This time in CMU history: Residence halls start using Study Bucks
On this day in history, Jan. 23, 1998, Central Michigan Life reported on the start of the Study Bucks program.
The program, a campus-wide idea that offers incentives to students for studying, was started by Cobb Hall Residence Hall Director Shawn Dwyer. The article reported she got the idea from her staff and some reading she had done in her textbook.
The basic premise of the program was when a student was “caught” studying by residence hall staff, they were given a study buck. Students then turned the buck into their RHD. Through the program, they were eligible for prizes in a weekly drawing where they could win anything from t-shirts to money for use in the Down Under Food Court.
A monthly drawing winner could win dinner with a professor at a local restaurant. Prizes for the yearly drawing included a free refrigerator or microwave rental or $150 of books from the University Center bookstore.
Hall staff were also eligible for prizes.
All the funding for the program came from Residence Life with some discounts from local businesses. Dwyer stated in the article she felt the program was good for relations between hall residents and hall staff.
