Summary

In conclusion, many Drexel students are not satisfied with the dining plans offered at the school.  The biggest complaints are plans being too expensive and not enough plan options to suit different student’s needs. 

In comparison to other schools in the surrounding area, Drexel’s freshman dining plan is the most expensive.  The dining plans offered at the University of Pennsylvania cost $4,182 per year, Temple University costs $2,608, and the University of Sciences in Philadelphia has plans ranging from $1,672 to $4,682.  Drexel’s freshman dining plan options range from $5,025 to $5,250, which is significantly more expensive than any of the other schools.  There are only 3 dining plan options for freshman: the Gold Plan which provides unlimited meal swipes and 200 Dining Dollars, the Blue Plan which provides 12 meal swipes per week and 475 Dining Dollars, and the Platinum Plan which provides unlimited meal swipes and 550 Dining Dollars.   All freshman at Drexel are required to purchase a dining plan.

The current policy only provides a 6% discount by using Dinning Dollars instead of regular money. Dinning Dollars can only be used at the limited venues of Chick-fil-A, Subway, Currito, the Northside Market, Starbucks, Taco Bell Express, ThirtyOne 41, and Creese Café. 6% is not a substantial enough discount incentive to make sense for students to purchase Dinning Dollars.  However, the required freshman dinning plans include dinning dollars, so students are forced to purchase them. The items inside Northside Market are excessively overpriced in comparison to nearby vendors. These articles should come at a better deal since they are related to the meal plans. Dinning Dollars do not transfer over from one term to another, so if a student does not spend all of them, they simply lose that money.  The Drexel card has a function similar to that of a credit card, so it is illogical for students lose money from card every quarter. Adding more food-contractor options would be another significant initiative. The current choices are very limited, and students feel the need for more options. Expanding the list of the places that accept Dinning Dollars, or even at least Dragon Dollars, to include them, would help.

           Another type of currency is Dragon Dollars which are dollars that can be put onto a student’s account, but can only be spent at locations specified by the purchaser and is equivalent to one US dollar.  However, Dragon Dollars can be spent at the same places as Dining Dollars, and more, but unlike Dining Dollars, Dragon Dollars do not expire.  Students often get Dragon Dollars and Dining Dollars mixed up, and, therefore, believe that it is Dining Dollars that rollover.  Also, students sometimes think that they can spend their Dining Dollars at places that advertise the acceptance of Dragon Dollars, which is not the case.

The hours of operation of the stores and restaurants where Dinning Dollars can be spent are not adequate for students to use.  The Handschumacher Dining Center is only open until 8 pm Monday through Thursday and 7:30pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Ross Commons, Creese Café, and ThirtyOne 41 are not even open on the weekends. Students are forced to alter their normal eating hours to suit Drexel’s schedule.  For how much students are paying for their meals Drexel should cater to their needs.