Select students tryout IMU meal points

A partnership between IU Residential Programs and Services and the Indiana Memorial Union might soon allow students to spend their RPS I-Bucks at any of the 11 venues in the IMU.

The two organizations revealed plans Saturday for a pilot program that will allow select students to spend their points at not only RPS dining locations, but also the Herman B Wells Library Cyber Cafe and restaurants in the IMU.

The program will be a test run of what may become a more permanent change in the way I-Bucks can be spent on campus, RPS Executive Director Pat Connor said.
Discussions for the pilot program first began a couple of years ago after a report revealed IU students’ desire for such a plan.

“Basically, we’ve been working on the actual program now for months and through the summer,” Connor said. “And with school starting, we felt that we had the opportunity to try it.”

The service is currently being offered to 150 students living in RPS housing, with the application process ending today.

The program offers two plans — one for $300 and another for $500 — that would allow students to use I-Bucks at the IMU by either adding points or using the ones they already have, Connor said.

In coming months, a Kelley School of Business consulting team led by professor Jim
Grandorf, will survey the students and analyze the data, Connor said.

“We’ll use that to determine if this is something we should continue to pursue,” he said. “The survey would be dealing with student satisfaction — what’s working, what’s not. Should there be more of X, less of Y.”

Chris Gray, IMU dining services’ resident district manager, said that he thinks the program would benefit the IMU. 

“It’s another revenue service and definitely a way to serve the students,” he said. “I think with doing a plan like this, we would be frequented more, which would show off more of our catering services and promote a lot of the things that we’re doing.”