Feasibility Report of Expanded Student ID Card Use at Off-

Campus Locations

By: Jon Banner, David Stanley, Erica Turriziani, Idris

Mohamed

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Table of ContentsBackground:............................................................................................................................3

Description of Problem:...........................................................................................................3

Objectives:..............................................................................................................................4

Potential Solutions:.................................................................................................................4Potential Solution 1:........................................................................................................................4Potential Roadblock for Solution 1:..................................................................................................4Potential Solution 2:........................................................................................................................5Potential Roadblocks for Solution 2:.................................................................................................6Potential Solution 3:........................................................................................................................6Potential Roadblocks for Solution 3:.................................................................................................7Conclusion to Potential Solutions:....................................................................................................7

Stakeholders:..........................................................................................................................7Stakeholder Analysis:.......................................................................................................................8

Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................8

Appendix A – Interview with Jamie Cyr:...................................................................................9

Appendix B – Survey results:...................................................................................................9

Appendix C – Secondary sources:...........................................................................................13

Appendix D – Email Exchange with Union College..................................................................14

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Background:Syracuse University has a plethora of restaurants for students to eat at on Marshall Street,

which is located right next to main campus. While it is nice to have a location with many

restaurants so close to campus, many university students say that they would like to be able to

use their SUperFood money, which is extra money that comes with any meal plan a student buys.

Several freshmen that we have talked to initially thought that they would be able to use their

SUperFood money on Marshall Street when they first became students at Syracuse University.

After talking to several students, it is clear that Syracuse University students would like to see

the university implement a system that allows students to spend SUperFood money on Marshall

Street or offer more options on campus, that way they are not exclusively spending money out of

pocket every time they go to a restaurant on Marshall Street and expand the overall food options

for students.

Description of Problem:        Each Syracuse University and ESF student is given an ID card which has a certain

amount of money on it depending on the student’s meal plan in addition to meal swipes for use at

dining halls. The swipes are used only at the dining halls and not at any off-campus venues. The

money, which is the focus of our report, is included in the meal plan but it currently can only be

used in select off-campus locations or some on-campus spots. Our feasibility report is addressing

the need for an expansion on food options for students other than the dining hall. Most students

at SU believe that an expanded use of SUperFood would be something they are in favor of

(appendix B). Syracuse University is located right next to Marshall Street where there are

numerous restaurants including Chipotle, Jimmy John’s, and Starbucks. Our focus for the project

is specifically on developing a way to utilize these restaurants or find other viable options to

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provide alternative meal options. The University already has a partnership with Starbucks at

another location that is not on Marshall Street near campus in which students can use their ID

cards. This problem is one that we feel would increase the satisfaction of students and potentially

provide economic opportunity via job opportunities for the local Syracuse community.

Objectives: To make sure the system is economically beneficial to all parties involved

To provide students more diverse food options

Potential Solutions:Potential Solution 1:        One restaurant we identified as potentially viable was expanding on an existing

relationship with Starbucks. At Campus West, an apartment complex on campus, there is a

system in place that allows students to use SUperFood money there. There is another Starbucks

location on Marshall Street and we wanted to find out if this location could set up a similar

system. The Starbucks at Campus West is a franchise that is owned by the school, which means

this option would likely require the school to purchase the Starbucks on Marshall Street.

Potential Roadblock for Solution 1:A roadblock for the first solution is that it cannot be done unless the University acquires

the Starbucks on Marshall Street franchise (appendix A). This would be difficult and there is also

no indication that the Starbucks franchise owner is looking to sell the franchise. If the school

does not own the Starbucks, they cannot add a system with the store because it would make the

meal plan taxable under New York state tax laws. This is because an off campus store is subject

to sales tax and that would mean that the meal plan would become taxable and prices would sky

rocket (appendix A). This solution is still possible, but given these roadblocks it may be a

difficult one to accomplish.

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Potential Solution 2:The second potential solution that would

provide Syracuse University students more diverse

food option is to get the University to partner up with

the on campus Chase Bank. Arizona State University

has a system like this in which students receive a debit

card that is also their student ID card. Syracuse

University and Chase Bank would be able to create a bank account for student who want to use

their SUpercard plus money for off campus dining. The students SU card would act like a debit

card at many locations on and off campus. Students who already have a meal plan would

automatically have SUpercard plus money on their student account and they could transfer this

money to their SU chase debit card so that they have more option when they want to go off

campus to eat. For example, if a Student sign up for a meal plan that provides $150 SUperFood

money, this money would be dispersed at the beginning of the semester and the student would

have the option to transfer all of that money into their SU chase debit card. This solution would

benefit the student because money on the current system the student has to be spend at the end of

each school year and if a student does not spend the money than it goes to the University. The

current options that students have to spend their SUperFood money is on vending machines

around campus, Kimmel dining service, Schine dining service and Goldstein; all of these options

are on located on campus. Creating the SU debit card with Chase Bank would give the students

the power to spend all of their money when they want and it will not go away, or they can save

as much as they want. The money on the SU debit card would not go to the University if student

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do not end up using all the money at the end of each school year, the money will be in their SU

debit card and would act as a regular debit card.

Potential Roadblocks for Solution 2:There are a few potential roadblocks to solution two. The first of those roadblocks is that

the costs and benefits would be a bit outdated. The school did research on this topic about fifteen

years ago and it was very relevant at that time, but in 2016 most students already have credit or

debit cards and all this system would do is increase their meal plan to pay for a service that the

students already have (appendix A). This means that this system would not adequately solve the

problem and provide the necessary service because technology has surpassed it. The next

roadblock is that this would likely rise the cost of the meal plan, even slightly, and students

would effectively be paying more for something they already have. Many students already have

a debit or credit card, and that means that this system would essentially mean paying for a card

with the University logo on it and that would not be worth it for the students.

Potential Solution 3:        A final solution that this feasibility report will focus the most on is the University

acquiring franchises and expanding on the on campus franchise options. The school has already

begun the process of looking into expanding upon their existing franchises. Currently the school

has franchises of Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, Sbarro among others at various locations both on-

campus and a few off-campus. These franchises have done very well for the school and made a

solid return (appendix A). Expanding on this program could be beneficial to all stakeholders

involved and Auxiliary Services has talked about how an expansion could include things such as

Sushi and various other types of cuisine (appendix A). This would provide students more diverse

options to eat outside of the dining hall and allow more variety in the diets of students and

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achieve the goals of increasing student satisfaction as well as meeting the bottom line of the

University.

Potential Roadblocks for Solution 3:

A potential roadblock for solution three is that it could be difficult to acquire and operate

franchises for the University. Operating the franchises takes resources and could also have

spatial issues. There may not be room in any of the various locations around campus with

franchises and that could be an issue for how this could be successful. However, this system has

been tested and has proven to be successful and therefore may be the most viable option

(appendix A).

Conclusion to Potential Solutions:

The solution that we found to be the most feasible is solution three because it has been

proven to work and does not have roadblocks that are as serious. The first solution does not have

a clear answer to the problem and off campus franchising is something that would be very

difficult and simply having local restaurants accept student ID card money would make the meal

plans taxable. In addition, allowing another Starbucks to be able to accept student ID card money

does not provide anything substantially new for students. For solution two, it is too outdated and

technology has made it where that solution would not be necessary or solve the problem. That is

why solution three is the only solution that solves the need for students, as well as satisfies the

bottom line of the University. Expanding on the use of franchising on campus is the most

feasible solution and one that can fill a need for students and be beneficial to the school.

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Stakeholders:        The solutions above would benefit different types of stakeholders, and the stakeholders

are the key to a successful system being developed. We have identified our key stakeholders as

Syracuse University, local Syracuse citizens, and Syracuse University student.

Stakeholder Analysis:Syracuse University -- SU is a stakeholder in this feasibility report because they are financially

tied to the satisfaction of students and the success of the proposed solutions. If the proposed

solutions work out it will positively affect the University’s bottom line, which is to make profit

and not spend too much money on the new system. The system would likely cost a decent

amount for the University so they will do whatever it is they can to make sure it is beneficial to

them.

Students at Syracuse University -- Students are a main stakeholder in this feasibility report

because it is done for their satisfaction and they would be taking on a great deal of the cost as

well. Students meal plan cost would likely rise and they would have to decide whether this

system is worth it to them.

Local Syracuse Community -- The local community is a stakeholder because the proposed report

would provide more job opportunities for people from the Syracuse area. Currently over 5,000

people from the city Syracuse are employed by the University (appendix C). The proposed

system would help expand this relationship and provide people looking for work an opportunity.

Conclusion:We believe the best course of action for the stakeholders involved would be for the

University to expand the use of franchises from what it currently is. Through our research we

deemed this was the most cost effective route that would lead to greater satisfaction for students,

increased revenue for the school, and eliminate franchise owners as the middle man. We have

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outlined some steps to make this possible and through our thorough research we believe this is

the absolute best, and possibly only, course of action.

We also demonstrated why other options would not work. A system that involves

allowing more restaurants to accept SUperFood money off campus without the University

owning the restaurant would lead to large increases in the price of the meal plan and students

would be force to take on a very large cost. We also showed why a debit card system would not

be applicable to modern times in which most students that wish to travel off campus for food

already have a debit or credit card. For these reasons, the only system that we found to be

feasible is expanding the on campus presence of franchises.

Appendix A – Interview with Jamie Cyr:

Appendix B – Survey results:We posted a survey on SurveyMonkey for current SU students to see how they feel about

current SU dining and if they would be willing to buy a new meal plan if it meant they’d be able

to spend SUperFood money on Marshall street.  Below are the results and the analysis of the

results from some of the important questions.

Question 1: What year are you?

        This question was important in order to figure get an idea of the demographic of the

students at Syracuse and this would also help to make sure there wasn’t too much bias in our

responses, we wanted to make sure all grade levels were represented.

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Question 2: Do you have a meal plan?

Based on our survey data, we received responses from SU students from all grade levels, from

freshman to graduate students.  45% of the students who responded saying they have a meal

plan.  Of those, 7% are required to have a meal plan because they live in university housing.   

Question 3: Would you get a meal plan if Marshall Street restaurants accepted SUperFood?

Not surprisingly, 86% of students at SU said they’d like it if Marshall Street accepted

SUperFood money.  Students pay a lot of money to go here, so it seems that they feel like that

should be reflected in where they can buy food and if they can use the money that comes with

their meal plans to buy that food.

Question 4: How often do you order food on Marshall Street?

According to our survey data, about 45% of SU students buy food from Marshall Street 1

or 2 times per week. About 33% buy food from Marshall Street once or twice a month.  So there

is a good number of students frequenting Marshall Street restaurants.  So if the university put a

system in place where students could use their SUperFood money on Marshall Street and at the

same time allow the university to make money, they would have a customer basis.

Question 5: What restaurants do you frequently go to on Marshall Street?

Chipotle seemed to be the most common response to this question out of the 6 total

options given, 83% said they frequent Chipotle.  In addition, 48% of responders said they

frequent Starbucks as well.  Since there is already a Starbuck located at Campus West that

accepts meal swipes, it would be nice to see the university implement a SUperFood system there

as well, however, based on the information we gathered from the Starbucks at Campus West

that’s only possible if SU purchases that Starbucks store.

Question 6: Would you like to see SU implement food swipes for restaurants on Marshall Street?

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Also not surprising, 96% of SU students said they’d like to see food swipes implemented

on Marshall Street.  This ties back to the response seen in Question 3 about students getting a

meal plan if Marshall Street took SUperFood money.  As said under Question 3, SU students pay

a lot to go here and if the university puts a system in place to make students money go a bit

further when it comes to food it would be viewed favorably by the students.

Question 7: Would you be willing to buy a more expensive meal plan to have more money to

spend at Marshall Street restaurants?

This question is important to the university itself, because it helps fulfill their bottom line

which is to make money.  About 33% of SU students said they would be willing to buy a more

expensive meal plan in order to get more SUperFood money if it meant they could spend it on

Marshall Street.  45% said they may get a more expensive meal plan if this would be the case.

So overall, considering that maybe half of the people who said they may get a more expensive

meal plan would actually get one and also probably about half of those who said they’d

definitely get a more expensive meal plan got one, then that’s an increase of about ⅓ of students

purchasing a more expensive meal plan.  That means more money in the university’s pocket.

Figure 1: What year are you?

Figure 2: Do you have a meal plan?

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Figure 3: Would you get a meal plan if Marshall Street accepted SUperFood?

Figure 4: How often do you order food on Marshall Street?

Figure 5: What restaurants do you frequently go to on Marshall Street?

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Figure 6: Would you like to see SU implement food swipes for restaurants on Marshall

Street?

Figure 7: Would you be willing to buy a more expensive meal plan to have more money to

spend at Marshall Street restaurants?

Appendix C – Secondary sources:Ohio University Food Services: https://www.ohio.edu/food/plans/offcampus.cfm

Ohio University offers students who live off campus the option to purchase an off campus meal plan.  This meal plan allows students to purchase Flex points, which are able to be used at several locale dining areas and restaurants off campus.  This option is also available for students who live on campus as well and want to add onto their meal plan.  It doesn’t say on the website, but I think Ohio University might have to own the restaurants that students can use this money at, similar to the way it works here at SU, but I’m not sure.

http://www.thegazette.com/2012/07/02/colleges-universities-expand-use-of-student-id-cards

This article discusses how student ID card use has evolved and how they have a growing role for student conveniences at schools across the country. Uses examples from many different schools around the country and discussed the extent of how their system works.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/college-student-id-doubling-as-prepaid-card-1.aspx

Shows how the student ID card use works and how it will financially affect the families of students. It goes into detail of how the ID card can essentially double as a debit card in some ways.

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http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/student_id-debit_cards-college-campus-controversy-1279.php

Discusses how universities and the restaurants may be the main beneficiaries from the system and it will not necessarily have a positive impact for students. This is a challenge we have discussed as a group because we are interested in learning how the system can be positive for the bottom line of the restaurants as well as the school and provide a successful service for the students. The question that arises from this source is will the added cost to students be outweighed by the convenience and the desire among students for a system like this?

http://brynathyn.edu/student-life/campus-services/student-id-campus-cash-program/

A sample of a school that has successfully implemented a system and a list of which places the student ID card can be used. A website advertisement and information page for the program.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_New_York#Economy

Stat providing how many people in the city of Syracuse that work for Syracuse University.

https://cfo.asu.edu/cardservices

Arizona State University debit card system.

http://libguides.asu.edu/asu101fse/libaccount

Picture citation

Appendix D – Email Exchange with Union CollegeEmail:Dear Union College Food Services,

I am a student at Syracuse University and I am working on a feasibility study and was wondering if I could ask a few questions to help with my research.

My project is a feasibility study about creating a system for students at Syracuse to use their supercard money at off-campus restaurants, specifically at Marshall Street right next to the school.

If you have time, the questions are:How has Union College developed a system for off campus use of student ID money?How is the system set up to be mutually beneficial for the school and the restaurants?What steps could Syracuse University take in order to develop an effective system?

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I really appreciate your time and your help will really add to my research.

Response:I will try to answer these the best that I can without getting too much into the financial impact (which can be a bit complex).

1) Union does not currently allow students to spend dining dollars off-campus2) That is the problem. To structure this type of service so that it is mutually beneficial is next to impossible. Someone loses. First, the money going to the off-campus vendor is real cash that is guaranteed revenue the school receives regardless of where it is spent on campus. The school dining program would then be giving up that revenue which is recognized on-campus and helps offset the fixed cost (more or less) of the current labor model. Most likely, you will not achieve a labor savings to offset the reduction of revenue. In this case the dining program loses because they are giving up revenue AND would have higher expenses as a percent of sales. Second, if you set it up as an off-campus meal equivalency program (an entrée, side, and a drink for a meal swipe), the reimbursement to the off-campus vendor would be the equivalent to the plate cost in your dining hall (typically $3.00-$3.25 per meal). In that scenario the vendor loses because the offering would have to be very inexpensive to be able to offer it and make a profit. 3) I've been a part of over 100 campus dining programs, and have never seen an efficient model where all parties win with off-campus food vendors. The best way to bring off campus flavors to campus is to partner with a vendor to have a retail space on-campus and the school gets a commission based on sales. Even this isn't ideal, but could be financially structured so that it doesn't impact the bottom line too much. It will still not be as profitable as doing it in-house, but shows the students that dining is trying to meet the requests from students.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,Chip Mecca

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