Illinbucks

The first thought that came to my mind when I thought about the concept of Illinibucks was Illini Cash. Illini Cash is a convenient way for students at UIUC to make purchases through their I-card instead of cash or debit card. Illini Cash is accepted in various locations such as dining halls, campus recreation, restaurants specifically located on campus, and printing stations. However, in contrast to Illinibucks, the campus would not have to administer a pre-specified price because it would hold the same value as actual money.

Having to set a specific value on cutting in line, I had trouble thinking of a way to appropriately analyze the price of Illinibucks. With that being said, ways that Illinibucks could be used would be cutting in line for dining halls, room at libraries, career fair, sporting events, and registering for classes. One way that I thought about analyzing the prices was to administer surveys. In the survey students would be asked how they would use Illinibucks and how often they would use it. However, I felt that this was somewhat unrealistic because not many students would know how they would practically use Illinibucks and their guesses on the surveys would not serve as an accurate way to set prices and would be too costly. Another way that prices could be analyzed would be through having a “trial period” for Illinibucks. For a certain period of time, a set amount of Illinibucks will be given to all the students and we can keep track of where and how often they use their Illinibucks.

When setting the prices, balance is crucial in that we want the students be motivated to spend the Illinibucks while not making it accessible. If the prices were set too low, there would be no need for Illinibucks. Too many students would utilize it because demands would far outweigh the supply and there would essentially be another first come first serve situation. If the prices were set too high, not many students would be able to utilize it and many services would remain in the same first come first serve situation.

Personally, I would utilize Illinibucks towards educational purposes, specifically to sign up for classes. Being an incoming second semester Junior, there are a lot of classes I need and want to take before graduating. Being able to use Illinibucks would not only save a lot of time but allow me to maximize my education at UIUC as I’m not constrained to only take certain classes because of the capacity. Another way I would use Illinibucks would be at lines in career fairs. At the career fair, the more well-known companies have a long line and many times, I don’t end up having the time to speak to recruiters from all the companies I wanted to go to. Through Illinibucks, I will be able to maximize my time at the career fair and allow me to build the necessary connections to obtain a job in the future.

However, I know that different students have different preferences and not all students would want or need to use their Illinibucks towards their education. I could see many students using their Illinibucks towards recreational activities such as sporting events or music events. This would benefit the students in that there would be shorter waiting time and they would be able to get the seats that they want. In addition, Illinibucks would be very convenient for students who are in a rush as it can be used to cut in lines for dining halls and rooms for libraries.

Overall, I think that Illinibucks is a great and convenient idea, but it would be harder to administer a set price for it.