Social Work Graduate Scholarships

Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 6:45 pm

Social Work Graduate Scholarships

Good Student Credit Should Be A Corporate Social Responsibility

The March 18 USA Today had an interesting cover story in education politics: Colleges' debit card deals draw scrutiny.

The purpose of these deals is to foster computerized cashless transactions on-campus, for example purchasing books, meals or tickets to athletic events through a debit card that doubles as a student ID. The students account balance may include monies received through financial aid. Under the agreements between the banks and schools, the schools receive revenue - up to $1 million or so a year - each time a student uses the card in an on-campus transaction.

The USA Today story alluded that the debit cards may be a good deal for the school, but not necessarily the best deal for the students, especially when it comes to overdraft fees. The article cites the a study by the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group that states that young adults ages 18-24 pay, on average, more than $3 in fees for every $1 overdrawn, compared with nearly $2 in fees paid by other adults.

The overdraft practices are reminiscent of the predatory practices of banks in their relationships with low-income customers: to levy the highest penalties on the customers who can least afford them. It is disappointing to see colleges buy into these practices, but easy to understand why: they have an opportunity to outsource transaction processing and student ID records to an outside provider. It is a means for an educational institution to turn a cost center into a revenue center.

The student debit card programs have become the latest higher education cause for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, following a successful investigation into The Student Loan lending practices of banks that among other things, offered perks to financial aid officers to direct students to use their products. Cuomo's investigation is only in its infancy, but the attorney general's office is concerned about excessively high overdraft fees, and that banks may use their relationships with schools to pitch high-interest credit cards to their students.

Unless Cuomo's investigation finds new evidence of kickbacks to school officials, solutions to the problems of student debit cards can be worked out between the schools and banks without government intervention.

One solution is to not allow students to overdraw their account. The systems at the point of sale could tell a cashier or the bursar that the student has insufficient funds; a balance check would be unnecessary. This will work if a second solution is in place: student deposits clear in one day, instead of the usual three at most money center banks. Commerce Bank is one financial institution that markets such a service to competitive advantage.

Spokespersons for the banks and their associations have argued that the overdraft penalties force College students to manage their money responsibly. I would argue that preventing overdrafts will do the same, without putting students further behind the financial eight-ball or encouraging them to live beyond their means. They would also learn to have cash on hand for their coffees and mocha lattes.

My proposed solutions could be considered corporate social responsibility on the part of the banks and schools. No doubt it's in their best interest for students to graduate with better credit and more income to repay Student Loans.

About the Author

Contact Stuart Nachbar at
Educated Quest
, a blog on education politics, policy and technology or read about his first book, The Sex Ed Chronicle, a novel on education and politics in 1980 New Jersey, at
Sex Ed Chronicles
.

I got into 3 law schools, Fordham Law, St.Johns University & Brooklyn law but I dont know which one to go to?

I am graduating in May with my masters in social work from NYU & I will be starting the JD program in Aug. I am confused as to which school is going to provide me with the best opportunity as well not leave me with too much debt. I want to do corporate law but eventually I want to do public interest. I plan on applying for the joint JD/MBA program once I am enrolled in one of the JD programs. My ultimate goal is to have my own non-for profit agency. Rankings is important w/law schools and Fordham is 27, Brooklyn is 63, and St. Johns is 88. I should qualify for need based aid ( I am broke, on public assistance and I am a single mother of a 3 yr old). Fordham didnt give me any merit based scholarships, Brooklyn gave me $18,500, and St. Johns gave me a full ride. This is where it gets complicated for me. I am scared of debt because I have no money to pay anything back.I know that law school is an investment for my future. I have to decide by 2mmorrow bc I have 2 send in a deposit.

I would go for Fordham, even though it will cost you. Do they have merit-based aid? I went to Loyola Law School (another Jesuit school), and they had a deal wherein the top 10 students after the first year got a full scholarship for the rest of the program. Of course, it was a bit cut-throat for those students (I was fortunate in that I was a university employee and didn't have to compete to get my education free), but they did manage to reduce their debt substantially.

Another possibility at Fordham might be a public interest scholarship. I know that we have those for people planning on going into that field. Of course, you would probably have to forego the corporate career first!

I remember one of my classmates who was married to a student the year ahead of us, and who had a child during th e program, saying that she thought they would never be able to afford to buy a house due to their debt. Well, both found great jobs with major firms, and money has just not been an issue, from all I've heard.

Unless you are older and have to rush your move into public interest, I would get the best education you can possibly get. The rest will sort itself out.

USG 2010 Scholarship Luncheon - Yancy Padilla (UMBC, Social Work)