I suppose you think we’re kidding– and you are mostly, although not completely, correct. But the small portion that does ring true in this Blog Title is too sad to ignore and with colleges and universities increasing tuition and fees an average of 7% a year, even more pathetic.

A recent article in the New York Times “Debt Trap” series entitled “Colleges Profit as Banks Market Credit Cards to Students” more or less says it all. According to the article, there are a significant number of educational institutions that have lucrative contracts with banks and lenders to market their credit cards to the student body. One example in particular mentioned in the article certainly seems to fall right into place, that of Michigan State:

Bank of America’s relationship with the university extends well beyond marketing at sports events. The bank has an $8.4 million, seven-year contract with Michigan State giving it access to students’ names and addresses and use of the university’s logo. The more students who take the banks’ credit cards, the more money the university gets. Under certain circumstances, Michigan State even stands to receive more money if students carry a balance on these cards.

Well, it certainly seems a bit ironic that here students are attending these institutions expecting to become responsible, financially independent young adults (and paying to be taught these lessons)– and universities are being paid to entice and encourage them to perhaps do otherwise. The article does a good job of summarizing the travesty as follows:

College campuses are one place that young Americans are introduced to credit and the possibility of spending beyond their means, a problem now confronting the nation as a whole. For banks, the relationships are a golden marketing opportunity. For colleges, they are a revenue source at a time of declining public funding. And for students, they help pay the bills and allow more shopping.

Well, I suppose everyone needs to make a living. But to me it seems a bit like taking a kid into a candy store… there is enough exposure to candy, or credit cards as the case may be, in the commonly traveled avenues of life. Why put the incentive right in the student’s face, in their front yard, as in the case of the college student?

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