Meal Plans 101: Intro to Dining on Campus
The basic function of a meal plan is to streamline the campus dining process. Student I.D.s or Crimson Cards operate as a prepaid account that is swiped each time a student visits an IUPUI Dining Services location.
Meal plans are billed through the student's bursar account, just like tuition and fees. No money changes hands at the time of service, and students are free to choose what they'd like to eat.
Meal plans allow IUPUI to provide the best quality food at the best possible price. And our plans yield substantial cost savings versus paying for food out of pocket for each individual meal.
When thinking of a traditional meal plan, Meal Swipes and buffet-style dining are what typically come to mind. Tower Dining is our answer to this college cullinary classic, where one Meal Swipe gains you access to all you care to eat.
Nearly all of our meal plans are based on using Meal Swipes to eat at Tower Dining. Students may swap a Meal Swipe for a carry-out meal from Tower Dining. Swipe Swaps are limited to three per day.
Our meal plans are also supplemented by Dining Dollars to be used at the Dining Services locations in the Campus Center or any Market location. See our locations and hours for a complete list of options.
There are several different meal plans available with differing amounts of Meal Swipes and Dining Dollars. We break those down into two groups: required meal plans and elective meal plans.
Required meal plans:
- Only required of Ball Hall, North Hall, and University Tower residents
- Set number of Meal Swipes to use at Tower Dining per week
- Each week the number of Meal Swipes reset. Unused Meal Swipes do not rollover to the next week.
- Varying amounts of Dining Dollars to use throughout the semester at IUPUI Dining Services locations. All Dining Dollar purchases are built in with 14% savings. 9% is tax-free and another 5% for being a meal plan member.
- Meal plan automatically assigned by Auxiliary Services after signing a Housing and Residence Life contract. The meal plan is for the entire contract period. No need to purchase separately.
Elective meal plans:
- For all other students
- Set number of Meal Swipes to use at Tower Dining per semester. No weekly reset.
- May buy weekly plan required of residential students. Required meal plan stipulations apply.
- Varying amounts of Dining Dollars to use throughout the semester at IUPUI Dining Services locations. All Dining Dollar purchases are built in with 14% savings. 9% is tax-free and another 5% for being a meal plan member.
- Unused Meal Swipes and Dining Dollars from fall semester rollover to the spring semester
- Plans start at $300 for 10 Meal Swipes, 5 Bonus Swipes, and 228 Dining Dollars per semester, a substantial cost savings over paying per transaction
Still got questions? Check out the FAQs or contact us.