Des Moines Register
10-30-07
University students differ on credit cards
ISU and UNI leaders support the marketing of credit cards on campus,
but U of I representatives criticize the practice.
By CLARK KAUFFMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
The University of Iowa needs to eliminate school-sanctioned, on-campus
marketing of credit cards, student leaders told state lawmakers Monday.
However, student leaders at Iowa State University and the University of
Northern Iowa expressed support for their schools' marketing of universitybranded credit cards from Bank of America.
The Iowa Legislature's Government Oversight Committee heard from student
leaders at the three state universities. The committee is expected to hear from
university and alumni leaders today.
At UNI, Bank of America has not marketed cards to students for the past five
months. At ISU and the U of I, the schools and their alumni associations are
contractually obligated to facilitate marketing aimed at students.
The presidents of those two schools recently said they would like to see those
marketing practices stopped.
Student leaders at all three schools expressed concern that their contact
information is shared with Bank of America pursuant to the bank's contracts with
the schools' alumni associations.
State records show that the U of I has promised to give its alumni association
access to not only information that is considered public under state law, but also
to unspecified "nonpublic information" that is off-limits to the average citizen.
The bank's access to that information is guaranteed by the contracts among the
school, the alumni group and the bank.
At ISU, the school is obligated to turn over "updated and current lists containing
names, postal addresses and, when available, telephone numbers" of everyone
who purchases either a single-game ticket or season ticket to a football or
basketball game. The school has also agreed that it will "not provide to others
any information about any current or potential athletic mailing lists" for the
purpose of credit card marketing.
The U of I student leaders recently passed a resolution that calls for limits on
misleading credit practices on campus. The group says the university-approved
practice of handing out gifts in exchange for a credit card application has skewed
the "students' ability to make smart choices based on what the card offers
financially."
Although the primary users of university-branded cards are alumni, students
represent a lucrative opportunity for lenders.
The students typically have much lower credit limits, but they often pay higher
interest rates and are more likely to incur fees and penalties that generate
additional profits for the bank.
Reporter Clark Kauffman can be reached at (515) 284-8233 or
ckauffman@dmreg.com