Meal Plan Teleforum Transcript
Monday, August 29, 2011
7:00 p.m.
Thank you for joining the meal plan teleforum. We hope you will stay on the line to receive beneficial information that is intended to help both parents and students understand how dining services work at the
University of Alabama and how to get the most out of your program.
We are glad that you have joined us for our meal plan teleforum, and we want you to learn as much as possible about meal plans, Dining Dollars, and the entire UA dining program. Just for staying on the line tonight, you will be entered in a random drawing for a University Supply Store Gift Card worth $50. Please stay on the line for the entire teleforum to see if you are the winner!
Kristina Hopton-Jones , Director of Dining Services from Auxiliary Services at UA
Kelsey Faust , Marketing Manager for Bama Dining
Ed Robertson , Residential Director for Bama Dining
Travis Horn , Retail Director for Bama Dining
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Dining Dollars:
What it is/how much it is: All undergraduate students who are enrolled at the University of Alabama in a regular program are charged a $300 Dining Dollars for each Fall and Spring semester that they are enrolled for 9 or more credit hours on campus, and $100 Dining Dollars for Summer terms that they are enrolled for 5 or more credit hours on campus. The Dining Dollars fee is billed on the student account through the Office of
Student Receivables, and is credited to the Action Card as Dining Dollars for student use once the student confirms their class schedule (please see the Student Receivables website for confirmation information: http://studentreceivables.ua.edu/payment_deadlines.html). The Dining Dollars program is designed to supplement a student's campus dining needs. The $300 Dining Dollars equals about $17.65 per week in a 17 week semester.
How you use it: The $300 works like a debit card. Every time the student visits one of the dining facilities and uses Dining Dollars, the amount of the transaction is deducted from the total remaining Dining
Dollars balance. For example, at the beginning of the semester, the student visits Starbucks and purchases a regular coffee, the cashier swipes the Action Card and collects $2.50 in Dining Dollars. The student now has
$297.50 remaining in their Dining Dollars account.
Where you can use it: Dining Dollars may be used at any on-campus dining location, most vending machines on-campus, and off-campus at Domino’s Pizza, or Buffalo Phil’s Wings.

What happens to it: Unused Dining Dollars funds remaining at the end of the Fall term roll to the Spring term. If the student enrolls in 9 credit hours or more for the Spring semester, they are again charged $300
Dining Dollars. So, if a student has a Dining Dollars balance of $75 at the end of the Fall term, enrolls in 12 credit hours for spring, the student will start the Spring semester with $375 in Dining Dollars. At the end of the spring semester, students may request a refund of remaining Dining Dollar funds. If a refund is not requested, the remaining funds are transferred to the student’s Bama Cash account. To request a refund of unspent Dining Dollars at the end of the Spring semester, please go to the Bama Dining website at bamadining.ua.edu and select Dining Dollars, then follow the link that says Refund Request Form. Refund requests are accepted after April 15 and are processed only after the last day of published final examinations for the Spring semester. When a request is received, any unspent Dining Dollars funds are forwarded to the
Office of Student Receivables and credited against any outstanding balance on the cardholder’s student account. If there is a credit balance on the student account, either a credit card credit will be issued or refund check will be mailed to the last known permanent address of the cardholder. No cash refunds are authorized.
Bama Dining website Dining Dollars Link: http://bamadining.ua.edu/pages/dining-dollars.html
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Bama Cash:
What is it? Bama Cash is similar to Dining Dollars, but is a separate account on your Action Card. Bama
Cash is a voluntary and convenient option to preload funds to this account that may be accessed with a swipe of your Action Card at over a 100 on and off campus locations. Activating your Bama Cash account with a deposit gives you buying power not only at on-campus dining locations, but also off-campus grocery stores, gas stations, bookstores, vending machines, pizza delivery, laundry, print and mail services, pharmacies, beauty and tanning salons, coffee shops and more! For a full list of locations accepting Bama Cash, please visit the Action Card website at actcard.ua.edu.
Action Card website Bama Cash Link: http://actcard.ua.edu/pages/bama_cash.shtml
The main thing to remember is that Dining Dollars is mandatory and it is applied to your student account when you hit the 9 credit hour threshold if you are an undergraduate student, and Bama Cash is completely voluntary.
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Meal Plans:
What it is/how much it is: A meal plan is an account on your Action Card just like Dining Dollars and
Bama Cash. However, meal plans do NOT have a cash value. Because of the numerous educational, social, and nutritional benefits, Freshman students participate in the First Year Experience meal plan. Freshman meal plans allow All Access to any residential facility and may be used any time, as often as the student likes. The student does not ever have to worry about how many meals they have used or how many they have left. They have All Access to our all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities, all the time. All meal plans come with 10 guest meals for students to treat their visiting parents or friends to a meal if they wish. All Access meal plan information may be found on the Bama Dining website at bamadining.ua.edu under the meal plan tab. Meal plans are annual contracts, you will be billed for your meal plan in Fall and Spring terms.

How/where you use it: Meal plans may be used at any of the all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities including Burke Hall, Bryant Dining (lunch), Fresh Food Co., Lakeside Dining, and select Fresh-to-go options at
Julia’s Market. Meal plans are accepted between 7 am and 1 am. Check the Bama Dining website for hours of operation for each facility under locations & hours.
Where to find a full list of terms and conditions: You may find a full description of all meal plan terms and conditions on the Bama Dining website under meal plans and then terms and conditions.
Bama Dining website Meal Plan terms and conditions: http://bamadining.ua.edu/pages/terms-conditions.html
Greek Downgrades: Freshmen student’s who decide to join a Greek organization with an in-house kitchen and a required meal plan at the house, will automatically have their meal plan reduced to the Greek
50 meal plan when Bama Dining receives the official pledge lists from the Greek Affairs office. Each Greek house is responsible for sending a complete pledge list. However, students are responsible for confirming that the meal plan downgrade has been processed on their student account . Please make sure you check your student receivables account carefully to ensure this credit has been applied to your account.
Students who qualify for the Greek 50 may choose to upgrade to a standard meal plan, if they wish, or have no plan at all. If you choose to have no meal plan, a community dining fee of $197 per semester will be assessed to your student account. New Sorority pledge meal plan change requests must be received by the first day of class and Fraternity pledge meal change requests must be received by the first Monday in October.
Bama Dining website Meal Plan Greek Downgrades Link: http://bamadining.ua.edu/pages/fraternitysorority.html
Athletic Meal Plans: Athletic meal plans may be purchased for an additional $395 per term.
The athletic meal plan allows members to consume 1 Training Table meal per day, up to 5 per week; this applies to athletes and non-athletes alike.
All students are eligible for the athletic meal plan and do not have to be athletes or on scholarship.
Students with regular (non-athletic) meal plans may dine at Bryant Dining anytime for lunch. They may also dine at Bryant for dinner using their meal plan plus a payment of the standard Bryant Dining up-charge of
$9.75 for dinner only. A second meal plan swipe cannot cover the dinner up-charge. The up-charge is for the evening Training Table meal only.
Bama Dining Athletic Meal Plan information Link: http://bamadining.ua.edu/pages/termsconditions.html#athletic
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It is time to pick our winner of the Supply Store gift card worth $50. Congratulations Mr. Lofrese ! Thank you for joining us for the teleforum tonight!
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Post Call Questions:
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Breakfast:
Q : Hi. I'm concerned about breakfast for students who have 8:00 classes. Can you tell me what facilities they can go to, to get a healthy option?
A : Meal plans locations serving breakfast are:
North Campus: Fresh Food Company opens at 7:00 a.m. http://bamadining.ua.edu/calendar/freshfood.html
The Fresh Food Co. is an 8 minute walk from Presidential Village, 6 minute walk from Riverside, and 5 minute walk from Lakeside. Also, the Crimson Ride routes begin at 6:50 a.m. and run to 10:00 p.m. and have stops convenient to all dining halls.
South Campus: Burke Dining Hall opens at 7:00 a.m. http://bamadining.ua.edu/calendar/burke.html
Q : Yes. My child has had several issues with a variety of things and one of those being the fact that most of the dorms are over near Lakeside Dining and I understand Lakeside is not open for breakfast until 10:00 a.m. My child has an 8:00 a.m. class and she has attempted to go to Fresh Food Company prior to her class and after her class and the lines are so long that the wait is either 30 to 45 minutes to get food. The other problem that we're having is in the evening when she goes to the dining hall at say 6:00 or 6:00, number 1 there are no vegetables. You know, crazy, my child wants vegetables. But on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, there are no vegetables listed on the menu. And on Wednesday, it's like a pre blend vegetable spicy corn and tomatoes, and on Thursday same peas and onions and collard greens. Well, most kids, I'm sorry, they don't eat that kind of stuff. What happened to old fashioned green beans, lima beans, corn, corn on the cob, something like that? So thank you.
A : The Fresh Food Company is a 5 minute walk from Lakeside West and a convenient stop on the way to the academic core of campus. Additionally, the Fresh Food Co. now opens at 7:00 a.m. The breakfast lines have been doubled to allow more students to go through at one time. Thank you for your patience as we adjust to the campus demand.
Customer wait times have been dramatically reduced due to these operational changes.
Vegetable options available each day may be listed in other sections of the on-line menu such as Mediterranean/Asian,
Pizza, etc. Burke is another great option for a change of pace and the Crimson Ride has a convenient stop at Burke Hall that students may use if they do not want to walk that facility.
Q : Yes, I understand about not having breakfast at Lakeside West where my son lives. Several of the kids are not eating breakfast at all. He says the closest place for them to go get something for breakfast is the Ferguson Center, which opens at 7:30. For those who have classes at 8:00 a.m., he said the lines are too long over there so they can't get anything before classes at 8. So, I'd like to see what can be done about it. It's not just my son, his roommates aren't eating. And it doesn't have to be a full laid-out breakfast. But if they had, you know, cereal or yogurt or bagel or something there for them that they can grab and eat on their way to classes. I would think that that would suffice but I don't understand why they're not being provided breakfast. They’re not complaining about the food. They said the food at Lakeside is excellent. There's no issue with that. The issue is that they don't have 3 square meals a day.
A : The Fresh Food Company at the Ferguson Center now opens at 7:00 a.m. Hours of operation on the weekend have been extended also, Lakeside Dining and Burke Dining open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday rather than 10:30 a.m.
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Julia’s Market Meal Plan Options
Q : Yes. I just have a question in regards to using your meal plan at Julia's Market in Tutwiler. I wanted to see if that meal could be accessed more than once during the day, for instance lunch and dinner. My daughter seems to think she can only use it one time per day at Julia's Market and just want to verify that. And when she does access that, she needs to swipe that as a meal plan. Thank you.
A : Yes, students may use their meal plan swipe for lunch and dinner at Julia’s Market if they wish. Meal plan eligible options are available from the Fresh-to-Go cooler. Only Fresh-to-Go options are available for a meal plan swipe. All

other items in Julia’s Market are sold as retail options.
Q : Hi. Yes. My question is about Julia’s Market at Tutwiler. My daughter tried to get a microwave meal which wasn't included for the meal plan swipe. When I looked at the website, it says the Greek 50 can be used at Julia's Market. I guess, being from out of state. I wasn't aware that meant only as fresh sandwich, chips and fountain drink. My daughter does not really care for cold sandwiches, chips and a fountain drink. Are there other meal plan swipe options available at Julia’s Market? Thank you.
A : No, Julia’s Market only offers Fresh-to-go salads or sandwiches for a meal plan swipe.
Q : My daughter is living at Tutwiler Hall and I remember hearing something about using a meal plan swipe for the Freshto-go meal options. Is that the same thing as the Fresh Food Company in the Ferguson Center? Or is that something totally different? Thank you.
A : They are two different things. Fresh-to-go is basically a brand of to-go salads, sandwiches, fruit, etc. The Fresh Food
Company is an all-you-care-to-eat dining facility located in the Ferguson Center.
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Dining Options During Holidays
Q : Hi. My question is for out of state students who are not coming home for Thanksgiving break. What dining halls if any are open on Thanksgiving or during the break? Thanks very much.
A : Burke Dining Hall will be open for Thanksgiving break for limited hours. More details will follow in October.
Additionally, because the Auburn / Alabama football game is being played in Tuscaloosa that weekend, more dining options will be available during this break. Please visit our website for up-to-date information on hour of operation.
Q : Yes. Hello. I wanted to thank you for having this forum tonight, but I also had a question about the many days during the year where the students are off like Labor day and then there's the fall study break for two days in October.
If the students are on campus and the school is closed, are the dining halls still available to use or do they need to use their Dining Dollars elsewhere? Thank you so much.
A : Yes, there are dining options on campus even when school is not in session during the fall semester. Locations may be limited due to the decreased student population, so please check the Bama Dining website for detailed hours of operation for each location.
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Greek 50 Meal Plan
Q : Hi. I have a question about the Greek 50. How does a parent know how many meals are left for the child on the
Greek 50 program? And also, you mentioned that on the Greek 50 meal plan, there are 10 guest meals. So does that mean they only get 40 meals and the rest are guest meals? And can the child use those guest meals? Thank you very much.
A : Parents may create a guest log-in on “my accounts” on the Action Card website to view how many Greek 50 meals have been consumed to date. The 10 guest meals may be used for guests or if the student uses all 40 meals, they may certainly use the guest meals for themselves.
Q : My question is about the Greek 50. You stated several times that the student has to confirm that they are doing the
Greek 50. How do they do that and when do they do that? If you could please let me know. Thank you.
A : Students should check their student account to ensure that the All Access meal plan has been credited and the Greek

50 meal plan has been applied. They need to log-in to myBama (https://mybama.ua.edu/cp/home/displaylogin) and check their student account.
Q : Hi. I have 2 questions about the Greek meal plan. First, how can I find out how many meals have been consumed so far? And secondly, what happens if you get downgraded to the Greek meal plan and you have already used 50 meals.
Thank you.
A : Students and parents may view meal plan activity on the Action Card website on the “my accounts” page. Once the
50 meals have been consumed, that student will not have any meals available for use until the Spring semester. 20
Block meal plans will become available in October and may be purchased to cover dining needs for the remainder of the term.
Q : I have two brief questions. The one question is, my daughter has the Greek 50 and we got a downgrade, can the balance be applied to the Dining Dollars? That's what I'd like to know and the other is, what I didn't hear in the forum was, when she said Dining Dollar is accessible at other locations, what did she mean? I understand that dining dollars can be used at the library and some other facilities like the University Recreation Center. But I don't remember where those eligible sites are. Thank you so much and Roll Tide!
A : All meal plan credits are applied to the student account and go against any remaining balance on the account. If the account has a zero balance and the meal plan downgrade creates a credit balance, you may apply that balance to Bama
Cash by calling the Action Card Office (1-800-474-2288 or 205-348-2288).
Dining Dollars may be used at all on-campus dining locations, most vending machines, and at Dominos Pizza and Buffalo
Phil’s off campus.
Q : Yes. I had a question about Greek dining. My son has unlimited meal plan at the present moment. And I wanted to find out what to do if he's pledging a fraternity and how any changes in the meal plan would take place.
A : When a student pledges a Sorority or Fraternity, Dining Services receives the bid list (provided by Greek Affairs) and all new freshmen with an active All Access meal plan are downgraded to the Greek 50 automatically. Each student on the bid list will receive a credit for the All Access meal plan on their student account. This will result in a net charge on the student account of $0.00 for the All Access meal plan. The Greek 50 meal plan charge will be applied to the student account in the amount of $450.
The credit for the difference between the All Access meal plan and the Greek 50 meal plan will be applied to any outstanding balance due on the student account. If the student has no outstanding balance, the credit will be applied to the credit card that was last used on the student account up to the amount previously charged. If a credit card was not used to pay on the student account, a check or direct deposit payment will be processed. Please check your student account to verify the status of your account.
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Payments and Refunds
Q : Yes. I wanted to ask, I am currently signed up with Sallie Mae to make ten payments to the University of Alabama for my son's tuition and meal plan. He is pledging Greek, so how will I need to handle the Sallie Mae payment. It is an automatic payment of the same amount. Will there be a credit issued to me at some point that I may deduct to Sallie
Mae? And the second question, my son started, he came down to the university August 10th and for fraternity and I did not know that there was not dining facilities available. When do the dining facilities open for next summer and what is the schedule for the summer? Is that somewhere that I can locate it on a website? Thank you.
A : You will pay the same amount of your current Bama Plan contract for all scheduled payments. The credit will be applied following the final payment in October. For more information, please see the Student Receivables website for more information (http://studentreceivables.ua.edu/bamaplan.html).

Bama Dining locations opened for limited hours on Saturday, August 11. An up-to-date listing of all location hours may be found on the Bama Dining website at http://bamadining.ua.edu/pages/locations.html
. Before the fall semester starts every year, we also have a listing of the limited locations and hours on the front page of the Bama Dining website
(http://bamadining.ua.edu).
Q : Hi. My question is why at the end of the semester why can’t any extra money leftover be refunded to my credit card account. I question why it has to go to the student because I, with my name on the credit card paid for it seems like would be a very simple process to refund the amount back to my credit card. So that's my question, I hope you'll answer it. Thank you very much.
A : If a student requests a refund of unspent Dining Dollars funds at the end of the spring semester, the credit will be applied to any outstanding balance due on the student account. If the student has no outstanding balance, the credit will be applied to the credit card that was last used on the student account up to the amount previously charged. If a credit card was not used to pay on the student account, a check or direct deposit payment will be processed. Please check the Student Receivables website for payment and credit policies
(http://studentreceivables.ua.edu/payment_deadlines.html).
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Meal Plan Downgrades
Q : At what point can a freshmen downgrade their meal plan? I would appreciate an answer to that. Thank you.
A : All first year students will be automatically billed for an All Access plan for both Fall and Spring semesters. After the
Freshman year, meal plans are voluntary. Upper class students may purchase any meal plan after the Freshman year, but it will not be automatically billed to the student account.
Q : Our question is... Our daughter is a freshman. We are doing the, All Access meal plan. Why was it decided that freshman did not have a choice in their meal plans. I know that there's no way that she's going to eat the amount of dollars that we have invested in this meal plan. And we wanted to know why we could not choose a meal plan for her.
A : The University of Alabama is committed to providing its students with a comprehensive educational experience. The
University has determined that for most first year students, on-campus dining has numerous educational, social, and dietary benefits. In recognition of the value of the living-learning experience, the University of Alabama requires first year students to participate in the First-Year Experience Meal Plan. The All Access meal plan is $1,525 for 4 months of meals. When you break it down, you see that it equals $375 per month, or $93.75 per week, or $13.39 per day. For more information visit: http://www.bamadining.ua.edu/pages/first-year-exp.html
.
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To Go Meals
Q : Hello. I understand how the All Access meal plan works, but I'm a little unsure about to go meals. My son has an 8 am class everyday of the week. And I can see him going in and getting a to go meal. But also coming back and getting a full breakfast maybe after that first hour. And I understand that's acceptable. But what happens if somebody wants to go and get a to go meal as well as sit there at the same time? You mention that they would be charge two swipes off their meal plan. But if they have an unlimited meal plan, I wonder if that's possible that they could do that. They could go in and have a full breakfast or some cereal or something. But then maybe use it to go box to take a partial meal away and like a piece of food and maybe a muffin for later or something like that. So that's my question, and thanks for this informative hour of discussion and I look forward to reading the transcript when you have it. Thank you so much and good night.

A : Meal plan members may use their meal plan multiple times per day; however, only one (1) meal may be redeemed at a time. Meal plan users have the option of eating their meal in the dining location or taking their meal to go, but are not permitted to do both at the same time. They may swipe to enter the dining hall and eat. Then they may go swipe for a to go box
Q : Yes. I had one question that I would like to answer or someone to answer regarding the take out or to go on the All
Access plan. I was listening and they said something about a $3 charge. Is that $3 charge charged to the student account or is it where the student can pay the $3 and how would the system know to refund the students back the $3 at the end of the semester? And also I would like to thank UA and the meal plans committee or for inviting us and giving us more information. It was very informative. I really enjoyed the conversations and the questions. Thanks so much.
A : The $3 charge is just a deposit on a reusable to go box. Once they pay the $3 (using Dining Dollars, Bama Cash, or cash) for the to go box and have finished their meal, they may bring the to go box back to any location and receive a clean box to use for their current meal. At the end of the semester they may turn in the to go box and request a $3 refund of the deposit that was paid, or keep the box for the next year.
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Dining Dollars and Bama Cash
Q : Yes. Just to clarify, for an off campus Freshmen, that Dining Dollars and Bama Cash are both required and automatically included in their fees. And what was the price for each one and which ones can we add to throughout the semester. And when is the 20 meal plan available? You had mentioned that it's available later in the semester. Thank you.
A : Only Dining Dollars are required. All undergraduate students enrolled in 9 credit hours or more will participate in the Dining Dollars program. The Dining Dollars fee of $300 is charged to the student account automatically when the 9 credit hour criteria is met in the Fall and Spring semesters. A $100 Dining Dollars fee is also charged during the Summer semester when undergraduate students are enrolled in 5 credit hours or more. Just like the meal plan, Dining Dollars is an account on the Action Card.
Bama Cash is an optional cash account that can be added to your action card through actcard.ua.edu.
The add-on Thrifty 20 block will be available for students that need extra meals before the end of the semester. This would only apply to upperclassmen that purchased meal blocks lower than the all access and have run out of meals for the semester.
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Meal Plan Usage
Q : Thanks very much for the information. My question is, is there any way for parent to get a history of the use of the student's meal plans to gauge whether or not they're eating properly? Or if they are at least utilizing the meal plans regularly and not just using all Dining Dollars? Is there a way in the website to do that? Appreciate it. Thank you.
A : Yes, you may check the student balance through the Action Card office website at http://actcard.ua.edu.
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Crowding at Meal Plan Locations
Q : I am very concerned about the meal plan options. There seem to be just 4 locations where thousands and thousands of students are able to find meals. My son has told me about the long lines he has to endure sometimes to get food.

There was a lot of discussion today about the fresh food, and that is great when it's provided. On the other hand, if they can't get to it, then it's not such a viable option. So please consider the notion that when you have the idea of trying to serve 26,000 students at only 4 locations on a meal plan, that's not really the serving your customer base very well. Bye.
A : We appreciate our customer’s patience as we adjust to the campus demand. As was mentioned above, customer wait times have been dramatically reduced due to the operational changes implemented in the second week of the semester. Bama Dining currently operates 20 locations to serve the growing campus community. We currently have about 8,000 students on meal plans and 4 locations that accept meal plans for all-you-care-to-eat meals, plus Julia’s
Market. To try to ease the congestion, we have extended hours of operation and executed time-saving measures to get the customers through the facilities during the peak meal periods.
Q : Yes. Our experience has been, or at least my son's experience has been that the meal plan locations are crowded and that sometimes they wait 15 or 20 minutes to get food and then the portion is small. And I was wondering, can you ask for a double portion, especially if you've waited a long time to get the food? That's my question. Thank you.
A : Yes, you may certainly ask for a double portion.