Midnight study sessions, more often than not, yield hungry college students, and there’s nothing worse than a hangry student. But, while we all wish campus restaurants were open 24/7, NIU has strategically chosen which restaurants to have and their meal exchange availability.

NIU’s meal exchange program encompasses the on-campus restaurants and – between certain hours of the day – students can use a meal swipe for a predetermined set of food options.

By designating the meal exchange program to certain hours, NIU is able to keep meal plan prices lower than other schools, like Illinois State University or the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said Daniel Koenen, executive director for campus dining services.

“ISU provides more dining dollars, and then they don’t have any meal exchange. So you might get $300 or $400 a semester in dining dollars,” Koenen said. “And that can be spent in the retail locations on campus. But other than that, all the meals have to be eaten in all-you-care-to-eat dining rooms.”

By using a weekly plan and a semester-long plan – dining meals and dining dollars respectively – NIU is catering to both the short-term and long-term needs of students, rather than solely focusing on one or the other. 

The decision to have less expensive meal plans is a good one. Students receive the opportunity to both use meal swipes at locations and spend dining dollars on them. Systems like ISU are more expensive and give students less of an opportunity to maximize their meal swipes and dining dollars. 

College is an expensive endeavor. By minimizing additional costs to students while providing a variety of options, the university shows its dedication to making college more affordable for students.

Campus dining has an open-door policy, where students can voice questions, comments and concerns about campus dining. This policy, once again, demonstrates the value NIU places on student feedback.

While students may prefer longer hours, the meal exchange program hours are being utilized at campus restaurants.

In one day, The Depot served 135 students during meal exchanges, Einstein Bros. Bagels served 134, The Huskie Grill served 139 and Qdoba served 223, Koenen said.

“We’re doing that many for Qdoba and the (Huskie Den) Grill in two hours, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. And we make sure anybody that’s in line at 9 o’clock still gets served. So, if you’re in line by 9 o’clock, we have somebody out there that kind of cuts the line off,” Koenen said. 

By using the hours, NIU can continue to keep the hours for meal exchange as they are: Einstein’s between 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and Qdoba and the Huskie Den Grill between 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

While students cannot always satiate their need for a midnight snack, NIU does its best to provide adequate dining options. 

NIU’s late-night options may not be the best a college can do, but it is the best NIU can do right now.