Frequently Asked Questions
Selecting or changing meal plans
Using your meal plan
Dining Dollars
Meal Plan Billing
Selecting or Changing Meal Plans:
What is the best plan for me?
If you are a resident on campus, we recommend any of the Gold Plans. If you are a freshman on campus, you must select the Freedom, Gold 19 or Gold 14 plan. If a meal plan is not selected, the Gold 19 plan will be automatically added to your account. Either way, eating on campus is a way to meet new friends, socialize and relax. Try out the Meal Plan Wizard to help you choose.
Why are there mandatory meal plans for freshmen and a limited selections of meal plan types?
We have observed that freshmen don't always eat right. This is our way of making sure that there is one less excuse for poor diet. The meal plans that you are allowed to purchase are structured so that there will always be a good meal waiting for you. Your choices are Freedom, Gold 19, or Gold 14. If you do not select a meal plan, the Gold 19 plan will be applied to your account. If you want to change that selection, use the online Meal Plan Selection process before 5:00 pm on January 28, 2013, the last day of add/drop. Next year you can spread your wings a little more and select from all the plans.
Can I change my plan once I've signed up?
You may change or cancel your meal plan at any time, at no cost before add/drop begins using the Meal Plan Selection website or by visiting the Student Advocacy Office in the Commons. Once the add/drop period begins you may make one change or cancellation until January 28, 2013 at 5:00 p.m., the end of add/drop. Additional changes during the add/drop period will result in a $25 processing fee. After the end of add/drop there will be no changes or cancellations except in extenuating circumstances. All late changes/cancellations must be approved through the Dean of Students Office.
To change or cancel your meal plan after add/drop, you will need to download the fall/spring meal plan change form (pdf) or the summer meal plan change form (pdf) , complete it, and take it to the Dean of Students Office for review. You will receive email notification of the decision. If approved, you will be billed for all meals and Dining Dollars that were used and a $25.00 processing fee. If your change is approved from a Gold meal plan to a Block meal plan, you will be charged a daily rate for any days the meal plan was used, your Dining Dollars used will be deducted from the new meal plan, and you will be assessed a $25.00 processing fee.
What does it mean when you say my meal plan will "rollover"?
If you have a meal plan in the fall, you will automatically be assigned the same meal plan in the spring and be billed accordingly. However, any unused meals on the fall plan will not be added on to the spring plan. So, if you had a block plan with 17 meals left in December, when you return in January, those meals will be gone.
If you want to make a change or cancel your spring meal plan, you use the online Meal Plan Selection website before 5:00 pm the last day of add/drop.
What happens with my meal plan over the summer?
Each school year the meal plans are cleared out. You must select a meal plan each fall semester.
Dining Dollars:
What are Dining Dollars?
Dining Dollars (formerly known as Flex points) allow you to supplement your meal plan by providing you additional spending money for use at all dining locations. Additional Dining Dollars may be purchased in increments of $10 at any time throughout the semester online, by phone, or in person at various campus locations. Dining Dollars carry over from fall to spring only with the purchase of a spring meal membership. However, they do not carry over from spring to summer or fall semesters.
Can I just buy Dining Dollars without a meal plan?
You may only buy dining dollars if you have a meal plan.
What do I do when my Dining Dollars run low?
Reload. Simply add to your account online at Campus Dish, by phone or in person at several campus locations. Learn more about Dining Dollars.
How do the Dining Dollars rollover to the next semester?
Any Dining Dollars that you have not used from your fall meal plan will be added back into your meal plan for the spring after add/drop. For example: in December you notice that your Dining Dollars balance is $25.97. In January, when you come back, if you have not cancelled your meal plan completely, that value will be added to your new Dining Dollars balance after the add/drop period is over.
If I change to another meal plan type do I still keep my rollover Dining Dollars?
Yes, as long as you have a meal plan your Dining Dollars will rollover.
What happens to my Dining Dollars if I don't use them all by December and I CANCEL my meal plan in the spring?
You lose them. You must be on a meal plan to be able to use Dining Dollars.
Using Your Meal Plan:
What are meal zones and where do they apply?
Meal zones are the times in which you may use your meal plan. Meal zones are campus-wide; therefore, the hours may not always coincide with the business hours at each dining location. Meal zones have been established for the locations that allow for meals, meal options, take-out, and grab-n-go.
Monday through Friday:
- Breakfast 7:00am - 10:45am
- Lunch 10:46am - 4:29pm
- Dinner 4:30pm - 9:00pm
I am on a Gold Meal plan. How many meal swipes can I use per day?
If you are on a Gold meal plan, you are able to use up to 2 swipes per meal period and up to 4 swipes per day.
Can I share my meal plan?
No. Meal plans are intended for individual use only. The meal plan holder is the only person who will have access to the meal plan. All meal plans are billed and charged to individual accounts and placed on each student's ID card for their personal use. Meal plan programs are designed so that the individual who has the meal plan may use it at their discretion for their personal use.
How do guest meals work?
If a meal plan comes with the 'guest meal' option (Freedom, Block or Faculty/Staff plans), the guest meals will be held in reserve for you to designate their use. For example, the Block 100 plan comes with 90 meals plus 10 guest meals for a total of 100 meals. Guest meals may be used either for yourself or for a guest, simply alert the cashier at the time of swipe if you would like to use a guest meal.
What is a "meal option"?
A meal option is a pre-determined meal combo available at School of Business Boehly Cafe, School of Education Java City, The Law School Java City, Dodge Room and Marketplace. Gold 19, Gold 14 plan participants are allowed one meal option per meal zone. Once a meal option has been used, no other meals may be used in that meal zone. Tribe 10 and all Block Meals can be used multiple times during a meal zone. Freedom plan participants may use one meal option per meal zone and still enjoy unlimited access at the Sadler Center RFoC or the Commons Fresh Food Company.
What happens if I miss a meal? Do I get a credit?
If you have the Freedom, Tribe 10 or one of the Block meal plans, you are not restricted to the number of meals used in a given meal zone, day, or week. There are no carry over meals with the Gold 19 or Gold 14 meal plans.
I have special dietary needs. What do I do?
At W&M Dining we are conscious of our students' needs and offer product information upon request. Nutritional information is also posted for most items at our dining locations and on the Campus Dish website. We have a culinary and management team that is experienced in assisting our students. When we design our menus the need to accommodate most special dietary needs is taken into consideration. Please contact us at [[specialdiets]] so that we may schedule an appointment to meet with you to review current menu offerings and evaluate your dietary needs.
If I am ill, how do I get a meal?
You may fill out an Under the Weather form (pdf) and send it with a friend, along with your ID, to pick up a meal for you from The Commons, The Marketplace or Center Court.
Meal Plan Billing:
How will I be billed for my meal plan?
If you have not changed your meal plan or have not changed it before the billing in December/July, the charge for your meal plan will appear on your eBill. If you changed it after the billing in December/July, then your account will be adjusted and a new eBill will be sent out after add/drop.
What happens to the money on my account if I have already paid for a meal plan and I then cancel it?
That credit will remain on your student account until the Bursar's Office runs the refund checks. If you have any questions about this, contact the Bursar's Office at (757) 221-1220, via email at [[bursar]], or visit the Student Accounts website.
My parents wrote "cancel meal plan" or wrote my meal plan selection on the bill and added the cost to the check they mailed. Do I need to do anything else?
Yes! Use the online Meal Plan Selection website before the end of add/drop period to select, change or cancel your meal plan. After the add/drop period ends, there will be NO changes or cancellations except under extenuating circumstances pending approval by the Dean of Students. Should you pursue this option, you will need to download and complete the petition form (pdf) and take it to the Dean of Students Office for review.
I would like to earn some extra money, are jobs available through W&M Dining Services?
Absolutely! We strongly encourage students to apply for a job in Dining Services. In addition to flexible hours and convenient locations, we offer a meal allowance. There are a variety of part-time positions to choose from including presidential catering, cashiers, and office assistants. For more information please contact LaToya Wallace at (757) 221-2112 or [[ljwallace]].