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NEW YORK—The State University of New York (SUNY) is adopting a code of conduct designed to provide a safety net for college students from deceptive credit card marketing. The reforms were laid out by State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Cuomo’s office stated that his “Student Credit Card Reforms for Colleges and Universities” would be adopted at all 64 SUNY campuses, encompassing more than 460,000 students statewide.
In an investigation on the alleged deceptive practices, Cuomo’s office said in a statement that the probe “revealed troubling practices that have contributed to the crushing credit card debt faced by many students.”
SUNY is the first college in the nation to adopt a policy against deceptive credit card marketing.
“In these difficult economic times, college students are acquiring enormous credit card debt that may burden them for decades to come,” Cuomo, who is running for governor, said. “To make matters worse, they are being targeted by credit card companies at their colleges.”
On average, college students graduate with nearly $4,100 in credit card debt along with about $20,000 in student loans.
Under the program, schools cannot provide students’ personal information to credit card companies without consent and are required to provide financial literacy programs to students about credit cards.
Additionally, schools are banned from earning a percentage of finance charges imposed on students. They also must limit on-campus credit card marketing to certain times and locations and must track all credit card offers on campus.
“At SUNY, we want to make sure that all of our students are prepared with the financial education they need and have the strongest safeguards against financial danger,” said SUNY chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher.
Last week, Cuomo sent letters to 300 colleges and universities in New York, calling on them to submit to his office any exclusive contracts with credit card or debit card companies.
