For each term that any Dartmouth student is either enrolled in classes (in Hanover) or living in Dartmouth-managed housing, he or she must purchase one of the above DBA plans.

 

No surcharges and no "extra DBA dollars" are attached to any of the four DBA plans.

 

Each dining plan consists of two components: For each plan, $200 will be deposited in a Topside Convenience Store account (Topside DBA), and the remaining amount will be set aside for food purchases at DDS dining facilities (Dining DBA). For example, the $1150 Mini Green Plan consists of a $950 Dining DBA account for food purchases at DDS dining facilities plus a $200 Topside DBA account for use at the Topside convenience store.

 

Dining DBA can never be used in Topside, but Topside DBA may always be used in DDS dining facilities anytime the student customer requests to do so. If a student customer has already spent all of his or her Dining DBA dollars, additional food purchases in DDS dining facilities will automatically be applied against any remaining Topside DBA dollars the student may have. Charging (or "going negative") for food purchases at DDS dining facilities will only begin after all of the amount of pre-deposited DBA has been spent.

 

Topside DBA can be used in Topside or in DDS dining facilities anytime the student customer requests to do so. If a student customer has already spent all of his or her Topside DBA dollars, additional Topside purchases will not automatically be applied against any remaining Dining DBA dollars the student may have. Charging (or "going negative") for Topside purchases will begin as soon as the pre-set $200 amount of Topside DBA has been spent.

 

Once the entire amount of pre-deposited DBA has been spent, all purchases will automatically be applied to the student's "charging" plan. Charging has no upper limit, and all outstanding charge balances will be transferred to the student's college bill at the end of each calendar month.

 

As described below, all unspent amounts of Dining DBA will be "rolled over" from term-to-term until Commencement Day 2010, at which time all remaining unspent amounts will expire. All unspent amounts of Topside DBA will expire at the end of the term for which the associated DBA plan was purchased.

 

ROLLOVER OF UNUSED DINING DOLLARS (DINING DBA)

 

At the end of Summer, Fall, and Winter terms, all unspent amounts of Dining DBA will be "rolled over" (added) to the student customer's DBA for the next succeeding term(s).

 

Any Dining DBA amounts that have been "rolled over" will remain active and will be able to be used for food purchases at any DDS dining facility (a) that remains open between terms (interim dining), and (b) during the next succeeding term(s). At the end of spring term (Commencement Day 2010) all dining plans will end, and all unspent amounts of Dining DBA will be forfeited.

 

"Rolled over" DBA balances will NOT be refunded under any circumstances.  Students should keep in mind the "roll over" feature of Dining DBA amounts when choosing their dining plan for the subsequent term(s) and Commencement Day expiration date for all Dining DBA amounts.

 

"Roll over" applies to unspent Dining DBA account balances only.  Unspent Topside DBA Account balances will NEVER "roll over" to a succeeding term.

 

BIG GREEN PLAN

 

Student's selecting the Big Green Plan will receive a 10% discount on food purchases made at any DDS dining facility.  No discount will apply to purchases at Topside.

 

The 10% discount will be taken at the cash register and will be applied to food purchases made with Dining DBA, Da$h Discretionary dollars, by charging, and with Topside DBA, provided that the purchase was for food in a DDS dining facility.

 

The 10% discount will apply to all food purchases made during the "academic term" for which the student customer purchased a Big Green Plan. The "academic term" will begin at noon on the first business day before classes begin and will end at 4:00 pm on the last day of exams.

 

While all "rolled over" Dining DBA dollars will be active for purchases between "academic terms" has ended, Big Green Plan holders will not receive a 10% discount on food purchases during these interim periods.

 

Any Big Green Plan customer wishing to change to a different dining plan must do so before the "academic term" has started and discounting has begun. Any customer wishing to move to the Big Green Plan may do so within the first 5 business days of any term, but the 10% discount will apply only to purchases made after the plan change has been processed.

 

DDS "TERMS" CALENDAR FOR PRE-VALUED DINING DBA AND TOPSIDE DBA

 

Summer Term - Summer term plans will become active on the Monday before Summer Term begins. Prior to that day, students can still "charge" food and Topside purchases or pay with DA$H Discretionary dollars.

 

Fall Term - Fall term plans will become active on or about 10 days prior to the start of Fall Term  depending on the business calendar.

 

Winter Term - Winter Term plans will begin the first day residence halls open or the last business day before the opening.

 

Spring Term - Spring term plans will become active three or more days before the beginning of classes depending on the business calendar.

 

During the interim periods between "academic terms", DDS will provide limited dining services.  "Rolled over" Dining DBA may be used for food purchases in DDS dining facilities during these interim periods.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

 

What is the difference between Dining DBA and Topside DBA?

 

For each and every term that a student is enrolled in classes (in Hanover) or living in Dartmouth-managed housing, he or she must purchase one of the available dining plans for which that student is eligible. Each dining plan consists of two components:  Dining DBA and Topside DBA. The Topside DBA component is set at $200 and is the same amount for all plans. The Dining DBA component is equal to the purchase price of the plan, less the $200 allocated to the Topside DBA component. For example, if you choose to purchase a Mini-Green Plan, your college account will be billed for $1150; $950 will be deposited in your Dining DBA, and $200 will be deposited in your Topside DBA.

 

Dining DBA can be spent in any DDS location except the Topside convenience store. Topside DBA can be spent in either the Topside store or any DDS dining facility.

 

Normally, Dining DBA will be used in DDS dining facilities.  If you wish to use your Topside DBA rather than your Dining DBA to pay for a food purchase in a DDS dining facility, you must tell the cashier of your intentions before your ID card is "swiped" by the cashier.

 

What is "roll over" and what, if any, advantage is it to me?

 

"Roll over" is the term used to refer to your ability to carry forward any unspent balance of Dining DBA to the subsequent term(s). Prior to the implementation of the 2008-2009 dining plan, any unspent Dining DBA balances were cleared from your account on the last day of exams each term, and all dollars still in your account were forfeited. Currently, all unspent Dining DBA balances will be carried forward to the succeeding term(s) until the end of the next spring term  specifically, the next Commencement Day  at which point they will expire. Put another way, at the end of Summer, Fall, and Winter terms, you will not lose any remaining balance in your Dining DBA account. Instead, your remaining balance of Dining DBA will remain active and simply get added to your Dining DBA for the following term  except at the end of Spring term, when your remaining balance of Dining DBA will expire.

 

"Roll over" applies only to Dining DBA.  Rollover does NOT apply to Topside DBA. On the last day of exams for any term, you will forfeit any unspent Topside DBA dollars.

 

The "rollover feature" will provide students with an additional level of flexibility in their use of Dining DBA.  Once dining dollars are loaded into your Dining DBA account (usually a few days before the beginning of a term), those dollars are available for you to use anytime until the next succeeding graduation day. For the student who, for whatever reason, did not spend all of his or her Dining DBA dollars before the end of exams, the ability to preserve those funds for use later (between terms, during "off term", etc.) will be a benefit.

 

If I run out of Dining DBA, what happens?

 

One of two things will happen. Because Topside DBA can be spent at any DDS dining facility, if you run out of Dining DBA and if you still have Topside DBA in your account, our point-of-sale systems (the cash registers) will automatically use your available Topside DBA to pay for the purchase. If you do not have any available Topside DBA, your purchase will automatically be applied to your Dartmouth charging account (or, as students often say, your account will simply "go negative"). At the end of each calendar month, your total of that month's charges ("going negative") will be transferred to your Dartmouth student bill.

 

If I run out of Topside DBA, how will I make purchases at Topside?

 

Once you have spent your $200 of Topside DBA, any Topside purchases will be automatically be applied to your Dartmouth charging account (or, as students often say, your account will simply "go negative"). At the end of each calendar month, the total of that month's charges ("going negative") will be transferred to your Dartmouth student bill.

 

If I do not anticipate spending $200 a term at Topside, what should I do to prevent the loss of this money at the end of the term?

 

It is very important for you to remember that your Topside DBA does not "roll over" from one term to the next, and you will lose any amount you do not spend during the term for which it was assigned.  Also, it is very important for you to remember that your Topside DBA can be spent at any DDS dining facility.  In addition, it is important for you to remember that your Dining DBA does "roll over" from one term to the next.

 

Accordingly, if you suspect that you will not spend all of your Topside DBA at Topside in any given term, you should use that portion of your Topside DBA for food purchases at one of DDS's dining facilities before you spend all of your Dining DBA.  To spend Topside DBA at one of DDS's dining facilities, before the cashier swipes your ID card, simply tell the cashier, "I want to spend Topside DBA for this purchase". The cashier will then enter the data necessary to ensure that your purchase amount will be deducted from your Topside DBA rather than from your Dining DBA.

 

If you spend all of your Topside DBA and later decide you want to make purchases at Topside, you may do so simply by presenting your Dartmouth ID Card to the Topside cashier, and our system will automatically charge ("go negative") your purchase to your Dartmouth charging account (see above - "If I run out of Topside DBA, how can I make purchases at Topside?)

 

How and when can I change to a different dining plan?

 

If the plan assigned to you is not the plan you want, you may elect to change your plan one time per term.. To request a change in your dining plan, you must contact the Dartmouth Card office by (a) email, (b) in person, or (c) click on the Dining Plan Change tab to the left. Please remember that we accept no more than one dining plan change per academic term.

 

You may designate a new summer term dining plan right now.

 

Students wanting to change from a term's assigned dining plan - other than the Big Green Plan to another can change dining plans during the first seven calendar days of that term. Students wishing to change from the Big Green Plan must submit a request prior to the beginning of the "discounting period" for that term (see below - "How does the Big Green Plan work?").

 

After the end of the change period for each term, students must keep their assigned plans for the remainder of that term. The dining plan to which you are assigned or to which you change will remain as your dining plan for all subsequent terms until you request a change in accordance with the process described above.

 

Please take note the following exception to the above rules for off-campus students moving into an ORL facility:  If a student with an Off-Campus Plan moves into a Dartmouth residence without notifying the Card Office of the change in residence, he or she will be assigned to a Mini-Green dining plan. Any such student can then request a change to another dining plan during the term's normal dining plan change period.

 

How does the Big Green discounting plan work?

 

A student enrolled in the Big Green dining plan receives $1420 of Dining DBA and $200 of Topside DBA. During the "academic term", Big Green plan holders' purchases of food at DDS dining facilities will be discounted by 10%. The discount feature will apply to food purchases paid for with Dining DBA dollars, by charging ("going negative"), Da$h Discretionary dollars, and even Topside DBA.  For the purposes of this discounting function, each "academic term" begins at noon on the first business day before classes begin and ends at 4:00 pm on the last day of that term's exams. Any unused Dining DBA will "roll over" as described above and will remain active through the following term(s).

 

Purchases made by Big Green plan holders in Topside will never be discounted, regardless of what type of payment is used.

 

What plan(s) will be assigned to First-Year students? How will the Fall '09 Orientation factor into the new dining program?

 

Entering First-Year students will be assigned to the Green Plan (at a cost of $1,330). They will receive $200 in Topside DBA, $1070 of Dining DBA, and two "special meals". The two "special meals" will occur during the orientation period and account for $60 of the plan's purchase price. First-Year students' plans will become effective about 10 days before the beginning of fall term and will include the entire Fall Orientation period.

 

For fall term, a First-Year student may elect to change their dining plan only to the Big Green Dining plan provided the request is submitted to the Dartmouth Card Office before the end of the dining plan change period (the exact date will be determined and announced later). First-Year students may not elect to move to the Mini-Green Dining Plan until after they have completed fall term.

 

 

 

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