Colleges' debit-card deals draw scrutiny

[flashl]

The ID card at Portland State University in Oregon has long been the key to campus life, allowing students to check out books, get into buildings and access their meal plans. A few years ago, the school created another use for the IDs: buying books and school supplies.

Students just had to activate their ID as a debit card by opening a bank account promoted by the university. The school, under an exclusive deal with a bank, earned money when students swiped their cards and signed for a purchase. It also profited based on how much money students kept in their accounts.

Hundreds of students protested, angry that the school was promoting a bank account they felt cost students more than other banking options. Their objections now are being echoed by a growing number of consumer groups and college students across the nation. They argue that universities are profiting at students' expense through exclusive debit card and checking account deals that can net a school hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

...

Such concerns are beginning to draw attention from state officials.

USA Today

[DS1]

1. If they're anything like the dipshits at my school

They'll lose their cards and have their accounts wiped out once a week.

[madeline_con]

2. To add insult to injury, the schools'

bookstoores charge higher amounts for books than Amazon or Half.com, Abebooks or a lot of the other text sources out there.