Frequently Asked Questions
Special Dietary Needs
Connections Account
- How can I track my Connections/Privileges account balances?
- Can I use my Connections/Privileges Account at off campus restaurants?
- Can I use my Connections/Privileges account to pay at the campus parking lot?
- Can I use my Connections/Privileges account at campus vending machines?
- Can I buy school, art, lab, and computer supplies (like printer cartridges) with my Connections/Privileges Account?
- When is my Connections account balance refunded?
Meal Plan
- How do I sign up for a meal plan?
- How do I change my meal plan?
- Are meal plans mandatory?
- What is “unlimited access”?
- Are meal plans refundable?
- What are Dining Dollars used for?
- Can I bring a guest to eat with me?
- How many guest passes do I get?
- Can I use my unlimited access and Dining Dollars to pay for a guest?
- Can I buy more guest passes?
- Is takeout allowed from the residential dining facilities (Neubig Dining & The Bistro)?
- I live off campus. Can I purchase an on-campus meal plan?
- What if I am too sick to go to the Dining Hall to use my meal plan?
- How do I manage my Dining Dollars?
Food Safety
Special Dietary Needs
Please contact our Nutritionist or Director of Dining Services to set up an appointment or call 607-753-5773.
Connections Account
- View your balance online - click Quick Links at the top of this screen and select Add Funds to Connections/Privileges or See Meal Plan Balances
- Ask any food service cashier for your balances
- You can check your balance at the Business Office in Neubig Hall
Yes, at participating restaurants.
Yes. We accept Connections/Privileges accounts, cash and credit/debit cards.
Yes, just swipe your ID card. Discounts do not apply.
Yes. You may use your Connections/Privileges account at the Campus Store, Neubig Hall.
We refund Connections balances by check for accounts with balances of $25 or more when requested. There is a waiting period to reopen an account that has been refunded. Contact the Business Office, Neubig Hall.
Meal Plan
- On campus: You don’t need to do anything. All on-campus students are enrolled automatically in the Silver Plus Plan, which is covered under “Room and Board” on your tuition bill. Choosing a plan is easy. Just select how many Dining Dollars you need for the semester.
- Off campus: Off-campus and West Campus students may select any on-campus or off-campus meal plan or set up a Connections account.
- Log onto myRedDragon
- Select the Student Online tab
- Select the “Main Menu” link in the Residence Life and Housing Channel
- This will bring you to the main Residential Services menu where there is a link for: “Upgrade or downgrade on campus mean plan/Add off-campus meal plan”
- The deadline for changing your meal plan is the second Friday of the first two weeks of classes by 4:30 p.m. NOTE: You can change your meal plan online only once. To make further changes, contact the Business Office in Neubig Hall by calling 607-753-2430 or by emailing jessica.baker03@cortland.edu.
Yes. SUNY Cortland Residence Life Policy mandates meal plans for all on-campus students
You can visit the residential dining facilities (Neubig Dining & The Bistro) as often as you like. There is no counting meals or running out of meals during the semester. Meals are for your use only.
A meal plan is non-taxable in NYS. This is a significant savings on the cost of this service. In order to meet this non-taxable eligibility, the meal plan contract must be for a contractual length of time and not be refundable. This means that meals and Dining Dollars must be used in the semester in which they are purchased or they are forfeited. The cost of the meal plan is not refundable at the end of the semester.
Except for reasons of dismissal or withdrawal from college, no refunds will be authorized after the close of business on the Friday of the second full week of classes.
The New York State Sales code governs the term for tax-exempt dining plan refunds. The code stipulates that qualified refunds for tax-exempt plans will be based on time criteria and not plan utilization. Refunds are prorated for the time remaining on the plan from the following Friday to the end of the current dining plan schedule. Refunds for the declining balance portion of the plans are prorated for the time remaining in the current dining schedule, or the full balance on hand if such value is lower than the prorated amount.
Meal plan refunds are coordinated with the SUNY Cortland Student Accounts Office. The dining plan refund will be applied to any balance or debt owed to the College or Cortland Auxiliary. No meal refunds are issued after the 10th week of class.
If you withdraw from school, contact the Customer Service Office at 607-753-2430 for information on canceling your meal plan.
To purchase food in any retail dining facility (a-la-carte pricing) or to purchase entrance into a residential unit.
Remember these guidelines:
Dining Dollars are for your use only; you cannot use them for a guest.
* Please note that due to COVID-19 precautions, guest passes can only be utilized within the university community and can only be used for SUNY Cortland students, faculty, and staff. Using guest passes for visitors is suspended temporarily.
All campus meal plans include Neubig Dining & The Bistro guest passes. You can normally use them for friends or visitors. Use them or lose them: Guest passes do not carry over from semester to semester.
Information for plans and number of guest passes each includes.
No. Meal plans, in accordance with NY State Sales Tax laws, are non-transferable. That means you’re the only one who can use your unlimited access and Dining Dollars.
That doesn’t mean you can’t cover meals for a guest! Just use your guest passes in Neubig Dining or The Bistro. You may also pay with a Connections account, cash, or with a credit or debit card.
No. You’ll have to use your Connections account, cash, a credit or debit card to pay for meals once your passes are gone.
* Due to COVID-19 seating reductions in residential dining, takeout is being allowed temporarily.
Neubig Dining and The Bistro are unlimited access, residential dining facilities, and takeout is not normally available. Takeout service is available at all retail units.
Yes. Choose any meal plan offered. Dining Services recommends an off-campus meal plan for students who prefer light grab-and-go meals. On-campus meal plans will benefit those who plan to eat often on campus and with friends.
Please contact your Residence Hall Director. They will have you sign a form giving permission for someone to use your meal card to purchase a meal for you. The cashier will keep the form as a record of your authorized use.
1. Think of Dining Dollars as your takeout money. Use them for extra beverages, snacks or an occasional meal in the retail units.
2. Manage how much you spend each week. Give yourself a weekly amount that will last the entire semester.
3.Check your balance. Ask a cashier, use GET Funds or use the Dining Dollar Estimator (available at the cashier stations).
4. Match your meal plan to your needs.