Meal Plan Faq

If you live on campus in a residence hall (other than Bobcat Village) you are required to have a Resident Dining Plan (Bronze Option 1 or higher) for each semester you live on campus. 

 Anyone registered as a current Texas State student (regardless of living arrangements) can purchase an On-Campus Meal Plan. 

Faculty and Staff may purchase an Off-Campus (Build Your Own) Meal Plan, if they wish.

If you live on campus, an On-Campus Meal Plan is required to fulfill your housing contract.

Sign up for an On-Campus Meal Plan here:  https://tim.txstate.edu/mealplan/Home/Meal-Plan-Selection

Sign up for an Off-Campus Meal Plan here: https://dineoncampus.com/for-facultystaff

Please sign into the Meal Plan Portal with your Net ID and password.

If you selected a resident dining plan the charges will be added to your student bill, along with housing charges, tuition, and fees.  These bills are available online beginning May 1 for the Summer term, August 1 for the Fall term, and December 1 for the Spring term.

You may see your bill and make payment online via CatsWeb or in person through Student Business Services.

Your BobcatCard is swiped at all dining locations to use your meals, dining dollars, and Bobcat Buck$ (if you have deposited funds to your card).

You can change your resident dining plan from one plan to another plan type through the Meal Plan Portal.  Use your Net ID and password to login.

Changes to Fall and Spring semester dining plans must be done by the end of the 12th class day (census day). 

Dining Dollars are included as part of your meal plan and can only be used at on campus dining locations.

Bobcat Buck$ is an optional plan which allows you to deposit funds onto your BobcatCard HERE for use at on campus dining facilities, campus Coke machines, select departments on campus, and off campus merchants around town.

Visit ID Services for a complete listing of Bobcat Buck$ merchants.

You can either purchase a commuter meal plan* through Dining Services, or you can add Bobcat Buck$, which function like Dining Dollars with two differences.  They can be used at several locations off campus and they do not ever expire.

Please be aware: commuter meal plans 20 and 30 do NOT utilize retail swipes (meal equivalencies). Retail Swipes are reserved for commuter meal swipes 40, 50, and 80 and all resident dining plans. 

* There are no rollovers of remaining dining dollars or meal swipes with commuter plans.  Commuter meal plans must be paid for online using a debit or credit card and may not be added to a student bill.

• You can purchase a Dining Dollar only commuter plan (available in options of $50, $100, $150, $200, $250, $300, $400, or $500 only) through Dining Services with a debit or credit card.
• You can purchase Bobcat Buck$ online with a debit or credit card and they function just like dining dollars, except they can also be used off campus and they never expire.

*Remaining dining dollars on a commuter meal plan never rollover.

They can be used at Commons or Harris dining hall for 1 meal swipe.

Additional guest passes cannot be purchased separately.  If you exhaust all of your guest passes you can use your dining dollars or Bobcat Buck$ to pay the applicable door rate at Harris or Commons, or to make a purchase at the food court locations.

When you opt to eat at a food court location (such as Pizza Hut or Panda Express) you are trading one meal swipe for $8.39 worth of credit towards a la carte purchases.  If your purchase exceeds $8.39, then the extra can be paid using dining dollars, Bobcat Buck$, credit, or cash.

Be aware the retail swipes (meal equivalencies) are limited according to the plan type you have.  They range from 3 time per week to two times per day, depending on the plan you selected. 

You can use your Net ID and password to login to GET online or download the free App for iOS and Android.

Resident dining plans include at least 120 meals or more and dining dollars of $300 or more and are sold by the University.  They are designed for those who live on campus or those who are on campus for extended periods of time and wish to remain on campus for food and snacks.

Commuter meal plans are plans containing smaller combinations of meals and/or dining dollars for those wishing to eat on campus occasionally.  These plans are sold by Dining Services and must be paid for with a debit or credit card at the time of purchase. 

Please be aware: Commuter meal plans 20 and 30 do NOT utilize retail swipes (meal equivalencies). Retail Swipes are reserved for commuter meal swipes 40, 50, and 80 and all resident dining plans. 

 Meal swipes purchased as part of a commuter meal plan can ONLY be used at Harris or Commons dining hall.

Resident dining plans are managed and sold directly by the University.  The University bills students for products and services through the student bill.

Commuter meal plans are sold and managed by Dining Services, and therefore are not eligible to be added to the student bill.

ID Services can answer your questions relating to meal plans or their charges.  They can be emailed at IDServices@txstate.edu (make sure and include your student ID number) or you can contact them by phone at 512-245-2297.

If you have questions relating to a commuter meal plan, please contact Dining Services at 512-245-9930.

Rollovers are any remaining meals or dining dollars you have on your resident dining plan at the end of the Fall semester. 

If you have a Bronze, Silver, or Gold plan any remaining meals will roll over to the Spring semester as long as you purchase another resident plan for the Spring.

If you have a Platinum plan any remaining dining dollars will roll over to the Spring semester as long as you purchase another resident plan for the Spring.

Rollovers can be used after your Spring plan is exhausted.  Rollovers DO NOT apply to commuter meal plans.

Meal plans are meant to last only one semester.  If your Fall meal plan is inadequate and you need a smaller or larger meal plan for the Spring semester, you do not have to have the same meal plan for both semesters. 

You will be able to change the Spring meal plan in the Meal Plan Portal when the time frame for Spring selections is available.

For the purposes of retail swipes (meal equivalencies) limited to 3 or 7 per week, the week resets at 2 am CST each Monday. 

This means if you have a Bronze plan and used 2 retail swipes (meal equivalencies) on Wednesday, then you have one remaining retail swipe (equivalency) with your plan before 2 am on Monday.  Beginning at 2:01 am on Monday, you will have three new retail swipes (meal equivalencies) to use for the week, until the following Monday at 1:59 am.

If you do not use all of your retail swipes (meal equivalencies) during the day/week in which they were intended for use, you cannot save them up for a future day/week. The plans which have daily limits are reset each day at 2:00 am CST.  The plans which have weekly limits are reset each Monday at 2:00 am CST.