With college enrollment being an issue across the country, Eastern is currently using numerous resources to investigate the best way to appeal to high school seniors and transfer students.

Mark Hudson, the director of University Housing and Dining Services, said Eastern has committees that focus on boosting its enrollment.

“Last year the Board of Trustees approved a request from (President Bill Perry) to open up adjoining states to receive in-state tuition to have a bigger pool to draw from,” Hudson said.

Eastern’s number one priority is to make sure it is maximizing its enrollment number, he said.

He said the university is also implementing ways to save money in environmentally conscious ways , such as incorporating trayless dining in Thomas and Taylor Dining Halls.

“People piled on food because they can, not necessarily because they would ever eat that much,” he said.

Other universities that eliminated trays from their dining halls experienced smaller food waste percentages.

In a 2008 report, USA Today said New York University found each student, while using trays, would waste an average of 4.03 ounces of food.

“The national studies show that your food waste goes down by a third because there is less they can take,” Hudson said. “Our mantra is ‘take what you want but eat what you take.'”

Carman Dining Hall went trayless at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year and while there was some resistance at first, students adapted well, he said.

Time reported that when the University of Maine-Farmington removed dining trays from its dining centers, it reduced its food waste by 65,000 pounds and saved 288,288 gallons of water.

The school’s enrollment is only 2,000.

Hudson also said Eastern is trying to appeal to students who are not from the United States.

“There have been adjustments to the international student rates so they aren’t paying as high a multiplier for their education,” he said.

Even with enrollment down, meal plans are still popular among those living both on campus and off campus.

Forty-five percent of Eastern’s campus uses the 12-swipe meal plan and the 10-swipe meal plan is the least popular among students, he said.

Eastern will also be saving an estimated $3,000 from closing Carman Dining Hall during the weekends.

“We want to stress to the (students) that it will ultimately benefit because as much as we can save, the better it will serve them,” Hudson said.

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-2812 or ovogunbodede@eiu.edu.