yes, would increased securities make you more comfortable with eating in the dining hall?
Here are the responses I got from an interviewee who was a victim on theft from the cubbies outside the dining hall:
ReplyDelete1. Can you just briefly state what happened/ what personal property did you lose?
My laptop computer, along with my charger and headphones, was stolen from my bag sitting in the cubbies outside of the commons in the University Center.
2. What actions did you take and what type of assistance did you
receive in trying to reclaim your stolen property?
I went to the information desk and they sent me to the police officer in south hall. I gave him a report of what happened and what was stolen. I was told to wait to hear from them if they found anything - I never heard anything.
3. Has this incident affected what you bring with you and/or where you leave your stuff while eating? Do you take any extra
precautions?
Yes, I know store my bag at the front of the cubby are in a zipped bag. I no longer carry it in a briefcase if I will be away from it at any point during the day.
4. How did this incident affect you? (i.e., stress of having to deal with it, replacing stolen property, etc.)
I was extremely upset when I first realized what happened and it to me quite a while to feel secure carrying my computer with me. Additionally, I have had to face the reality that two years of work and three years of family pictures were taken without any way of getting them back.
5. Do you have any suggestions of how the situation could be altered to prevent this from happening in the future?
I would have really appreciated it if there had been some communication about what was done to try and locate it. I didn't hear anything from the officer and it didn't seem like a serious matter when I was talking with him. It would have been greatly appreciated if I had even had some clue as to an active investigation into the theft.
I also think it's ironic that we are not allowed to bring our bags into the dining area, but the University Center is not responsible for any stolen items. It seems to be a catch 22.