Students on some college campuses are simmering with discontent over Higher One Holdings Inc., a company that provides debit cards and bank accounts to students receiving financial aid.
Some people at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., have created a “Students Against Higher One” Facebook page and held a rally Wednesday to voice concerns over fees associated with using Higher One’s debit cards, which are linked to online bank accounts. About 60 students participated, said school spokesman Paul Cocke.
The protest follows an incident in North Carolina last month, in which a student complained online about his school’s relationship with Higher One in remarks the school perceived as threatening, leading to his temporary suspension.
The New Haven, Conn., company partners with roughly 700 campuses across the country to handle payments to students. Colleges contract with Higher One to handle payments, such as grants and student aid “refunds,” which are funds left over after tuition is paid and are typically used for textbooks and other education-related costs. Students can receive a debit card and activate the account linked to it, to quickly access their funds. In some cases, the cards also serve as the student’s college I.D. card.
Administrators say using Higher One’s service saves them money and makes it more convenient for students to access their own money. Some students, for instance, aren’t able to open traditional bank accounts because they may have a history of bouncing checks, said Mr. Cocke. But they can open an account with Higher One, regardless of their past banking record.
But some students say the card comes with unreasonable fees. For instance, if students use a non-Higher One A.T.M., they are charged $2.50, in addition to any fee the A.T.M. owner charges. (Higher One offers A.T.M.’s on the campuses it serves, but they are otherwise limited in some areas.) Students are also charged 50 cents for each debit purchase they make using a PIN instead of a signature, and they may pay up to $19 a month if their account remains inactive for nine months.
Shoba Lemoine, a spokeswoman for Higher One, said the basic checking account offered with the card, the OneAccount, could be used free; it carries no monthly service fee and offers free online bill payments.
The company is upfront about the fees it does charge, she added, noting that a list is available on the company’s Web site along with detailed tips on how to avoid the fees. For instance, a video describes how students can avoid the 50-cent fee on purchases by choosing “credit” and signing for their purchases, rather than choosing “debit” and entering their PIN.
Students’ use of the Higher One account is optional, she said; they can choose to activate the account, which allows them to get their refunds quickly. Or, they can choose to have their funds directly deposited into another bank account. They can also choose to receive a paper check, but that option will take longer.
Over all, she said, students appear to like Higher One’s service: “What’s happening there is a bit atypical,” she said of unrest at Western Washington University.
Most students seem satisfied with the debit cards, Mr. Cocke said, but the university is taking complaints seriously; it held a forum last month to address student concerns, will host a second event on Nov. 17, and will work with Higher One to see if any changes can be made. “Our students have a long history of being willing to voice concerns,” he said.
In the North Carolina incident, a student, Marc Bechtol, complained about Higher One in a September post on the Facebook page maintained by his school, Catawba Valley Community College, in Hickory, N.C. Mr. Bechtol said he made the post because shortly after his school mailed him his Higher One card, which doubles as a student identification card even if it isn’t activated, he received a marketing solicitation from a credit card company. (Higher One says it does not share information with third parties and that the offer was unrelated to Mr. Bechtol’s receipt of his Higher One card.)
According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that advocates for free speech on campus, the post said, “Did anyone else get a bunch of credit card spam in their CVCC inbox today? So, did CVCC sell our names to banks, or did Higher One? I think we should register CVCC’s address with every porn site known to man. Anyone know any good viruses to send them?” He then added, “O.K., maybe that would be a slight overreaction,” according to FIRE.
Mr. Bechtol said in a telephone interview that he objected to the school’s use of an outside financial firm and to the firm’s heavy marketing to students, many of whom were young and unsophisticated about banking. “It was obviously in jest,” he said of his post.
In a letter to Mr. Bechtol posted on FIRE’s Web site, the school told him the post was “disturbing and indicates possible malicious action against the college,” and that he would be suspended for two semesters. A spokeswoman for the college, Mary Reynolds, said in a phone interview that it was Mr. Bechtol’s apparent threat that led it to act: “We were responding to a potential threat to our operations,” she said.
Mr.Bechtol appealed, however, and the school dropped the suspension.
Have you used Higher One’s debit cards? Do you think the fees are reasonable?
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f73520cdaec0f8c6a3b934cc32e7ac7a
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.