Residential Programs and Services temporarily extended I-BUCKS to last until the end of the academic year due to ongoing dining renovations.
I-BUCKS previously rolled over for two semesters. After a meeting in November, RPS decided to allow students with leftover I-BUCKS to use them through the end of the school year, Interim Executive Director Lukas Leftwich said.
“The majority of them were first-semester sophomores that might have had trouble spending down their balance,” Leftwich said. “We thought it would be a good gesture to allow them to have the rest of this academic year.”
Leftwich said the extension is not a policy change. In the fall, I-BUCKS will once again only last two semesters. He said the decision was made to help students affected by limited on-campus housing this year.
RPS announced the extension via social media and email, but it’s hard to contact students once they are not living with RPS, Leftwich said. Some students were left unaware of the extension.
Sophomore Grace Moster said she went to a campus convenience store last semester to spend her I-BUCKS, thinking they wouldn't be available spring semester.
“I feel like you pay for those I-BUCKS, and it’s your money” Moster said. “It’s kinda unfair that they take the I-BUCKS away.”
Sophomore Madeline Dederichs, IU Student Government director of student life, said in meetings with RPS, she voiced her concerns about the length of time students could use their I-BUCKS.
“I started to see a lot of my friends have hundreds of I-BUCKS left and I kept on reminding them that’s your money that’s about to get canceled out,” Dederichs said.
Junior Andrew Lamparski said he had to plan out how he was going to use his I-BUCKS to not waste them. He said he often bought lunches and dinners for his friends. Lamparski still has I-BUCKS remaining in his account because he was unaware they would carry over to this semester.
“I wish they had made that clear because I didn’t even realize I could still buy things with my old I-BUCKS this semester,” Lamparski said.
