Unlike previous years, incoming students who plan to live on campus will no longer be offered a free mini-fridge for their dorm rooms.

Instead, the UA has implemented a new residence life program that will offer students an opportunity to rent both a microwave and refrigerator to keep in their dorms.

The Microfridge, will be offered for $214 per academic year by Collegiate Concepts, Inc., a private company working with Residence Life.

Students may bring their own mini-fridge and microwave as long as the appliances compare to the measurements of the Microfridge.

The new program is a way to keep rates low for students paying for on-campus housing, as maintenance and replacement costs for refrigerators was becoming costly, said Alex Blandeburgo, director of residential facilities at Residence Life.

“I think it’s a great service,” Blandeburgo said. “And it’s an option. It’s not something that you have to have.”

If students order the Microfridge by Aug. 8, they can receive a $20 discount and have it installed in their room by the time they move in, Blandeburgo said.

In the past, a mini-fridge has been included in each room. Though the mini-fridge was smaller than the one being offered by Collegiate Concepts, the cost was also previously included in the price of the dorm room.

Some students said they don’t mind the idea of renting a fridge because of its bigger size and the fact that it comes with both a freezer and a microwave.

Kevin Paulson, a pre-journalism freshman, said the Microfridge sounds like a good alternative that isn’t overly expensive. His parents, however, said they were looking forward to the free mini-fridge and were disappointed to hear of the new program.

Other students were also disappointed to hear they would have to either rent or buy their own mini-fridge this year.

AJ Argueta, an agriculture education freshman, said he expected to have a mini-fridge in his dorm already, since he had heard from friends that the UA provided them.

“I would rather have the free one,” Argueta said. “I don’t have a mini-fridge just lying around.”

Gaelen Isaacson, a psychology sophomore who lived in Yavapai Residence Hall last year, said the mini-fridge he was provided with was big enough for him and his roommate to share. The new program, Isaacson added, seems to benefit the university more than it does the students.

“I do not understand why the default is now no fridge rather than the inferior fridge,” Isaacson said. “This seems more like a cost-saving measure.”