Meal Plans

iCard Info

Meal Plans

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i-Cards (photo IDs) are designed to let you eat when it's convenient, regardless of how much cash you happen to be carrying. The card balance reflects the amount paid for your chosen meal plan.

Each time you make a purchase, the amount is automatically deducted from your balance. The flexibility lets you decide how much to eat at a meal and budget your expenditures accordingly. Additional dollars can be added during the semester.

Cards that are reported lost or stolen are immediately invalidated for your protection.

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UIS Meal Plans

(Effective Spring 2010)

Meal plans at UIS are convenient and flexible declining balance accounts. We don’t mandate that students obtain meals at specific times or use a certain number each week. UIS students do not pay for missed meals or subsidize other students’ meal plans. Our meal plans allow each student to suit their own personal dining habits and needs.

Students may add value to a meal plan anytime at Value Transfer Machines (VTMs), the ID Center, the Bursar's Office, or online. Please refer to the Meal Plan Terms and Conditions for definitive information about the plans.

Meal plan A ($1,000)

This is suitable for a student who eats lightly or less frequently, or who is off-campus frequently due to an internship, job, or weekend excursions. Some students just want to discover their own dining habits and needs before committing to a higher priced plan. This meal plan is for the student that eats on average only nine or ten meals per week at campus food service locations or plans to add value to their meal plan later in the semester.
No refunds are given for any value left in meal plan A at the end of an academic year.

Meal Plan B ($1,475)

This plan is designed for the student who occasionally misses a meal. This student leaves campus some weekends and enjoys a meal off campus occasionally.
This plan provides the convenience and flexibility of plan A and adds one important element: students may receive a refund at the end of an academic year based on their expenditures being no less than $1000 for each semester meal plan B was purchased.

Meal Plan D ($350)

This plan is for an apartment or townhouse resident who wants to enjoy an occasional meal at one of the campus food outlets. When appointments, study time, class, and work schedules leave little time for preparing and cooking food, meal plan D can provide the convenience! In addition, residential meal plans save the student 8% on every purchase as sales tax is not paid on meal plan purchases.
No refunds are given for any value left in meal plan D at the end of an academic year.

Meal plan value is accepted at campus vending machines. We understand that students may need a quick pre-packaged food item, snack or beverage. Please budget these expenditures into the meal plan you purchase. Additional value will most likely need to be added to your meal plan to offset vending machine purchases.

Commuter Students, Faculty, and Staff Meal Plan:

Meal Plan E
The "Campus Cash" plan allows you to put as little as $5.00 on your i-Card to discover the convenience of cashless transactions. These funds can be used for food, of course, but also for vending, duplicating, laundry, Auditorium ticket purchases and more!

Planning Your Meal Plan Expenditures

Your meal plan budget may be a little easier to manage with the following guideline. This brief table shows the approximate balance that should be in your meal plan account at four dates throughout the semester if you do not plan on adding value to your meal plan and your purchases are consistent from week to week.

	1/17/2010	2/14/2010	3/14/2010	4/11/2010	5/2/2010
Plan A	$1,000	$ 745	$ 500	$ 309	$ 118
Plan B	$1,475	$1,100	$ 738	$ 456	$ 174

This is based on the following:

The residence hall food service location (Founders Hall Capitol Grille) is open 110 days per semester.

Date	Days Open
January 17 – Feb.13	28 days
January 18 – March 13	27 days
March 14 – April 10	21 days
April 11 – May 1	21 days
May 2 – May 15	13 days
Total	110 days

Residence hall food service is closed for eight days during spring recess.
Students will be purchasing food through Friday of finals week.

How do I check my balance?

You can check your deposit online, at Value Transfer Machines (VTMs), at vending machines and with a cashier at food service locations. You may also request an account statement from the ID Center.

Please click on the following link for more information: http://www.icard.uillinois.edu/dsp_springfield_debitaccounts.cfm#vtms