Iowa State University
Department of Residence
and
ISU Dining
Annual Report FY2009
Prepared September 2009
Submitted by:
Dr. Peter D. Englin
Director of Residence
and
Nancy Levandowski
Director, ISU Dining
Iowa State University
Department of Residence
and
ISU Dining
Annual Report FY2009
Table of Contents / Page 1Executive Summary / Pages 2-4
Enrollment and Occupancy / Page 5
Explanation For Variance In Design, Offered And Program Capacities / Page 6
Capacity and Occupancy / Page 7
Room and Board Rates / Page 8
System Distribution of Rooms and Rates / Page 9
Room Style Demand / Page 10
Meal Plan Buy-In / Page 11
Peer Group Comparison / Page 12
Financial Data / Page 13
Bond Principal and Interest Due / Page 14
Facilities Summary / Page 14
Appendix A – Explanation of Off-Line Spaces / Page 15
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Department of Residence (DOR) Facilities
Strategic and continuous improvement in facilities and furnishings has been a theme these past few years. As occupancy has increased, the revenue generated has enhanced the ability to reinvest, including the installation of 802.11n ubiquitous wireless, heat & smoke detection systems, fire suppression, and general painting, floor covering, and furniture upgrades. Even with this improvement in financial position, the DOR has over $45M identified in unfunded improvements it could effect. Given a forecasted decrease in traditional age freshmen over the next few years maintaining, healthy occupancy levels and concurrent net revenue for reinvestment will be the challenge.
On the programmatic side retention to Iowa State University and on-campus housing remain the priority. MapWorks, a freshmen focused, Web-based, self-assessment program was implemented the third week of fall semester. This is the optimal time for this survey as it is the point at which students are realizing the differences between the realities of being a new freshman and their expectations of what their first year at college would be like. The MapWorks results provide students and staff with a comprehensive snapshot of how each individual student is experiencing Iowa State shortly after starting classes. Currently, the Dean of Students Office, College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and DOR are partnering to make best use of the information collected.
During spring 2009 and summer 2009 as the numbers of sophomores, juniors and seniors requesting housing continued to grow, it became clear that there would not be enough space available in upper division housing to accommodate this group. As such, the DOR made the previously discussed operational decisions which impacted capacity.
The net result was a upper-division, single student capacity increase of 20.6% (191 bed spaces) in Buchanan Hall, Wallace-Wilson, Frederiksen Court and Schilletter and University Village (SUV). The following changes were made:
· 118 space increase (39.5%) in Wallace and Wilson halls due to floors 1- 4 being brought online.
· 8 space increases (2.0%) in Buchanan Hall due to a decrease in the number of off-line spaces.
· 4 space increase (0.2%) in Frederiksen Court due to a decrease in the number of off-line spaces.
· 61 single student bed space increase (8.1%) in SUV due to the continued conversion of family units to single student and a decrease in the number of apartments off-line.
In Richardson Court and Union Drive, while care was taken to reduce the number of off-line bed spaces (super singles limited, medical spaces released, etc.), capacity ultimately decreased by five bed spaces (-0.1%). This is primarily due to the dedication of two rooms (four spaces) to the Office of Admissions as full time tour locations and the permanent loss of four bed spaces to the previously mentioned wireless project.
Family housing capacity also saw a slight decrease. While eight Schilleter units were brought back on-line following the completion of a remodeling project, 19 University units were converted to single student housing. The complete result is an 11 unit decrease (-5.4%).
In aggregate, on-campus student housing capacity rose 1.9%, the equivalent of 175 bed spaces / units.
ISU Dining Facilities
System changes that affected capacity from fall 2008 to fall 2009 included:
· Eastside Market opened in January 2009 replacing the MWL C-store.
· Linden Dining Center remained open in preparation for the closure of Oak Elm.
· Oak Elm Dining Center is scheduled to close in July 2009 after the summer conference season.
· Seasons Marketplace (formerly MWL) was finished with its remodel in July 2009 and opened for the fall semester.
Enrollment and Occupancy
From fall 2008 to fall 2009, total University enrollment increased by 1089 students (4.1%). The breakdown is as follows:
· 212 student increase (7.2%) in lower division enrollment, (-111 freshmen, +323 sophomores)
· 702 student increase (6.1%) in upper division enrollment
· 175 student increase (3.3%) in graduate and professional student enrollment
On-campus occupancy also saw an overall increase of 205 students (2.3%), for a total of 9,106. The breakdown is as follows:
· 11 student increase (0.2%) in lower division residence halls, (-17 Richardson Court, +28 Union Drive)
· 117 student increase (17.8%) in upper division residence halls
· 77 student increase (2.7%) in student apartments ( -12 family, +89 single student)
Guest housing requests continue to rise, especially during the spring and summer, when demand exceeds supply. Beginning fall 2007 and continuing to fall 2010, the number of guests units available will fluctuate as guest housing is relocated from University Village to Schilletter Village and the total number of units eventually settles at 70 furnished with a small number of unfurnished units being made available as student occupancy permits. Current guest occupancy sits at 62.5% a 1.1% increase.
Room Styles & Rates
Choice continues to be very important to today’s students and their families. The department offers a number of different room styles and options.
Room rates are determined based upon the type of room offered, location and physical condition of facility. The table on page nine outlines the number of available rooms by style and rate.
Room Demand
The table on page ten shows the breakdown of fall 2009 student requests for specific room types and locations. The demand figures are based only on the student’s first preference for product type and area. In general, the top three residence hall preferences are:
· UD standard room, air, coed hall, single gender house (1025)
· UD standard room, air, coed hall, coed house (886)
· UD standard suite, air, coed hall, coed floor (554)
· RC standard room, air, coed hall, single gender house (450)
· RC Maple standard room, air, coed hall, single gender house (372)
The bottom three residence hall preferences are:
· RC standard room, non-air, coed hall, coed house (23)
· RC standard room, air, coed hall, single gender floor (126)
· RC Linden standard room, non-air, coed hall, coed floor (153)
· UD standard room, non-air, coed hall, single gender house (154)
· RC Maple triple, air, coed hall, single gender house (154)
Union Drive remains the most popular campus area, followed by Student Apartments, Richardson Court and Buchanan and Wallace Halls, in that order.
Demand for Eaton, Friley, Maple and Martin halls continues to exceed availability. Requests for single-gender housing, both halls and houses, continues to decrease. Requests for single rooms and air-conditioned space also remain high.
In Frederiksen Court, requests for 2 bedroom shared apartments continue to decline while the requests for 2 bedroom private apartments continue to rise.
ISU Dining
The opening of the newly renovated East Side Market C-store (January 2009) and Seasons Marketplace (July 2009) has equalized the level of service on the east and west sides of campus. As a result, there has been a daily shift of 1,000 customers to the east side. The focus on fresh food and customer service, and the addition of Sunday dinner service at Seasons Marketplace, has been well-received by both students and their families.
The third part of the East Side Dining Project, the renovation of Oak-Elm Dining Center, is currently underway and is schedule for completion by July 1, 2010. The focus of the Oak-Elm project is updating kitchen equipment and serving area and making the entrance ADA compliant.
Beginning September 1, 2009, the East Side Market will be adding delivery of Godfather’s Pizza to the residents of Maple, Willow and Larch halls. Residents are excited about the concept of placing their order on line and having a quality pizza delivered to their rooms.
Panda Express, located in the Memorial Union Food Court has added a second location on-campus. Following negotiations, Sushi by Panda opened August 24, 2009 in the Memorial Union in the location formerly occupied by the MU Café. In addition, both Panda locations have begun accepting Dining Dollar$ as a method of payment. Now all ISU Dining venues and franchise operations accept Dining Dollar$, with a combined service coverage of 6:30 a.m. until midnight.
The remodel of The Hub Grill & Cafe and Caribou Coffee facility has brought expanded and much needed food service improvements to central campus. Daily sales in this zone went from the $1,200-$2,000 a day brought in by the original Hub to a combined total of $10,000-$11,000 per day brought in by the new Hub and Bookends Café. In spring 2009, the remodel concept for The Hub Grill & Cafe and Caribou Coffee won a NACUFS (National Association of College & University Food Services) award for innovation.
The Residential dining program continues to focus on student wellness and proper nutrition. There has been a continued shift away from pre-packaged products to the development of recipes with fresh ingredients. In addition to producing a higher quality meal, this also expands the food options available to students with food intolerances and allergies. Students can also use the NetNutrition on-line menuing system to learn where the food they seek is being served and the nutritional data of their meals. Correct portioning and healthy eating is taught throughout the semester by a licensed dietitian.
ISU Dining’s programmatic focus is “It’s About the Food.” The eight chefs have worked to bring this to life by adding opportunities for students to experience international foods, including Sushi Saturdays, in both Dining Halls. ISU Dining has also worked to integrate more diversity into the food program by working with the Multicultural Liaison Officers to feature ethnic foods as part of Latin Heritage Month and Black History Month celebrations and activities. This year Asian Pacific Heritage Month celebrations will be added. Continued involvement with student groups for the International Food Fair each April has provided a set of authentic recipes which have expanded not only the student experience, but also the knowledge of the cooking staff.
Students are also encouraged, regardless of their background, to share their favorite recipes from home through the “Recipes from Home” Program.
A competition was held in which on-campus residents, through the Inter-Resident Hall Association, worked with ISU Dining chefs to also allow students to share their culinary talents. Called CyRon Chef, a take-off on the popular television show Iron Chef, the program asked students to use a mystery ingredient to spontaneously create a meal. This year the mystery ingredient was citrus.
Sustainability continues to be an important global issue and ISU Dining is working with a student group to measure the impact of waste in ISU Dining facilities and to educate students on their part in the creation of food waste. In response to student feedback, Seasons Marketplace opened as a trayless facility with the intent of limiting food waste and energy consumption. The Union Drive Marketplace and Linden Dining Center continue to provide trays, also based on student feedback. In comparing Union Drive Marketplace and Seasons Marketplace, during the first week of classes, there was a significant difference in the amount of food waste going to the ISU Dining composting facility. The waste generated at Seasons Marketplace was 50% less (per capita) than the waste generated at the Union Drive Marketplace. Seasons Marketplace also has a pulper to aid in the process of reducing the volume of waste. It is hoped that this will also reduce the amount of food in outgoing water supplies.
The Farm to ISU program continues to grow. ISU Dining purchased 6.4% of our total food purchases in fresh products (including produce, dairy, honey, and meat) from local farmers through this program in 2009. As an example, through the competitive bidding process in December 2008 one farmer won the bid to supply 50% of all needed bell peppers, cabbage and cucumbers.
Upcoming projects in retail include renovating our Business Café in the Gerdin College of Business to add additional services. Plans are also in the schematics stage for a smoothie concept in the new Recreation Services building. In addition, ISU Dining is setting up a beta test of on-line ordering and delivery of food for offices in the College of Design.
In response to the declining economy and resulting budget cuts, ISU Dining’s Catering department has had to downsize as less campus offices and organizations are able to afford catered events. As two catering managers moved to fill vacant residential positions, their catering vacancies were not filled. One bright spot in the catering budget was the summer conference business generated by Odyssey of the Mind.
Meal Plan Buy-In
Fall 2009 has seen a 6.9% increase in meal plans purchased. While a small portion of this (.02%) is attributed to the increases in occupancy, the majority of the increase is the result of a 24.6% increase in voluntary meal plan purchases.
Peer Group Comparisons
In this era of increasing diversity in housing and dining availability on campuses nationwide, it is difficult to draw direct conclusions based upon peer group data. Using the aggregate of data, however, Iowa State University on-campus housing remains competitively priced when compared to the land-grant peer group. See tables on page twelve.
Financial Data
Net revenue from operations during fiscal 2008-2009 was $22,163,332, an increase of $2,078,688 over fiscal year 2007-2008.
Capital Expenditures/Replacement Values
Iowa State University has made a strategic decision to target the majority of its capital dollars into specific facilities based upon current knowledge of future facility utilization. In-year priorities affect implementation of this strategy.