Report of the Rutgers University Senate
Student Affairs Committee and Executive Committee
Student Financial Management and Credit-Card Debt

 

Response to Revised Charge S-9902a: Explore the issues and problems associated with student financial management, which may include: understanding of the general principals of financial management; credit-card accumulation and use, and the short- and long-term implications thereof; controlling debt; reviewing personal credit reports; savings and retirement goals; and financial independence. Determine what university policies or programs exist to: provide opportunities for financial-management education; regulate or restrict marketing of, or solicitation for, credit cards on campus. Make recommendations for new or revised policies or programs to achieve those goals.

Background - Reasons for Concern

College students present a unique target population for issuers of credit cards: although most college students do not earn sizable incomes, their future potential for earnings are enormous. This may also make them particularly vulnerable to offers of credit; many students take the cards intending to use them only in an emergency while they are in college, but it is all too easy to use the cards for everyday or impulse purchases which cannot readily be afforded. The NJ PIRG Report notes the following:

"Believe it or not, credit card companies want your business so badly they're offering much more than trinkets and soda. While you’re a student, they'll let you apply for credit cards without jobs or income! You can apply for credit cards even with a blank credit reports, even without getting a loan co-signer. No other consumers can get cards this way, only college students. (For example, recent graduates who don’t have jobs yet and messed up their credit reports by not paying their bills while they were in college have very little chance of getting a new card, unless they get a co-signer or secure the card with a deposit.)." Prudent use of credit requires a degree of financial awareness, education, and responsibility which often comes only with experience. Unfortunately, the experience generating the awareness is often one of unmanageable credit-card debt, ruined credit histories, involvement with collection agencies, or even bankruptcy. It is clear that a well-designed and applied program of education regarding the short- and long-term implications of credit-card use and general principles of financial management (including budgeting, prudent use of credit, savings, and even retirement goals) could help students become financially responsible. It is also a logical extension of formal college education and pursuit of a degree which, to many, is the means to greater income and a financially stable future.

Students are barraged by offers of credit. They may receive offers of credit cards by mail, or from representatives of marketing companies who visit campus. Marketing companies often offer free gifts for filling out credit-card applications, and hire students to staff tables set up on campus. These students are often paid by the number of applications completed, and may be very aggressive in their solicitations. Given the extent of the national problem, many universities have taken steps to restrict credit-card solicitations on their campuses, or to regulate the tactics that may be used to encourage students to apply.

At Rutgers, each college has policies governing whether and under what circumstances vendors may solicit students to fill out credit card applications on their campus. For example, the "Credit Card Solicitation Policies At Rutgers University and Other Institutions" page at Rutgers’ Office of Compliance and Student Policy Concerns website indicates, in part, the following:

"Camden Campus: Any type of vendor may rent table space in the Camden Student Center for a fee of $50.00. The Center limits the number of vendors per day but does not prohibit the solicitation of credit cards.

College Avenue Campus/Busch Campus: Student organizations and Rutgers University Departments may sponsor vendors to sell products and services as a fund raiser for the organization. The Rutgers and Busch Student Centers do not directly rent space to credit card (or any other) vendors. [Rates quoted per-table, per-day.] The student organization or department sponsoring the sale must receive a minimum of 15% of the daily gross sales from the vendor (more if possible) and the cost of the contract table rental fee.

Newark Campus: The only provision we have in the Robeson Ctr. on the Nwk Campus is a $35.00 fee must be paid by each vendor. We limit the number of credit card vendors per day (2). Student group sponsorship is not required, and we do not allow the vendors to harass the students in an attempt to encourage them to sign up."

However, college policies most often concern only vendor access to student centers. In the last several years, many vendors have moved from the student centers to academic buildings. Since most classroom buildings have no regular staff, credit-card vendors have seldom been challenged when setting up in this manner. The students staffing these tables may be very aggressive in trying to get students to fill out applications, and students have complained to building staff about the behavior of some solicitors.

Curbing credit-card debt among college students will require a two-part solution. Most critically, students need to be better educated in the matter of fiscal responsibility and the consequences of credit card use and misuse. Second, the easy availability, which leads students to acquire multiple cards, and often, multiple debts, should be reduced. The resolutions outlined below address both classes of solution.

 
RECOMMENDATIONS

Education

Controlling Access  
RESOLUTION

Whereas, Student Financial Management and Credit-Card Debt are important issues facing students at Rutgers and elsewhere; and,

Whereas, the Rutgers University Senate Student Affairs and Executive Committees have considered these issues, and developed a report and recommendations based on their findings; and,

Whereas, the report and its recommendations seek to increase the level of student financial-management awareness and availability of related education programs;

THEREFORE, Be It Resolved, that the Rutgers University Senate accepts and endorses the Report on "Student Financial Management and Credit-Card Debt," and urges the administration to implements its recommendations.

 

Student Affairs Committee Membership                              Senate Executive Committee Membership