Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions are for the 2024-2025 academic year.

By signing up for a Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Meal Plan, the account holder agrees to abide by all RIT Dining policies, rules, regulations, procedures and these terms and conditions . The terms and conditions of the RIT Meal Plan begin when the student’s meal plan is opened by RIT Dining and ends when canceled by either RIT Dining or the student.

RIT Meal Plans, Dining Dollars, and Tiger Bucks are placed on a student’s RIT ID card. Dining accounts are non-transferable, and a student’s RIT ID card will be confiscated if used by anyone other than the student.

Each student is responsible for safeguarding their RIT ID card. Should a card become lost, either accidentally or by theft, RIT Dining assumes no responsibility for unauthorized purchases from the account prior to notifying RIT Dining of the loss. To report a lost/stolen card, account holders should contact RIT Dining through the RIT Service Center (RSC) at 585-485-5000 or help.rit.edu. RIT Public Safety may also be notified 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone or text at 585-475-2853. Upon notification of a lost/stolen card, RIT Dining or RIT Public Safety will deactivate the card, preventing its future use. Account holders are responsible for any usage on the card up to and until the time it was reported lost/stolen. Cards must be replaced to maintain access and service. A replacement card may be obtained at the ID Card Office. Replacement cards will be made in accordance with current policies regarding card replacement. The card holder will be responsible for any replacement fees.

• Block Meal Plan: Block Meal Plans are non-taxable pre-determined increment of all-you-care-to-eat meals assigned to a student account for use only at Gracie's. Block Meal Plans offer a fixed number of meals (Block) which carry over from week-to-week throughout the semester for which the meal plan was purchased. The Block Meal Plan will operate on a declining balance that runs from the beginning of the semester to the end of the semester, with students having a fixed number of meals that they must eat at Gracie’s. Block Meal Plans do not carry over from semester to semester. Any unused meals will be forfeited at the end of the semester. Pricing includes a non-refundable administrative fee.
   
• Commuter: Any student not residing in RIT Residence Halls, the RIT Inn or 175 Jefferson. Commuters include those living in Global Village, Riverknoll, University Commons, Perkins Green, off campus apartments, their own homes, etc. Commuters are eligible for either the Optional Meal Plan or the Required Meal Plan options.
   
• Dining Dollars: A non-taxable electronic form of payment used to purchase perishable and nonperishable food and beverage items in RIT Dining locations and vending machines. Must use RIT ID card, or Tiger Pay (available only at RIT Dining locations) to purchase goods with Dining Dollars.
   
• Gracie’s Meal: Valid for one (1) meal at Gracie’s, located in Grace Watson Hall. Gracie’s meals are all-you-care-to eat.
   
• Guest Meal: Guest meals are available with the Block Meal Plan only and allow students the opportunity to treat a guest to a meal in Gracie's. Students are allotted guest meals per semester under a Block Meal Plan as follows:
  1.) Three (3) guest meals under the Roar meal plan and
  2.) Five (5) guest meals under the Roar Plus meal plan.
   
• Meal Plan: A Meal Plan is a prepaid account for a student’s on-campus meals. At the start of the term, students pay for a predetermined plan to cover their meals throughout the semester/academic year. To purchase a meal, students must swipe their RIT ID card, or use Tiger Pay, and the meal cost is deducted from their meal plan account. All residence hall students are required to have a Meal Plan (see required meal plan). Choices for meal plans can be found here.
• Optional Meal Plan: A meal plan available to any student who does not live in RIT Residence Halls, the RIT Inn or 175 Jefferson.
   
• RA Meal Plan: A meal plan consisting solely of Dining Dollars that are provided from Residence Life to Resident Advisors as part of their employment. RA Meal Plans are not subject to the refund schedule.
   
• Required Meal Plan: Meal Plans that are required for all students living in the Residence Halls, RIT Inn and 175 Jefferson.
   
• RIT Dining Accounts: Accounts associated with RIT Dining funds and include all declining balance accounts (including but not limited to Dining Dollars and Tiger Bucks) and block meals.
   
• Rollover Dining Dollars: Dining Dollars that have not been spent by the end of the term in which they were purchased and have been carried over to the following term. Rollover Dining Dollars are not considered a Meal Plan, do not satisfy the required meal plan policy and are not subject to the refund schedule.
   
• Sponsored Dining Dollars: Dining Dollars that have been added to an account through an RIT funded source. These funds may be subject to RIT’s taxable income reporting. Sponsored Dining Dollars are not considered a Meal Plan and do not satisfy the required meal plan policy. Sponsored Dining Dollars are not subject to the refund schedule.
   
• Student Financial Services: The Office of Student Financial Services is RIT’s central billing service center for tuition, fees, and other charges incurred by students.
   
• Tiger Bucks: A taxable electronic form of payment. Tiger Bucks may be used on or off campus at approved vendors. Tiger Bucks may be used to purchase food or beverages, or items other than food or beverages from approved vendors as well as all RIT Dining locations. An RIT ID or Tiger Pay (available only at RIT Dining locations) must be used to purchase goods with Tiger Bucks.
   
• Tiger Pay: Tiger Pay, found in Tiger Spend at tigerspend.rit.edu, utilizes mobile payment technology for in-person purchases from the student’s smartphone. Once a student logs into tigerspend.rit.edu, a unique barcode generates and will be scanned for in-person purchases at RIT Dining locations, Petals at the RIT Inn, The Market at 175 Jefferson, and select Tiger Buck partners.
   
• Tiger Spend: An online portal used to add Dining Dollars and Tiger Bucks to a student’s account as well as to check balances, view transaction history and request guest funds to be added to a dining account.
   
• Voluntary Block Meals: A non-taxable pre-determined increment of all-you-care-to-eat meals assigned to a student account for use only at Gracie's. Voluntary Block Meals can be purchased in addition to or without the benefit of a Meal Plan. Voluntary Block Meals will roll over from the fall semester to spring semester and will be forfeited at end of the spring semester. Voluntary Block Meals may be added through the Tiger Spend website. Students should note that Voluntary Blocks are not considered a Meal Plan and do not satisfy the required meal plan policy. Voluntary Blocks are not subject to the refund schedule. RIT Dining offers two Voluntary Block Meal increments from which students may choose.
   
• Voluntary Dining Dollars: Dining Dollars that can be purchased in addition to or without the benefit of a Meal Plan. Students may purchase Voluntary Dining Dollars through the Tiger Spend website or Tiger Spend Reload Stations. Students should note that Voluntary Dining Dollars are not considered a Meal Plan and do not satisfy the required meal plan policy. Voluntary Dining Dollars are not subject to the refund schedule.

Under this Agreement a student’s rights and privileges are non-transferable; they belong exclusively to the student and may not be assigned to anyone else on a temporary or permanent basis.

RIT Dining reserves the rights to collect payment through the student’s RIT Student Account for charges that may include but is not limited to: bad checks, disputed credit card charges or offline transactions. Payment will be collected through Student Financial Services.

For convenience, students may purchase, view, and manage their RIT Dining account online. Students may purchase Tiger Bucks and Dining Dollars by using a credit card. Students can log into their account using their official RIT username and password. Students should NOT reveal their password to anyone. Neither RIT Dining nor RIT is responsible for any unauthorized charges to a student’s account.

Official information regarding a student’s RIT ID card and RIT Dining accounts are sent via email to the student’s official university email account. RIT Dining reserves the right to contact all students who are on a RIT Meal Plan and all RIT card holders by mail, e-mail, or other electronic means regarding official information concerning RIT Meal Plans and associated programs. To ensure receipt of these emails, students may need to add dining@rit.edu to their address book. Students should note if they forward their RIT email to another email address, they may not receive this official information. Students may not opt out of receipt of this official information. If the notification emails are blocked, it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of official RIT Dining information.

Students may sign up for a RIT Meal Plan at mylife.rit.edu.

These Terms & Conditions supersede any and all prior RIT Dining Terms & Conditions. Upon reasonable notice, RIT Dining can modify the Terms & Conditions during the term of this agreement. The modality of instruction, and the start and end dates for each academic term instruction, on-campus housing and dining services, may vary from year to year.

Meal Plans > 

General Information

An account holder will not be required to pay New York State sales tax on a RIT Meal Plan or Dining Dollars purchase. Some non-food items are exempt from all discounts and require the collection of sales tax. The purchase of all non-food items, alcoholic beverages, or tobacco products with any portion of meal plans or Dining Dollars is strictly prohibited. If a student leaves the university before the end of the semester, their account may be subject to a New York State sales tax charge determined by the meal plan usage.

Required Meal Plans

RIT Dining meal plan participation is required for all students assigned to RIT Residence Halls, 175 Jefferson and the RIT Inn. If no meal plan is chosen by the student, any student needing a required meal plan will be issued and charged for the lowest plan available to them. The meal plan may be changed up until the Sunday before classes begin (please see Changes to Meal Plans) and can be upgraded to a higher cost meal plan at any time.

Upon signing an RIT Housing contract, a student’s Dining Dollar and Tiger Bucks account is opened and the account holder is immediately responsible for all transactions used and posted against their account. Students living in the RIT Residence Halls, 175 Jefferson or the RIT Inn are required to have a meal plan as follows:

First year students living in RIT Residence Halls are required to select either the Roar or Roar Plus Meal Plan. If a student does not select a meal plan, they will automatically be enrolled in the Roar Meal Plan.

First year students living at 175 Jefferson or the RIT Inn are required to select either the Roar, Roar Plus, Tiger or Orange Meal Plan. If a student does not select a meal plan, they will automatically be enrolled in the Tiger Meal Plan.

Commuter Meal Plans

Commuters (any student not residing in RIT residence halls, the RIT Inn or 175 Jefferson) may purchase an optional meal plan at any time in the semester. Students may sign up for a meal plan at myLife.rit.edu.

Block Meal Plans 

Block Meal Plans allow students the opportunity to purchase a fixed number of meals each semester, with one meal being deducted every time a student swipes their RIT ID card. Meals under a Block Meal Plan are redeemable only at Gracie’s and are forfeited at the end of each semester; they do not carry over. There is no limit to the amount of Block Meals a student may use in one day. Under a Block Meal Plan, students will also receive a set number of Guest Meals which they may use at Gracie’s only; as well as Dining Dollars, which students may use to purchase food in any RIT Dining establishment. Pricing includes a non-refundable administrative fee.

RIT Dining has two Block Meal Plan options from which students may choose:

• Roar 
  • Cost per semester $3,388
  • 50 Gracie's Meals
  • 3 Guest Meals
  • $2,500 Dining Dollars
• Roar Plus 
  • Cost per semester $3,700
  • 100 Gracie's Meals
  • 5 Guest Meals
  • $2,300 Dining Dollars
     

Tiger Bucks is another form of tender at RIT. It is subject to New York State tax laws and University Guidelines and Regulations. Tiger Bucks may be used to purchase food and non-food items (e.g. books, stationery, toiletries, art supplies, etc.) at approved on and off-campus vendors. There is no limit to the amount of Tiger Bucks that students may add to their account or spend in a day.

Tiger Bucks may not be used to purchase goods or services for resale and may not be converted to, traded, or exchanged to any other form of tender. Students cannot purchase Tiger Bucks with Dining Dollars.

Tiger Bucks carry over from semester to semester and remain active over university breaks and recesses. Except with respect to the funds described in the refunds section (please see Refunds for additional details), Tiger Bucks may not be converted to cash. Vendor refunds or merchandise returns made from Tiger Bucks purchases must be refunded in Tiger Bucks.

RIT Dining reserves the right to contact a customer and/or take action because of unusual activity on a customer account.

Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express deposits may be made to Voluntary Dining Dollars or Tiger Bucks accounts anytime by going online to Tiger Spend or through a Tiger Spend Reload Station. Verification of account balances may be made anytime by going to Tiger Spend, the RIT Dining Business Office, a cashier at any dining location, the RIT Inn, or a Tiger Spend Reload Station. Student accounts cannot be billed and must be paid in advance with cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express.

Reductions to meal plans may only be made up until the day before classes begin at the start of each academic semester (fall and spring). Changes to meal plans for the summer semester may only be made up until the first day of summer classes. Changes to meal plans must be made online at myLife.rit.edu. A student may upgrade their meal plan at any time with no added fees outside of the difference of the meal plan cost.

Dining Dollar balances cannot be transferred to a Tiger Bucks account. Tiger Bucks is a separate taxable declining balance program used to purchase food and non-food items at various retail outlets on and off campus.

Meal Plan/Dining Dollars Refunds

Refunds for canceled meal plans will be provided as follows:

Unused meal plans cannot be refunded unless a student takes a Leave of Absence (LOA), verified in writing from the academic department or the Registrar's Office, or is officially released from the University through 1) withdrawal (graduation does not constitute withdrawal); or 2) academic or disciplinary dismissal. Students may receive a partial refund on their meal plan in accordance with the Refund Schedule (see below) minus sales tax placed on the used portion of the meal plan. Rollover Dining Dollars, Voluntary Dining Dollars and Voluntary Block Meals are not considered an RIT Meal Plan and are non-refundable.

The refund schedule is based on the RIT Housing check out date or the last usage date on the student’s RIT Dining Accounts, whichever is later. Refunds will be applied to the student’s account at Student Financial Services. If there is any usage on a meal plan, students may see a New York State sales tax charge on their student account for the portion of Dining Dollars that was spent while on campus. Rollover Dining Dollars and Voluntary Dining Dollars are also subject to New York State sales tax charges.

Sponsored Dining Dollars, RA Meal Plans, Rollover Dining Dollars and Voluntary Dining Dollars are non-refundable and not subject to the refund schedule.

Block Meal Refunds 

Refunds of Block Meal Plans are issued in accordance with the refund schedule and are subject to proration. Block Meals cannot be refunded unless a student takes a Leave of Absence (LOA), verified in writing from the academic department or the Registrar's Office, or is officially released from the University through

• withdrawal (graduation does not constitute withdrawal); or
• academic or disciplinary dismissal. 

Students may see a New York State sales tax charge on their student account for any used portion of the meals under a Block Plan. Refunds will be applied directly to the student’s University account at Student Financial Services. Students may review all billing activity on their eServices account.

Refund Schedule
Refunds of Block Meal Plans are subject to charges at a daily rate. 

Tiger Bucks Refunds

Tiger Bucks may be refunded to students once they officially leave the University or by authorization of RIT Dining. If students officially leave the University without requesting a refund of their unused Tiger Bucks, RIT Dining will maintain the unused Tiger Bucks balance for three years. There is no expiration date, however, unused balances are remitted to New York State after 3 years in accordance with Article 13 of the NYS Abandoned Property Law.

RIT Dining gift cards are redeemable only for food and beverage items at all RIT Dining locations; it may not be redeemed for cash. Lost or stolen cards will not be replaced. There is no expiration date, however, unused balances are remitted to NYS after 5 years in accordance with Article 13 of the NYS Abandoned Property Law. RIT reserves the right to modify the terms of this card to comply with changes in applicable law.

RIT Dining Tiger Spend Reload Cards are redeemable at any location that accepts Tiger Bucks; it may not be redeemed for cash. Lost or stolen cards will not be replaced. There is no expiration date, however, unused balances are remitted to NYS after 5 years in accordance with Article 13 of the NYS Abandoned Property Law. RIT reserves the right to modify the terms of this card to comply with changes in applicable law.

Abandoned property is defined as any property held by the University that is unclaimed by its rightful owner. In the State of New York, universities are obligated to complete due diligence steps to attempt to contact the rightful owner of unclaimed property. If the owner of the unclaimed property is successfully contacted, they may outreach to RIT requesting an action of one of the following:

• Request to have funds restored
• Request a refund of funds
• Gift your balance to RIT
   

At the Rochester Institute of Technology, unclaimed credit balances on an RIT Tiger Bucks account are tracked and attempts to contact the account holder will be made. RIT will charge a monthly maintenance fee of $20.00 to all alumni account balances wherein there has been inactivity for twelve (12) consecutive months. The maintenance fee will be applied until the funds are either depleted, the account holder requests a refund and/or reactivates the account by making one or more purchases from the account, or the credit balance is remitted to New York State in accordance with NYS abandoned property procedures.

RIT holds unclaimed abandoned property for up to three years, after which time abandoned property is remitted to New York State.