Room and board prices increased for fall 2010 for the fourth consecutive year according to figures released by the Indiana Wesleyan University business office. Simple calculations reveal that students with meal plans now pay more for each meal than those who pay with cash.

A full meal plan now costs $1,809 per semester. At this rate, the Block 150 plan, which is the most popular, costs $10.23 per meal. The Block 200 plan costs $8.55 per meal. This semester, 94 percent of residential students selected one of these two plans.

Only 3 percent of residents selected the 23 Meal plan, which costs $6.03 per meal and limits students to using one meal per meal time.

For those who pay cash, dinner in the Baldwin dining facilities costs only $7. Breakfast and lunch are even cheaper at $5 and $6, respectively.

Wildcat allows students to mix-and-match entrees, sides and drinks, but the most expensive combination would cost no more than $7.72 if one pays with cash. The priciest meal on the menu at Mario’s totals $7.07.

The resident district director for Pioneer College Caterers, Chris Lampson, who has been at his current post for two months, said he acknowledged the discrepancy between the price paid by students and the price à la carte.

“We factor in some missed meals to help keep costs down,” Lampson said. But Pioneer does not base its prices on a per-meal basis, he clarified.

IWU hired Pioneer to operate Baldwin, Wildcat, Mario’s and the College Store. Lampson explained that IWU and Pioneer College Caterers renegotiate prices every few years, with planned increases built in. Four years ago, incoming freshmen paid $1,536 per semester for a full meal plan. This year, incoming freshmen paid about 18 percent more for the same plan.

Lampson mapped out where a student’s money goes after he or she pays the school each semester. First, IWU officials pay for facilities, equipment and 150 student workers who work with Pioneer. IWU then pays Pioneer a “daily rate,” an amount which Lampson declined to disclose. Pioneer uses these funds to buy food and pay its 45 full-time and 35 part-time employees, who ultimately prepare and serve food in all four of its outlets.

Pioneer’s company website quotes Dr. Todd Voss as saying that Pioneer staff members “approach each campus with a passion for excellence and an insatiable desire to satisfy the unique customer needs of that location.”

“It’s convenient to have food on campus, [but] when I can go off-campus and get more food for less money, I do,” said Lydia Porter (so).

Residential students are required to purchase a meal plan, but the 19 married students living in University Court are exempted from this rule, said Director of Housing Melissa Sprock.

Sprock said that some unmarried students choose to purchase a partial meal plan instead of a full plan, but to do so is to forfeit one’s room and board freeze. Seniors this year who qualified for the freeze every semester saved $1,238 over the course of four years, based on data from the business office.

Three students this semester received special permission to purchase a “Reduced” meal plan, consisting of 400 points for $400.

“Pioneer usually goes above and beyond to make accommodations,” said Sprock when asked if students could cancel their meal plans altogether.

But, “the only exceptions made thus far are for dietary needs,” Sprock said.

Officials have raised the price of a meal plan by 18 percent over the past four years, but the cash prices for the same products have not kept pace, creating a perception of stable prices.

“I always get my [money’s] worth out of Baldwin, so it’s a great deal for me,” said Luke Nelsen (jr). “As I get toward my senior year, I might look into investing differently.”