Meal plan options
Types of meal plans
- Unlimited Access Meal Plans These plans offer the greatest variety and flexibility, with no limit to the number of times you may eat in the residential dining centers. Eat as much as you desire, as often as you wish. Our most popular plan is the seven-day unlimited access plan. There are no refunds for unused meals.
- Traditional Access Meal Plans These plans allow students a specific number of meals per week. Meals in these plans expire Sunday evening. Because meals are budgeted over the course of the week, you cannot use too many and run out of meals before the end of the semester. There are no refunds for unused meals.
- Block Meal Plans* These plans allow students a specific number of meals over the course of the entire semester. Meals in these plans expire at the end of the semester. Meals are spread over the course of the semester, so you can manage your use of them weekly based on your schedule. There are no refunds for unused meals.
*Only available for students living in Cardinal Court, Fell Avenue, or School Street apartments
Flex dollars
Each meal plan includes a specified amount of flex dollars, which can be spent at retail dining locations on campus. These include venues in the Bone Student Center, residence halls, Student Fitness Center, and Cardinal Court Community Center, as well as residence hall and Cardinal Court vending machines.
If you live in residence halls during the fall and spring semesters, flex dollars remaining at the end of the fall semester automatically roll over for use in the spring semester.
If you live in Cardinal Court, Fell Avenue, or School Street apartments, flex dollars remaining at the end of the fall semester automatically roll over for use in the spring if you maintain a meal plan in the spring semester.
All flex dollars expire at the end of the spring semester and are nonrefundable.
If you move off campus or to Cardinal Court, Fell Avenue, or School Street apartments and choose to cancel your meal plan for the spring semester, your flex dollars will expire at the end of the fall semester and are nonrefundable.
Managing your meal plan
Your meal plan will remain the same for the fall and spring terms, unless you choose to change it.
Once enrolled, students are encouraged to monitor their meal plan and flex dollar balance on a regular basis. This can be done via the Finances tab on your My.IllinoisState account. See Dining.IllinoisState.edu for information about managing your meal plan or making changes.
GOOD TO KNOW
Where and when can I eat?
All meal plan options allow you full access to both campus residential dining centers, no matter where you live. Each plan has flex dollars that can be used at campus retail restaurant locations, as well as residence hall and Cardinal Court vending machines. Your dining options include the following:
Residential dining centers
- Watterson Dining Commons (Watterson Towers)
- Marketplace at Linkins (Haynie, Wright, Wilkins)
The residential dining centers are open continuously from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., with slightly abbreviated hours on the weekends.
Retail restaurants
- McAlister’s Deli (Bone Student Center)
- Qdoba (Bone Student Center)
- Starbucks (Bone Student Center and Student Fitness Center)
- Subway (Watterson Towers, Wilkins, Manchester, Cardinal Court)
- The Landing (Bone Student Center)
- Timbers Grille (Bone Student Center)
Exact dining center and retail restaurant hours can be found at Dining.IllinoisState.edu/locations.
