The General Affairs Team (GAT) for the Kyung Hee University (KHU) Global Campus hosted a meeting to reveal the cafeteria evaluation results on October 24, 2024, at the Central Library of the campus. With the lead by the GAT, various participants joined the meeting, including Global Campus’s General Student Association: the Running, several Student Center Cafeteria Management Committee (SCCMC) members, and the staff and the manager of Riaeni La Matinee: the company providing meals in the cafeterias on the campus. KHU media outlets, The University Life, Daehakjubo, and Voice of University of Global Campus, were also present. The meeting took place to finalize the evaluation score and determine whether Riaeni La Matinee will continue the operation at the Student Center next year.

The meeting for revealing the cafeteria evaluation results

Context and Purpose of the Cafeteria Evaluation

The cafeteria evaluation is part of the contract signed between the GAT and Riaeni La Matinee in January 2023, allowing the company to provide meals at the Student Center. According to the contract, Riaeni La Matinee must undergo an interim evaluation to determine whether the contract will be extended. Based on this provision, the cafeteria evaluation was conducted from October 10 to 17 to assess two key criteria: the committee evaluation and the user satisfaction survey.

Processing the Evaluation Results

The evaluation results were revealed in the meeting as the survey participants reached a meaningful number that was stated in the contract: 200. The number of survey participants this October went far beyond expectation, with 1,560 valid responses received from students, staff, and the others who had a meal at the cafeteria.

Calculating the committee evaluation score

As the condition for revealing was met, the GAT processed the results of the evaluation in real-time and presented them to the meeting participants. For the committee evaluation, in which nine participants sent the results by post, they opened the envelopes and calculated the total and average scores on the spot. For the user satisfaction survey, the team presented the survey answers and processed data on a shared screen. They excluded the invalid votes and tidied the data to extract the scores for each category and its average scores. Finally, they combined the scores from two key criteria to determine the final score: the user satisfaction survey accounting for 70% and the committee evaluation for the remaining 30%.

Processing the user satisfaction survey data

As a result, the final score did not meet the requirement for a contract extension. Riaeni La Matinee scored 29.2 and 32.197 in the committee evaluation and the user satisfaction survey, respectively, resulting in 8.76 and 22.54 when adjusted to their ratios. Combining these results, the final score turned out to be 31.30, which falls significantly short of the 70 points, the required score for an extension. Therefore, Riaeni La Matinee’s operation at the Student Center will end on December 31, 2024.

The Meanings Behind the Evaluation Results

Previously, the number of participants in the user satisfaction survey had never reached the target. The GAT has conducted surveys since the first semester of 2023; however, responses remained below 200, recording 147, 172, and 113 participants for each respective semester. This led the SCCMC to set a rule for extending the survey period if the target is not met. However, this time, the number of participants exceeded expectations, implying the KHU community paid significant attention to this issue.

Despite the high number of participants, the survey score was disappointing. In the last three surveys, the average scores were 70, 57.8, and 69.5, whereas this time, the score was nearly halved. The survey results suggest that Riaeni La Matinee has lost credibility among the KHU community.

These results may be attributed to recent issues that occurred during the evaluation period. In the fifth SCCMC meeting held on October 17, the GAT pointed out that they had discovered hygiene problems in the kitchen and expired ingredients being used for cooking.

Considerations for the Contract Expiration

Although the decision not to extend the contract is attributed to the KHU community’s demand, there are several considerations regarding the expiration. For example, negligence of the operation could be a concern since there is no system to pressure Riaeni La Matinee to provide a better service. 

Kwak Chun-gon, the current manager of Riaeni La Matinee at KHU, stated that they have already committed to the GAT that such issues will not occur. He said, "I believe that preventing hygiene issues and improving meal quality are basic responsibilities we have as a meal provider. We will address the issues previously pointed out and continue hosting meal events as we have done."

As the contract is coming to an end, the GAT needs to find a new company willing to operate at the university. Generally, meal provision is less profitable in university settings. Kwak explained, "When we provide meals at a company, they usually offer significant support, such as covering rental fees and electricity bills. However, universities typically provide less operational support, and meal prices are also lower. This is why, as far as I know, larger companies tend to avoid providing meals in universities." Given these structures, finding a new company with the high-quality service might be a significant challenge after the contract expiration.

The KHU community expressed dissatisfaction with Riaeni La Matinee's operation at the Student Center through the evaluation, leading to the decision not to extend the contract. Although the results reflect the majority's demand, there are still several considerations regarding the contract's expiration. Given the current situation, addressing potential issues like operational negligence and finding a new meal provider will be significant challenges for improving student welfare services.