FRIDAY. DECEMBER 2. 2005
STUDENT FINANCES THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3A
Students with credit cards 1998 2000 2001 2004
Percentage of students with credit cards 67% 78% 83% 76%
Average number of credit cards per student 3.5 3.0 4.25 4.09
Percentage of students with four or more cards 27% 32% 47% 43%
Source: Nellie Mae
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4A
In response, Provost David Shulenburger recommended the current policy stating that credit card solicitation is not allowed on campus during the week before and the two weeks following the first day of each semester. Credit card providers must also give students information on responsible credit card use.
The University's policy meets the minimum requirements outlined by the Kansas Board of Regents.
Vendors can appear on campus only if sponsored by a student organization. Students from the sponsor group must accompany any outside commercial entity at all times on campus.
The company is required to give back to the student group in some way, often monetarily.
Ruben Perez, director of Student Involvement and Leadership Center, said that in the year and a half that he had been director no credit card companies had come to the campus.
The only time a credit card company had shown interest was during the period that the University bans solicitation, so it has not been an issue while he has been director, Perez said.
Students also get a lot of direct solicitation by mail. Diana Robertson, associate director of student housing, said the University had no control over mail delivered to on-campus housing.
Although the University doesn't give out student addresses to commercial entities, Assistant to the provost Jeannette Johnson said companies could use student directories as a way to find students' mailing
Knowledge is power
addresses.
Jennifer Cook, branch manager of Commerce Bank in the Kansas Union, said that student credit card debt was becoming a big problem. To help students avoid that debt, her bank conducts a seminar called Banking 101.
"We go over how you can choose them; some of the things you should ask about them," Cook said.
Cook said the seminar was intended to educate students about banking and credit card use.
Students will have enough debt coming out of college, and they don't need the additional debt incurred from irresponsible credit card usage, Cook said.
Taking its toll
Credit card debt is not the only kind of financial stress that students face. They must also worry about student loans and daily living expenses, said Pam Botts, associate director of Counseling and Psychological Services.
"They
"They use credit cards to try to meet their everyday needs," Botts said. "That quickly adds up and then it becomes a circular problem as those credit card debts climb."
Credit cards provide the illusion that it's easy to buy things without thinking ahead about the consequences of spending. Botts said.
"What students don't realize is how quickly that adds up and how hard it is to pay off," she said.
Jo Hardesty, director and managing attorney for Legal Services for Students, said she counseled students who were unable to keep up with paying bills or handle the minimum
CAPS counsels students for whom credit card debt is a tremendous cause of stress, she said. They've become buried in credit card debt and then don't have the resources to get themselves out.
Where to turn
payments.
Hardesty said students charged daily expenses, like eating out with friends, instead of reserving the card for emergencies. Using a credit card makes it difficult to monitor how much money is being spent and how quickly the debt adds up.
Students are more vulnerable because it seems like free money and they are just starting to learn about handling their own finances, she said.
"It's kind of out of sight, out of mind," she said.
"Partly the problem stems from the fact that they've never done it before." Hardestv said.
Hardesty said she thought it was better for students to seek out credit card companies than for companies to seek out students.
Getting back control
10 help students deal with
They try to negotiate with creditors to lower interest rates or close the account entirely. Sometimes they assess whether bankruptcy is an option.
"What we try to do is make a real assessment, show them what options there are and assist them in working with the creditors." Hardest said.
Students in trouble can turn to financial counselors like Baker and Hardesty, but others like Ault rely on parents for assistance. Ault said that she was lucky to have her parents help her pay off the debt she accumulated.
"Next time they said they won't bail me out." Ault said.
Veatch had some words of wisdom for other students with credit cards.
"My parents always taught me that you don't want to charge anything unless you know you can pay it off immediately," she said. "Don't spend money you don't have."
- Edited by Erin Wisdom and Jayme Wiley
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