Dear William: As I am sure you have heard, after careful evaluation of student and parent feedback over the last several years and with a strong desire to provide the best dining experience possible for our residential community, we are making significant and exciting changes to resident dining plans. Effective this fall semester 2016, dining plans will provide unlimited access to three campus dining halls featuring MORE value, variety, and healthful choices. What will Anytime Dining look like? Every dining plan includes unlimited visits to the three campus dining halls, anytime they are open. Resident students can come and go as they like with no need to count points or swipes. Details about the four available resident dining plans can be found at dining.umd.edu. Hours of operation 251 North will be open six days a week (Sunday to Friday) from 11:30 am–9:00 pm with unlimited access. The Diner and South Campus will open at 7:00 am Monday through Friday for breakfast so students with eight o’clock classes have time for breakfast. The Diner and South Campus will offer late night dining until midnight Sunday through Thursday and be open until 10:00 pm on Friday and Saturday. Dining hall station changes Each dining hall will have a dedicated vegan station. Portion sizes will be adjusted to accommodate students’ desire for more variety. Students will want to enjoy food from more than one station; so many portions will be smaller. Menus will be adjusted to retain favorites and provide more self-service and quick-service options. Stations will be remodeled to facilitate speed of service. Dining hall access Students will wave a hand through a reader, the turnstile will open, and the student can come in and enjoy. By scanning your palm, we chart the distance between a few distinct points that are unique to each person and come up with an identifying number based on those distances. Palm prints are not stored, and the data we store cannot be re-created into a palm print image. Dining Dollars and Guest Passes Dining Dollars will be part of upgraded resident plans, replacing and enhancing Terp Bucks. Dining Dollars will be accepted in all Dining Services permanent locations including the Dining Services operated brand name locations in the Stamp and in Martin Engineering. Chick fil-A, Taco Bell Express, Auntie Anne’s, Sbarro, and Subway have been added to the Dining Dollars family. Every dining plan includes a specific number of guest passes per semester. These can be used to bring an occasional guest into the dining halls. Alternately, guests are welcome to pay at the door using cash, credit or Terrapin Express. Why are we changing the dining plan to Anytime Dining? To eliminate food insecurity for resident students This fall we sent the NACUFS (National Association of College and University Food Service) food service survey to every resident student. Over 2,250 students responded (about 26%), resulting in hundreds of comments. You told us in no uncertain terms that the current retail dining plans do not provide enough food and that many of you are suffering from food insecurity. Many students with resident dining plans simply did not have enough to eat. “Anytime Dining” will shift our framework from a business model to a service model. Instead of selling you individual food items, we will be providing the food, service, and experiences you want and need throughout the semester. Effective next fall semester, no resident student will worry about having enough points to buy their next meal. Every resident student will be assured enough food throughout the entire semester. To improve student experience and increase satisfaction Six focus groups, repeated internal customer service surveys, the NACUFS survey, two consultants, and the RHA and SGA agree that we need to make a dramatic shift in our operating framework to increase student satisfaction. Our existing program provides many great experiences but it does not provide a sense of belonging, demonstrable financial advantage, or a place for you to consider your own. Additional themes that appear in you feedback to us include a strong desire for more variety, value and healthy options—which are major focus areas addressed by Anytime Dining. To improve sustainability In order to make this change to Anytime Dining, we will eliminate carryout from the dining halls. Portable food will still be available from cafés and shops on campus. Dining Services has been a leader in sustainability initiatives and shares the University’s vision of a fully sustainable campus, and yet students in our two a la carte dining halls use over 6,300,000 pieces of disposable products every year. These items can be is seen in trash cans in academic buildings and resident halls—as well as in dumpsters on campus. When you dine in the dining halls, this burden will be removed from the waste stream. To enhance the Maryland community We are upgrading the dining experience. Dining halls will include convenient areas for groups to gather for study or socializing. They will have seating for smaller groups and for individuals. There will be television viewing areas. In response to your suggestions, we are adding a quiet room in each dining hall. These rooms will be clearly labeled and self-monitored by the students using them for study or quiet dining. Our long-term vision includes amenities that you have asked for: charging stations, gaming stations, and lounge areas. To ease the transition away from dining hall carryout, for this academic year only, we are gifting the Resident Dining Plan of every returning student with eighty Dining Dollars for fall and eighty Dining Dollars for spring semester. Use these Dining Dollars for the portable food you love served at Dining Services operated cafés, shops and brand name locations. With over 9,000 resident students on dining plans, I know these changes won’t appeal to everyone. But, I’m confident they’ll appeal to most of you because these are the changes you’ve suggested in surveys, focus groups, town halls and emails. I’m pleased that the SGA and the RHA believe these changes are in alignment with feedback they’ve heard and have endorsed this decision. We are hosting a town hall forum at 7:00 pm, Tuesday, March 30 in The North Campus Diner media room. We will talk about the new plans, and you’ll have a chance to talk to me in person and ask any questions you have about next year’s dining plans. I assure you that we will be working very hard to increase your satisfaction and to make this transition to Anytime Dining as smooth as possible. As you make your decision about where to live in the fall, I encourage you to visit dining.umd.edu, and review the features and changes I have outlined above. Sincerely, Colleen Wright Riva Director, Dining Services University of Maryland