Credit Card Marketing on Campus

Posted by: Meredith K. | Apr 22,2008


One of the things that isn’t talked about much is just why school administrators look to credit card companies to get some extra cash for the yearly budget.  It’s not that administrators are greedy and using that money from credit card companies to buy a new hot tub in the faculty lounge.  No, it’s because the school is having trouble meeting costs due to lack of federal or state funding, and a lack of alumni donations.  In the middle of a credit crisis and recession, it’s harder for school administrations to pay the bills.  

So what do they do?  They get a kickback from credit card companies for allowing the companies to market to students on campus.  You could almost justify that.  You can’t, however, easily justify a college administration giving out students’ personal information to these card companies.  That is exactly what’s happening on a growing number of college campuses.  “Marketing” to college students is not just about setting up a display table in the commons, but contacting students directly.  The administrations are giving credit card companies students’ email address, mailing address, and telephone number.  It’s a much more significant breach of trust.  

At the same time, this is not entirely different from how the real world works.  College students are technically adults and shouldn’t have to be shielded from these types of real world situations.  When they graduate they’re going to be bombarded with pre-approved credit card offers over the phone and through the mail, so this is something they will have to deal with.  The main problem is not necessarily that young adults are being marketed to, but that they have no clear idea how to use credit once it’s been authorized.  A phone call is just a phone call, but it’s the student’s own fault if he or she then takes that card on an irresponsible spending spree.  

That’s one argument.  I still don’t like the idea of college administrations giving out a student’s personal contact information.  Allowing credit card companies to dump junk mail advertisements into college mailboxes is one thing – that’s college property so it’s not as much of an invasion of privacy.  Selling personal information takes this one step further and it’s a practice that needs to stop.  

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