New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has embarked on another investigation on behalf of student interests.
After discovering widespread corruption between student lenders and financial aid offices last year, Cuomo initiated an investigation into conflict of interests colleges might have with companies that provide services to students.
Of particular interest will be arrangements schools hold with banking, health insurance, textbook, food service and credit card companies.
Last month, Cuomo sent subpoenas to various schools asking for information on their partnerships with credit card companies.
Months of investigating revealed big businesses realized campuses were places where they could pay their way into reaching a captive audience, said Benjamin Lawsky, a special assistant to Cuomo.
"They're paying schools millions of dollars a year to make sure students are indebted to them," Lawsky said.
Matt Wing, Cuomo's press officer, declined to comment on which schools received subpoenas, noting the investigation was on-going.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has a credit card partnership with JP Morgan Chase that involves the athletic department, the Nebraska Alumni Association and the university.
A spokesperson for the university was unavailable for comment.
According to a survey from October 2007 to February 2008 conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, two-thirds of college students have credit cards and are risking increased debt by using them.
Four-fifths of students surveyed said they supported stricter rules for credit card marketing because they received an average of five mail solicitations and four phone calls from credit card companies a month.
The study surveyed 1,500 students, mostly undergraduates, from 40 colleges and universities from 14 states.
In a news release published in USA TODAY, Lowell Adkins, the executive director of the National Association of Campus Card Users, which represents schools that run multi-purpose card programs, said he didn't believe schools were doing anything inappropriate by establishing partnerships with banks to issue ID-debit cards.
However, Lowell said, "I don't know what the definition of inappropriate is right now."
kevinzelaya@dailynebraskan.com
