Approximately 65 percent of student respondents rated Dartmouth Dining Services' SmartChoice meal plan as a three or lower on a 10-point scale in a recent online survey conducted by Student Assembly, Assembly leaders said at Monday's General Assembly meeting in Collis. Following the survey results presentation, Associate Dean of the College for Campus Life April Thompson, Student Body President Max Yoeli '12 and Student Body Vice President Amrita Sankar '12 discussed the timeline for incorporating students' suggestions into the new system.
Although the extensive cost calculations involved in creating or modifying meal plans and the software and structural support issues associated with such changes will take months to fully address, smaller changes may be feasible by Winter term, Thompson said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Approximately half of the undergraduate student body or 2,236 individuals responded to the survey, Yoeli said at the meeting. The survey, which was available from Oct. 22 to Nov. 11, included 10 multiple choice and four short answer questions intended to gather student feedback on DDS changes.
Twenty-seven percent of respondents rated the new meal plan a one overall the lowest possible rating.
When students were asked how concerned they were with changing the current dining plan, the average response was as a seven, with a score of 10 being defined as "I would be willing to devote time to changing/supporting the current system," according to the presentation.
DDS currently offers on-campus students a choice of 20, 14 or five meal swipes per week. Students also have a designated amount of DBA per term, which varies according to each meal plan. While the Class of 1953 Commons is all-you-can-eat, Collis Cafe, Courtyard Cafe and Novack Cafe remain a la carte options. Meal swipes are equivalent to a sum of "meal equivalency" depending on the time of day.
Yoeli and Sankar analyzed the "narrative" responses to the survey and interpreted them into quantifiable data, Yoeli said.
Approximately 56 percent of respondents suggested either returning to the previous dining system or providing an option under the SmartChoice meal plan that allows students residing on campus to purchase a plan comprised entirely of DBA. Thirteen percent of respondents suggested a 10 meals-per-week option, while another 13 percent suggested a seven meals-per-week choice. "Overwhelmingly, people are looking for a return to DBA, and many students are looking for an option to fill the gap between between five and 14 [meal swipes]," Yoeli said.
On average, students ranked the new layout of '53 Commons a six out of 10 and ranked food quality three out of five.
When asked their opinion on Topside convenience store switching to a cash or credit option, 20 percent of respondents said they were in favor of the switch, while 46 percent indicated dissatisfaction. Approximately 35 percent said they were unsure, a figure that Yoeli attributed mostly to new students who were unable to compare the two situations.
Sixty-nine percent of students said the dining halls' new operating hours were worse, while only 3 percent of respondents indicated that the new hours were an improvement from last year.
Although Food Court previously served food until 1 a.m., '53 Commons now closes at 8 p.m. Courtyard Cafe in the Hopkins Center remains open until 12:30 a.m. to provide late-night dining.
The Assembly will distribute a campus-wide survey before the end of Fall term to determine which short-term changes are most important to students, Yoeli said. Yoeli and Sankar will then compile and assess student feedback during winter break before discussing the recommendations with DDS, which will determine which changes can be implemented for Winter term, Yoeli said.
"We need to do some analysis," Thompson said. "Should we implement five of your less expensive suggestions or three of your more expensive suggestions, for example? Which ones would you want do do first?"
Although smaller "tweaks" such as keeping '53 Commons open until 8:30 p.m. might be feasible for next term, more substantial changes to the meal plans will not be implemented until Fall 2012 at the earliest, Thompson said. About 24 percent of survey respondents were from the Class of 2012, 19 percent from the Class of 2013, 28 percent from the Class of 2014, 28 percent from the class of 2015 and 1 percent from "other," Yoeli said.