All Access improves purchasing flexibility

Residential Programs and Services added a new meal purchasing option this year.

The All Access Plan will allow students to pre-pay for money to be put in their Campus Access accounts.

Students can choose a plan from $400 to $1,400 and will receive half of the amount each semester. Payment for the plan will be billed directly to the student’s bursar account.

“Students can say ‘I know I’m going to use my Campus Access card on a regular basis, and I want to set my initial money to $800,’” said Patrick Connor, executive director for RPS. “You can go in and select the All Access Plan, and it will bill $400 for each semester. The thing that’s different than Campus Access is that it’s not going to be available for you to use ‘til the start of the school year.”

The idea for the program came about as a response to the 2008 Student VOICE Project conducted by IU President Michael McRobbie. The report worked with students to determine which areas of campus could be improved, and dining services was one of them.

“There’s always confusion about the meal plan,” Connor said. “We came up with this solution for the 2010-11 school year. We hope it has a positive impact on the campus and makes the way residents have better access to food on campus. We’ll continue to strive and look for better ways to do that.”

IUSA Chief of Staff Neil Kelty said IUSA thinks the new program is an excellent idea.

“It’s nice to have an ID card to spend money all over town,” he said. “Things like Kroger will be more likely to pick up Campus Access.”

A main part of the All Access Plan is the cooperation between RPS and the Indiana Memorial Union Dining Services, as well as the building’s Director’s Office, Connor said.

“It’s a better way for students to identify in advance a way to set aside money to use in the Union,” he said.

Discussion of the new program took place throughout the spring 2010 semester, Connor said, and shortly after July 4, an e-mail was sent about the program to all students who had signed a contract to live in a residence hall in the fall.

All Access is mainly promoted for first-year students living in the dorms, Connor said, but any student can purchase a plan.

“You just have to go to the RPS website to access it,” he said. “Once you choose All Access, if you use it, you can still add more. It’s not a separate account. It’s still in your Campus Access account.”

The All Access account will work the same as Campus Access and will not include any additional discounts.

“The only time there is a bit of a discount is in the residence hall laundry rooms,” Connor said.

IMU Dining Services, led by the Sodexo Foundation, is currently in the process of finding a permanent manager, Connor said, and no definitive decisions concerning discounts will likely be made until a new manager is selected.

“To my knowledge, it’s still up for discussion,” Connor said.