October 6, 2009
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News: Stanford Launches New Card Plan
New credit card laws prohibit lenders from marketing their products on college campuses. Many students use credit cards to fund their education and, therefore, many students will need to find alternative methods to help subsidize student loans. Universities have begun taking steps to help set up lending opportunities for students while staying within the guidelines of the law. The Stanford Daily reported on the newest program at Stanford University in California as it launched its new program the StanfordCardPlan. The new card functions like a credit card and has a $1,000 limit. The card statement will be automatically sent to the parents/guardian of the student. The card replaces the previous prepaid account program and will enable students to pay for printing off of the university's computers, make purchases at the Stanford operated bookstores and dining facilities.
Stanford's Student Financial Services set the $1,000 credit card limit based on the estimated average amount of money needed for books, supplies, printing, and copying. Since the implementation of the program a month ago, bookstore expenditures have amounted to the greatest amount. Although not the highest in dollars, the highest transaction volume has been for printing and copying at the library. Mansoor Rahman, Compliance Officer and Interim Director of Student Financial Services explained to the Stanford Daily the philosophy behind the development of the new credit card. According to Rahman, the university wanted to help students fund "education related purchases."
The recommendation for the new Stanford CardPlan was made to the Student Financial Policy Advisory Committee earlier in the year at a time when student debt issues became one of the major focuses of the new credit card reform legislation. In less than a month, over 3,000 students have enrolled in the new plan and it is expected a majority of the students will soon follow. Rahman told the Daily that students have received the card well.