Service with a star: campus dining must cater to tastes, concerns, and innovations to ensure that students are getting the most out of the programs. These seven institutions are having success in bringing students to the table.

COLLEGE DINING SERVICES HAVE A LOT in common with incoming freshmen: They are starting over, changing looks, taking up social concerns, or simply broadening taste buds. To be in tune with the Millennial generation, dining services have been making changes in when, where, why, and especially how they serve food. They are saying adieu to meals made in secret, assembly-line serving, and the practice of closing up early.

The following higher ed institutions exemplify these trends and show how paying attention to the details of dining can result in greater usage of campus dining facilities.

Customer Satisfaction: Ohio Wesleyan University 

When Ohio Wesleyan University premiered the Pulse on Dining program from Chartwells in its Smith Dining Hall in April 2007, attendance in the student cafeteria nearly tripled--from 630 customers throughout one period last year, to more than 1,900 this time around. "To say that it was a success on campus is an understatement," says Gene Castelli, resident district manager for Chartwells.

Developed under the guidance of Millennial generation authors and experts William Strauss and Neil Howe, Pulse on Dining focuses on fresh food, healthy options, and top-notch customer service via interactive dining facilities. It's known as POD for short.

An all-you-can-eat facility and one of OWU's 11 on-campus dining locations, Smith underwent a $1 million renovation to be transformed from its former appearance, which Castelli refers to as "outdated" and "tired." He notes, "It was a top to bottom renovation." Now Smith offers a cafe-like setting with couches and chairs for comfortable seating and plasma TVs in order to create a social atmosphere.

Along with pizzas, a brick stone oven has been cooking a series of individual casseroles and pastas, such as macaroni and cheese with smoked chicken. "We do the same philosophy with each station," says Castelli, noting that rotating stations make students "literally have to shop with their eyes, come around to each station." Castelli is also excited about My Pantry, a feature reminiscent of a home kitchen. A chef makes a complete meal each meal period, instructing students on how to make the dishes for themselves. Counter seating lets students sit and chat with the chef while eating.

And with an island station, students can make their own meals, being able to pull edibles from a refrigerator or a kitchen cabinet like they may do at home. Or, if they prefer, they can ask a chef to prepare a meal instead.

In October 2006, OWU opened its Cafe 1842, a 30-seat sitdown restaurant where students could order fresh pasta dishes, subs, and salads from servers. The decor highlights the university's history. There's a wall of pictures of each president of the university since its inception in 1842. One wall is dedicated to sports, with a section on Branch Rickey, an alumnus and the man responsible for bringing Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball.

Keeping Up with the Times: Lehigh University (Pa.)

Two of Lehigh University's student dining facilities, the Cort at Lower UC and Rathbone Dining Hall, were renovated to keep up with current college dining trends, specifically focusing on atmosphere and popular cuisines.

Cort's renovation, completed in July 2006, aims to reflect a comfortable atmosphere, where students can hang out with friends or come to study, says Unit Marketing Specialist Jodie L. Stancato. "It's less grabbing a cafeteria tray, getting in line, and going through the motions. It's more experience dining."

One-stop food stations feature "Classics," which offers favorites that will remind students of Mom's recipes, salads, desserts, breakfast favorites, deli meals, and grill items. And at Center Cort, a centrally located action station, students can look on as a chef whips up meals on the spot, such as a shrimp and vegetable stir-fry. And every Tuesday evening, Cort presents "A La Cuisine," a program where guests have the option to purchase a specialty menu item using their meal plan and flex dollars.

The Cort project won an award from the American Institute of Architects' Eastern Pennsylvania chapter in 2006 for institutional renovation. Since the renovation, Stancato estimates that 200 more students come in for lunch at the Cort, while an extra 300 to 400 come for dinner.

Rathbone, meanwhile, opened with a new look in the spring of 2006. It's the focal point for Sodexho's Balance Mind, Body, and Soul nutrition program, which features a Balance station offering healthy options such as vegan, vegetarian, and low fat.

Other Lehigh facilities include an all-organic beverage station inside Linderman Library; it also offers treats from the Lehigh Bakeshop. Lehigh's Food Court, located at University Center, includes the retail facilities Cyclone Salads, Mein Bowl, Salsa Rico, Ikigaii Sushi, and Chick-fil-A. It also contains Smart Market, a Sodexho grab-and-go meal concept, along with Pandini's, owned by the Retail Brand Group, a Sodexho partner. The center also has a Baker's Junction with Starbucks beverages and Lehigh Bakeshop goods.

Common Grounds, another grab-and-go, specializes in sandwiches, while Subversions, also a sandwich shop, has an Edy's Ice Cream Dipping Parlor. Students can also go to Hawk's Nest at Lamberton, a grill featuring breakfast all day and a $1.99 value menu. The Wood Dining Room at Mountaintop, inside Iacocca Hall, offers diners both a daily lunch buffet and a panoramic view of the Lehigh Valley. Brodhead is yet another student restaurant.

Changes All Around: University of Mary Washington (Va.)

The University of Mary Washington Dining Services is giving its facilities some cosmetic changes. Among them is Eagle's Nest, a snack bar/meeting place, which is going to welcome in a Cyclone Salads, notes John Dering, general manager, Dining Services. Eagle's Nest already contains Sodexho's Smart Market, a pizza place, a grill, a Jazzman's Cafe, a coffee shop, a dell, and a made-to-order station for burritos, tacos, and nachos, and Sizzles, a selection of microwaveable edibles. Students can hang out and watch a program on the widescreen TVs in the facility's back room.

Inside Seacobeck, the university's main dining hall, there are three dining rooms. The Washington Diner features the Grill, with all-American standards such as burgers and hot dogs; Hometown provides home-away-from-home comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes; and Top Hits, which runs on a rotating schedule, offers made-to-order items, including omelets and salads. The South Market room contains a dell, south-of-the-border dishes, and Asian-related fare. And UMW Bistro offers pizza, Mediterranean fare, and a pasta station. The dining rooms will be renovated next year, Dering says.

In September 2006, UMW Dining Services initiated a dietary program for students with celiac disease, a disorder that causes the human body to negatively react to wheat gluten. One designated employee prepares gluten-free meals, such as bread made from rice flour. This spring, there were eight students with celiac disease, Dering says, and about 24 more students are expected with the incoming class in the fall. In the future, Dering says he anticipates that this service will expand with a gluten-free station in the main dining room.

Another option is Eagle Express, an on-the-go cart that will be turned into an organic food cart, with free-trade coffee, this September. "[We] plan to call it 'the Green Machine,'" says Dering. Students can purchase items using their dining card or cash.

UMW Dining Services also sponsors weekly visits to residence halls for a social hour in which students can address their dining requests. Most of their suggestions have related to food preparation--for example, asking for steamed instead of santeed vegetables.

The dining program at UMW reaches secondary education students too. Through a program at Mountain View Alternative High School in Centreville, Va., students are trained by UMW employees in all facets of catering, from the correct way to set a table to serving a meal. The program began in the summer of 2006.

Think Global, Eat Local: University of Massachusetts 

Berkshire Dining Commons, one of the five dining halls at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, offers a "think globally, eat locally" concept. It's also got a new look.

Last year, Berkshire underwent its first major renovation in 45 years, says Ken Toong, director of Dining Services. With three years in development, the facility shifted from being a straight-lined serving operation, with all food prepared downstairs, to featuring state-of-the-art, multi-stationed display cooking. "We wanted something that was adaptable, flexible," says Toong. "We wanted something like a restaurant style but with a New England feel."

The nine-month-long project began in January 2006, and the facility opened in September. On its opening day, Berkshire marked a record, as its staff served more than 3,100 customers in four hours.

Designed like a restaurant with 11 kitchens, the 25,000-square-foot, 800-seat facility offers numerous entrees, with stations that include vegetarian and vegan; salad, fruit, and soup; hot food with rotating cuisine; made-to-order international items; and noodles from around the world. In its lower level, Berkshire offers a separate Grab-'n-Go station.

Flexibility was a must, Toong says. For instance, a station used primarily to serve deli-style sandwiches can easily be transformed into a sushi bar. In the evening, it can be switched again to offer Mexican fare. "We don't have to switch the equipment," he explains.

Berkshire also offers a Guest Chef series. The specials feature recipes of invited chefs, authors, and peer professionals from local, regional and national levels. Guest chefs meet and interact with students during meal hours. Executive chef Ralph Coughenour of the University of New Hampshire prepared dishes favored by UNH students, while chef Iliana de la Vega, from Mexico, showed there's more to authentic Mexican cuisine than just nachos and burritos.

This year, UMass Dining Services hosted the second annual Taste of Home Special, a family recipe contest, at the Dining Commons. More than 90 recipes were received.

Two other like-home perks at Berkshire: The facility is equipped with wireless access and four 52-inch LCD TVs, and when parents visit, "they always eat flee" at the Dining Commons, Toong says.

Over the next few years, UMass's other dining commons--Worcester, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire--will be remodeled, Toong says.

Sustainability is already in place throughout the institution's dining program. Twenty percent of the university's produce budget ($1.6 million) goes to local farmers. And a collaboration with five nearby colleges results in more local buying. UMass is also a partner of Seafood WATCH, a program designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources.

Bistro Dining: San Francisco State University (Calif.)

By putting a spin on Chartwells' Spoon program, which offers restaurant-style dining on campus, San Francisco State University created Bistro 801, a full-service restaurant that has operated on Friday evenings about 10 times an academic year since September 2006.

The bistro is staged in a sectioned off area of the City Eats Dining Center. Small trees and folding screens are brought to decorate and enclose the space, and tables are decorated with linen, dinnerware, and glassware. Student dining services employees work as wait staff and get gratuities for serving.

Offering fine dining to students, Bistro 801 also gives them a price break; the cost of admission equals one meal swipe ($7.50).

"It's a loss we are willing to absorb," explains Matthew Almeida, district manager of Chartwells' West Region. Providing customer satisfaction and a different experience was chosen over profits. Almeida points out that students now "have the ability to go out and have a nice dinner on a Friday night."

There's a three-course dinner menu, with a vegan option in each category. Entree selections have included stuffed chicken breast with a rosemary lemon sauce and a filet mignon with hollandaise sauce.

Attendance is by reservation only, and during the 2006-2007 school year, just one session was not sold out, Almeida says. Bistro 801 accommodates 48 guests.

SFSU also supports Familygivingtree.org, a locally based non-profit organization, through its dining program. A total of $20,000 has been raised for the charity over the course of four years. A student donates a meal from his or her plan, which is deducted from the balance for the week and the dollar value of that meal is donated to the charity. For every meal a student donates, Chartwells matches that amount.

The City Eats Dining Center serves 1,800 residents some 3,000 meals per day between that dining facility and the subsidiary Card in the Park (which is being expanded this summer).

Sit-Down Service: Florida State University 

Estimated to be the only 24-hour sit-down, full-service diner on a college campus in the nation, Florida State University's Park Avenue Diner has been a hit since it opened in July 2005. It originated through talks between officials and FSU'S Student Government Association, who saw a need for a safe place for students' late-night study sessions and gab fests. It seats up to 95 customers.

Operating with a staff of three full-time employees and 140 student part-timers, the diner's revenues are about $35,000 a week in the fall and spring semesters, according to Paul Strouts, associate vice president for administration.

"It brings a balance to our program," says Strouts. That program consists of two large dining facilities with a "freshly made food" concept and a number of branded facilities, including Hardee's, Polio Tropical (offering dishes with a South Florida flavor), Starbucks, and Chili's. In 2005, the 1950s theme diner took top honors in The National Association of College & University Food Services Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards contest, for being the best single stand-alone concept/outlet.

Hamburgers, fries, and shakes are popular, but healthier options are also getting noticed. The menu is tweaked at times in response to student requests. "We look at students and listen to them--look at trends and respond accordingly," Strouts adds.

The diner is on the route of a late-night, on-campus shuttle, and faculty and staff often stop in during the school day. On weekends, it's a popular spot for the football crowd before games, Strouts says. And breakfast lovers delight in the availability of breakfast items around the clock.

They Be Jarnmin': Indiana University of Pennsylvania 

Indiana University of Pennsylvania was one of six universities to serve as a pilot in Aramark's Jam customer loyalty program. It kicked off there in the fall of 2005, according to Preston Davis, resident district manager with Aramark at Indiana University.

With Jam, students can earn points for all on-campus dining purchases, which they can redeem for a wide range of rewards, including sporting goods, electronics, fashion accessories, and girl cards. Or they can donate points to charities, selected by Aramark, such as America's Second Harvest-The Nation's Food Bank Network, Habitat for Humanity, and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Guidelines at participating universities are standard. At Indiana University students enrolled in a meal plan are automatically Jam members. Students put a designated amount of points into their individual account, depending on the meal plan selected.

For example, $100 on a voluntary meal plan equals 1,000 points. Those who purchase a plan are awarded points up front, while those who are "cash customers" earn them as they make purchases.

Roughly 1,000 students signed up for the program, at first, reports Davis. During its initial year, enrollment was not automatic.

In the second year, all students with meal plans automatically joined Jam. and over the past year, enrollment increased to 7,000. That's roughly half of the university's total student enrollment and the number of students who have meal plans. The enrollment is worthwhile. "They like getting something back from their meal plan," Davis says.

During one semester, a promotional program held in conjunction with the student radio station included a drawing for a large-screen TV. More than 700 people came through in the seven hours of that promotion, says Davis, adding, "We plan on doing more of them."

Read about notable dining service programs at some other colleges and universities online at www.universitybusiness.com/webexclusives.

Resources

Aramark, www.aramarkhighered.com Chartwells, www.chartwells-usa.com

Florida State University, http://seminoledining.com

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSE/IUP

Lehigh University, www.lehigh.edu/dining

Ohio Wesleyan University, www.dineoncampus.com/owu

San Francisco State University, www.dineoncampus.com/sfsu

Sodexho, www.sodexhousa.com University of Massachusetts, Amherst, www.umass.edu/diningservices

University of Mary Washington, www.umwdining.com