On October 15, 2025, Columbia and Barnard Dining announced a new program that will encourage students to support the University by rounding up to the nearest dollar on any on-campus purchases made using Dining Dollars or Flex. Vice President of Dining Vicki Dunn framed the “Round Up for Columbia” program in a university-wide email as “an opportunity to show school pride and support the continuance of the University in the midst of attacks on higher education.” “Just think how an additional contribution of just a few more nickels and dimes could advance Columbia’s mission,” the Vice President said in an interview with The Columbia Federalist.
Some students have pushed back on the scheme as “cheap,” “tasteless,” and even “exploitative,” considering that Columbia’s endowment currently stands at $15 billion, and annual undergraduate tuition exceeds $96,000. Undergraduates appeared particularly concerned about the implementation of the program. Before declining the upcharge, which will remain optional, Barnard students will be required to swipe through a 6-page slideshow of the 77 staff members laid off in July, while Columbia students will have to click past a traumatic caricature of Roar-ee the Lion.
This change is part of the University’s efforts to increase funding and revenue in the face of recent financial setbacks. Columbia agreed in July to pay the Federal Government a fine of $221 Million, and other changes include the recent addition of a $3 fare on the George Washington Bridge/Fort Lee Shuttle, and a New York Times leak indicating that Columbia will implement a $2 ‘congestion fee’ at the 116th/Broadway entrance come November.
