Dorm residents could be seeing an overall rate increase and significant changes in dining plans if a proposal from the UW's Housing and Food Services (HFS) passes.

For the second consecutive year, HFS has proposed a five percent rate increase across the board for the upcoming academic year.

The UW Board of Regents will be asked to adopt the proposed rates at its meeting March 22.

In addition to the hike, changes in the structure of the mandatory meal plan for dorm residents have also been proposed. These include an end to the current policy of refunding unspent balances and the removal of what is currently the lowest-priced dining option.

Members of the HFS Board of Directors will attend the Residence Hall Student Association (RHSA) meeting tomorrow to further discuss the plan.

The proposal would increase the cost of a triple — technically a double room fitted to accommodate three people — combined with the minimum meal plan available for incoming residents from $6,531 to $7,161 per year.

Returning residents will still be offered the lowest-priced dining option, raising their total cost to $6,885 per year.

The bulk of the funds — 3.7 percent — would cover general labor, administration and building maintenance costs.

"[The raise] is a combination of a couple of things: taking care of inflation and labor costs," said Ann Gigli, administrator for planning and purchasing for HFS. "Administrative overhead is a lot of outside services we contract: UWPD, custodial supplies, the physical plant office for repairs. It's all the people."

Perhaps most significant, however, is the proposed change regarding unspent dining plan balances.

Historically, students have been refunded money they did not spend during the course of the academic year, but with the proposed plan, students would no longer receive a refund.

HFS director Paul Brown said the organization refunds nearly $1 million in unspent balances each year.

HFS Assistant Director Vennie Gore said this change was to "stabilize the system" so HFS could be sure of the amount of money available each year.

"What we're trying to do is create financial stability," said Gore. "The raising of the cost of individual items is too expensive. We're responding to what students have asked for: They want to eat when they want to eat. If a student has early class and comes back at 10 a.m., they want breakfast, but in the past we've been closed."

Other student requests also contribute to the changes, Gore said.

"[Students] want healthy choices," he said. "They want vegan and vegetarian options. In order to provide food service seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, we have to have a financially viable system. We're creating stability in the system so we can do what students are asking us to do."

In general, student response is positive, said Andrew Clark, president of the Stevens and Mercer Hall Council.

"I think in general students agree with the increase," he said. "I think the biggest concern they have is with the proposed elimination at the end of the year. It's human nature. If you put money in and you don't spend it, you want it back."

One percent of the increased resources would go toward building improvement.

"We've hired a consultant to take a look at our facilities," Gore said. "Right now they're described as 'mid-century.' Hansee Hall was built in 1931, and Mercer Hall, the most recent, was built in the 1970s, so they're in need of some serious renovation."

Although renovation projects have been in progress, there are plans for more renovation, Gore said.

"We spend about $4 million a year on major renovation," he said. "Last year we redid the Haggett Hall elevators, and we redid the bathrooms in Haggett Hall's south tower. We're redoing the bathrooms in the north tower this summer. We also plan to repaint, recarpet and refurbish apartments in Stevens Court. There are eight buildings, so something is done to each at least every eight years."

Slightly less than 1 percent of the funds would be used for expanded residential life programs.

"One of the things we started on with the committee last year is the creation of academic clusters based on FIGs," Gore said. "Winter quarter we'll have freshman seminars, and spring quarter is reserved for other things. Students will have expanded residential life programs, and we want to cooperate with food services for some programs as well."

Student leadership would also benefit from the money.

"There will also be expanded student leadership opportunities," Gore said. "Student leaders will go though additional training, and there will be ongoing training for students throughout the year. There will also be more funding for HFS' social and cultural activities, creating additional academic communities in the business and health fields."

A little more than half a percentage point of the funds would be applied to giving students the ability to pay for housing fees with credit cards.

Brown explained the decision to use a flat rate for credit cards.

"We do that because we're a system, so it's a system cost to us, so we apply it to everyone in our system ... you can apply the cost as an individual fee, but we've chosen to maintain the system approach, which is how we've done [it at] HFS for 30 years," he said.

HFS has also asked to raise the minimum Husky Card deposit from $60 to $90 in order to cover increased laundry rates for students after the cost of doing laundry was raised last year from 55 cents to $1. Unused Husky Card funds would still be refunded.

Finally, the proposal also discusses the possibility of removing landline phones from dorm rooms, citing a recent HFS sponsored study that found 95 percent of on-campus residents used cell phones.

According to a press release, any new income from this change would go toward capital improvements. However, it is currently unclear how much these measures would cost to implement, along with how much they would save HFS.

HFS rate increase proposal by the numbers

5 percent - For the second consecutive year, the proposed HFS rate increase for the upcoming academic year

4 - The number of dining plans would be reduced from five to four. The previous plans were Premium, Preferred, Basic, Light and Minimum. The Minimum plan has been cut, and the other plans will be renamed Purple, Gold, Silver and Bronze, respectively

$0 - Proposal would discontinue the refunding of unspent dining plan balances

$63 - Rate increase for room and board for a triple room at the Preferred dining level; from $6,354 to $6,417

$102 - Rate increase for room and board for a double room at the Preferred dining level; from $7,125 to $7,227

$93 - Rate increase for room and board for a single room at the Preferred dining level; from $8,013 to $8,160

$117 – Rate increase for room and board for a double room with a Basic meal plan; from $6,561 to $6,678

$162 – Rate increase for a room and board for a single room a with a Basic plan, from $7,449 to $7,611

$6,885 – Room rate for returning residents, who will still be offered the lowest-priced dining option

$90 - The proposed minimum Husky Card deposit, up from $60, to cover increased laundry rates for students. Laundry costs were raised last year from $.55 cents to $1. Unused Husky Card funds would still be refunded

Reach reporter Keegan Hamilton at news@thedaily.washington.edu.