Students eat at the South Campus Diner on the campus.

Big changes could be on the way for the University of Maryland dining halls, as Dining Services is considering phasing out dining points, reducing carryout options and introducing biometric scanning methods to replace payment with student IDs.

After addressing budgetary and planning concerns and pending approval from the Residence Hall Association and the Student Government Association, Dining Services could implement these changes as soon as fall 2016.

The proposed changes would mark the end of the current a la carte dining plan, replacing it with an all-access, “anytime-dining” system, said Colleen Wright-Riva, Dining Services director. This would allow students to eat as frequently as they’d please — with unlimited meals and no points to track throughout the semester.

READ MORE: Campus Sustainability Report lists UMD sustainability accomplishments

“Students tell us they are unhappy with the dining plans, and a lot of that is the value of the dining point,” Wright-Riva said. “I’ve been very concerned about our dining plans in general and I don’t believe they meet the needs of students — they are not robust enough.”

So far this semester, 50 students have run out of points, and nearly 1,200 will run out before the semester ends, she said.

She said she hopes a new system would prevent students from worrying about how much they can eat, which sometimes forces them to eat less. 

Because students would be able to eat as much as they want with this new plan, Dining Services would limit takeout opportunities, she said. While takeout has become a popular option with the current system, she said it would be hard to manage how much food students take out of the dining halls if they don’t have to pay for each individual meal.            

As part of this change, Dining Services is considering three new dining plans, each offering variations in Resident Bucks and takeout opportunities, she said.

The base plan, which would be equivalently priced to the current traditional plan, would grant anytime dining, eight carryout opportunities per semester and two guest passes that allow students to buy a meal for individuals without a plan, she said. This plan would not include Resident Bucks.

“It’s still really robust, because you can come and go as you please,” she said.

Additional plans would include everything in the base plan, as well as a specified number of Resident Bucks per semester, while adding more guest passes and carryout chances, she said.

Anticipated restrictions on takeout options would require students to eat primarily in dining halls, she said. To compensate, Dining Services would provide more seating in dining halls and open 251 North for lunch to provide another alternative for students.

The desire for change stems primarily from student feedback on the current a la carte system, she said. Numerous focus groups and surveys have been conducted to gauge student opinion. While students enjoy not being limited to a certain number of meals a week, many dislike the transaction-oriented atmosphere of the dining halls.

“We’ve always talked about how we’d like the dining halls to be a student’s kitchen or like a home away from home,” said Dining Services spokesman Bart Hipple. “This change could get us much closer to that.”

While some students have expressed excitement about the potential change, others see a potential reduction in takeout opportunities as cause for concern.

Cassidy Chassagne, a sophomore government and politics major, said the removal of takeout containers could be an inconvenience, as she rarely has time to eat there.

“Me and my group of friends are always on the go,” Chassagne said. “I can count on one hand how many times I’ve actually eaten inside the diner.”

The proposed changes would align this university with other Big Ten schools, Wright-Riva said. Out of the 14 Big Ten schools, 11 offer an anytime-dining option for their students.

To ensure only people with dining plans are able to eat without paying for each meal individually, Dining Services would implement a biometric system of identification, Wright-Riva said. Some other universities use handprints or retina scans, but Dining Services is considering using “wave technology” that would scan the hand motions of students.

“We have to have a really tight way to make sure people are who they say they are,” she said. “There’s really no other way for us to move forward without something like this.”

READ MORE: Yerba mate beverage becomes available in UMD dining halls

Implementing these biometrics would cost between $100,000 and $150,000, she said, but because Dining Services has been budgeting and saving over the years, this could be a legitimate possibility.

Outside of the biometrics, the changes would not require any more funding than the current dining plan requires, she said.

Dining Services has sought approval from both the RHA and SGA regarding the proposal, she said. But many of these suggestions are still being talked about at an exploratory level.

“There’s a lot of pieces that have to be set into motion and a lot of processes that need to be completed in order for this to work,” Hipple said. “A lot will be determined by what we believe we really can do.”

Although students have been receptive to these proposed changes so far, Dining Services will continue to seek student feedback, Wright-Riva said.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Wright-Riva said. “We want to communicate these ideas to students.”