Pizza in Union Market | Photo by Qusai Takuri | The Wright State Guardian
Campus dining services started collecting opinions from staff, students and faculty last week to improve food options and experience on campus.
Focus group
The Campus Hospitality focus group hosted on April 4 and April 5 aimed to include students and staff members in an open conversation on improving dining on campus.
The contracted campus dining company, Chartwells, aimed to start a discussion into their areas of improvement as their contract is up for renewal in 2023. The company originally signed its contract with the university in 2013.
The focus group included topics such as the food provided, the value of the amount of food for money, the convenience of the operation hours, the variety or lack of food options and the overall guest experience.
Chartwells director of Dining Services Nichola Interiano expressed regrets that the focus group did not receive more participation from students.
“We wish we could have a greater number of student participants to get broader feedback,” Interiano said. “For the students who did participate, they are generally looking for more variety of options on campus.”
Dining satisfaction
In a recent student life survey conducted by the Student Government Association, data shows almost 33% of students surveyed were dissatisfied with the dining options on campus. This combines both the “extremely dissatisfied” and the “somewhat dissatisfied” categories on the survey.
Out of 331 students surveyed, 112 students felt neutral answering “neither dissatisfied nor satisfied.”
A total of 107 students answered that they were satisfied with on-campus dining options.
The 11 dining options on campus span from ethnic food and smoothies to burgers and fries. Dining hours vary from each establishment, with some options remaining open longer than others. Student opinions of on-campus dining vary throughout the student body.
Biomedical engineering student Alex Baughnn reflected that campus dining is convenient but that they wish there was more variety and lower cost.
Psychology student Bryanna Green matched this opinion.
“I like the food at campus dining establishments but is a bit too pricey for my budget,” Green said.
One student feels that dining services declined after the pandemic.
“The Hospitality services try their best with less staff and services than before the pandemic, but do not quite meet pre-pandemic expectations,” doctoral psychology student Zoella Skultedy said.
Incoming Cybersecurity student Royal Garrett said how much he enjoyed socializing at the dining establishments.
“I enjoy the opportunity to interact with my fellow students and get to know people, thanks to on-campus dining,” Garrett said.
Chartwells marketing coordinator Nicholas Paige encourages all students to reach out if they have comments or concerns regarding dining operations.
“We are establishing a focus group called Onsite Insight which will provide students with another valuable channel for sharing feedback,” Paige said.
