2023 - 2024 Meal Plan Contract Terms and Conditions

II. Required Participation and Eligibility

All students living in the traditional residence halls (Haynie, Hewett, Manchester, Watterson, Wilkins, and Wright) are required to purchase a meal plan. Students who are currently enrolled at Illinois State University are eligible to purchase a meal plan but are not required to do so. Students who are not currently enrolled at Illinois State University are not eligible to purchase a meal plan.

All meal plan participants are required to comply with University health and safety requirements and guidelines, as applicable.

III. General Terms and Conditions

1. Period of Contract

Meal plan contracts are for the entire academic year (fall and spring semester) or the balance of the academic year remaining at the time of purchase. Any plan purchased after the start of the meal period will be prorated according to the percentage of days remaining in the meal period at the time of the purchase. Dining plans for fall semester become accessible the Monday before classes begin and continue until the Friday of finals week. Dining centers (Watterson Dining Commons and Marketplace at Linkins Center) are closed between the fall and spring semesters (winter break). Dining plans for the spring semester become accessible the Friday before classes begin and continue until the Friday of finals week. Meals are offered in accordance with the operational calendar posted on the dining website. Specific opening times for all dining centers will be posted to Dining.IllinoisState.edu. Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality reserves the right to alter services or hours of operation. Notice will be given through the posting of modified schedules in all dining centers and on the dining website, except when emergency circumstances prevent notice. Dining centers may be open prior to meal plan start dates/times; during such openings, credit, debit, or Redbird dollars may be used.

2. Meal Plan Access

Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality uses a computerized system to control access to the dining centers. NO MEAL WILL BE PROVIDED WITHOUT PRESENTATION OF A VALID UNIVERSITY ID AND/OR ALTERNATIVE FORM OF PAYMENT. See the Redbird Card Office website for ID policies.

Meals are not transferable. Meal plan participants may only pay for guest meals by using the flex dollars portion of the plan. Credit, debit, and Redbird dollars are also accepted for guest meals. Meals that are included in a meal plan can be used at both residential dining centers (Watterson Dining Commons and Marketplace at Linkins Center). A 15-minute period is required between meal plan transactions.

3. Meal Plan Changes

A meal plan participant may request changes to their meal plan by returning to their original application within the Housing & Dining Portal and changing their meal plan selection. The deadline for making changes for the fall semester is September 8; the deadline for making changes for the spring semester is January 26.

Any changes that are made after the start of the meal period will result in a prorated charge of the original plan, following the cancellation formula outlined in the next section. The number of meals and flex dollars included in the new plan, as well as corresponding charges, will be prorated according to the percentage of days remaining in the meal period at the time of the change.

4. Cancellation Policy

Meal plan contracts are for the entire academic year (fall and spring semester): however, meal plans contain individual semester allocations. Meal plan participants who reside in traditional residence halls may only cancel their meal plan contract after cancelling their University Housing Contract in accordance with University Housing Contract Terms and Conditions. Other meal plan participants, who are participating at will, may cancel their meal plan contract in between the fall and spring semesters, before any portion of the meal plan has been used (meals or flex dollars), or upon withdrawal from the University according to the following provisions, dates, and charges:

• Cancellation of contract may be made through the Housing & Dining Portal, when available. All cancellations made in the Portal should be printed for record keeping purposes. If the Portal is not available, request for cancellation must be in writing and signed by the meal plan participant.



• Written requests for cancellation must be addressed to:

  Illinois State University
  Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality
  Attn: Meal Plan Coordinator
  Campus Box 2650
  Normal, IL 61790-2650

  Notification of cancellation to other university offices or departments will NOT serve as notice of a participant’s intent to terminate the contract.



• Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality will acknowledge receipt of a meal plan participant’s written request for cancellation of the contract. It is the meal plan participant’s responsibility to contact Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality to ascertain if the request was received.


• Meal plan participants will be held responsible for cancellation charges as outlined below. The cancellation date is the later of the following two dates: a) the last date that the meal plan was used (meals or flex dollars); b) the date that the meal plan participant is eligible to cancel.



Cancellation Date	Cancellation Charges
Prior to start of meal period	None
After start of meal period	Unlimited and Traditional Meal Plans: (total cost of meal plan less flex dollars)/number of days in the meal period*number of days completed+flex dollars used Block Meal Plans: (total cost of meal plan less flex dollars)/total meals in plan*number of meals used+flex dollars used

• Upon nonpayment of a meal plan purchase as outlined above, the University may cancel the meal plan and may refuse further requests to purchase future meal plans. In addition, Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality reserves the right to cancel a meal plan contract upon determination that the meal plan participant is no longer eligible.

5. Liability

The University assumes no responsibility or liability for personal property in any campus dining facility.

6. Solicitation

The University prohibits any sales or solicitation in the dining centers without written consent of Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality. Refer to the University's University Facility and Space Use Policy 6.1.1 for additional information.

IV. Meal Plan Rates and Descriptions

The 2023-2024 rates are not determined until the Illinois State University Board of Trustees approves them, which is expected in June 2023. When the 2023-2024 rates are established, they will be posted on the Meal Plans page. The University reserves the right to change meal plan rates at any time.

For a list of meal plan descriptions and availability, please visit the dining website. The University reserves the right to update meal plan availability at any time.

V. Meals

Semester meal plan allocations expire at the end of each semester and do not roll over to the subsequent term. There are no refunds for unused meals at the end of a semester.

VI. Flex Dollars

The amount of flex dollars varies depending on the meal plan selected. Each meal plan includes a specific amount of flex dollars which may be spent on food or drink at the retail dining venues, the dining centers, and vending machines in the residence halls and Cardinal Court. For a complete list of venues, please visit the Places to Eat page.

Flex dollars remaining at the end of the fall semester will roll over to the spring semester for meal plan participants who retain a meal plan for the spring semester. All flex dollars expire at the end of the spring semester. There are no refunds for unused flex dollars.

VII. Guest Meal Policy

Meals are not transferable. Flex dollars may be used to purchase a guest meal in the residential dining centers at the posted door rates or at any retail location where flex dollars are accepted. Credit, debit, and Redbird dollars are also accepted for guest meals; cash is accepted for guest meals at select retail locations.

VIII. Carryout Option

While carryout is available, disposable containers do not support campus sustainability efforts. Meal plan participants are highly encouraged to dine in rather than carryout whenever possible.

All meal plan options allow carryout from the residential dining centers; however, the unlimited meal plans allow a maximum of three (3) carryout meals per day. A carryout meal is defined as one entrée, two side dishes, one dessert, and one beverage.

Carryout is available and provided to meal plan participants as a courtesy. Those who wish to obtain a carryout meal must notify the cashier upon entering the dining center. Meal plan participants may not take a seat in the dining center once a carryout box has been obtained. The carryout box must be fully closed when leaving the dining center (cannot fill up the lid and base separately).

Dine-in and carryout meals are two separate transactions. A meal plan participant who wishes to dine-in and carryout must use two meals. After the meal plan participant completes their dine-in meal, they must use their meal plan a second time to obtain a carryout box to fill and take out of the dining center.

Failure to follow these rules may result in the forfeiture of carryout privileges.

IX. Payments

Meal plan charges will be billed to meal plan participant’s student account. All Student Account policies apply. Billing statements will be available online through the meal plan participant’s My.IllinoisState.edu account. Visit the Student Accounts website for information about authorized user access, billing statement dates, due dates, and payment options.