Western Kentucky University’s Board of Regents will hear updates on next year’s housing and meal plan rates during the Finance and Budget Committee meeting Monday.

Gary Meszaros, who manages WKU’s dining services, said meal plan rates for 2016-17 have already been approved by the university’s president and Administrative Council.

When it comes to increases in meal plan rates, Meszaros said, “on average we try to keep it at 3 percent.”

Some on-campus meal plans are increasing past that average. Meszaros said a meal plan featuring 12 meals a week with 100 meal plan dollars is going up by 5.95 percent. The rate of a meal plan with 10 meals per week and 100 meal plan dollars is increasing by 5.51 percent.

Three commuter meal plan rates are staying the same, with all three plans costing $700 per semester. That’s also the case for the most popular plan among students, which offers 14 meals per week and 200 meal plan dollars.

Alexa Denson of Greenbrier, Tenn., will be a senior in the fall. She uses a commuter meal plan offering 50 meals per semester and 300 meal plan dollars.

Denson, who’s had different meal plans, said she’s “found it was easy for me to make the meal plans last.” She’s had a harder time managing her meal plan dollars, which she uses to purchase extra food.

As a student who’s gluten intolerant, Denson wants to see more grab-and-go options avaiable. That, along with changes to how food is packaged, would make on-campus dining more accessible to students with food allergies, she said.

Denson, who’s also lived on campus, described her experience living in Pearce Ford Tower as problem-free. It wasn’t until she moved into the more expensive Southwest Hall last year that she encountered technical issues, such as lack of hot water or leaks in the ceiling.

“It absolutely had way more problems than PFT did,” she said.

Students living in Pearce Ford Tower will also benefit from a new dining option called Freshens Fresh Food Studio.

“It’s gonna have a variety of fresh, healthy-looking foods,” said Meszaros, who described it as expanded version of Burrito Bowl.

Kit Tolbert, director of Housing and Residence Life, said other changes are also in store for Pearce Ford Tower. Tolbert said students living in the 27-story, all-female residence hall will live on floors devoted to separate colleges with programming devoting to different interests.

That means a group of biology students could live together and receive programming targeting the interests of those students, for example.

— Rates for residence halls are available at www.wku.edu/housing/halls/hall_rates.php.

— Rates for on-campus meal plans are available at www.wku.edu/wkurg/oncampus.php.

— Follow reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @aaron_muddbgdn or visit bgdailynews.com.

– Editor’s note: A previously published version of this story incorrectly identified the Finance and Budget Committee.