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RISD Banking Program: No More Calls Home for Cash?
4/4/2002
Electronic banking is simplifying finances for students,
parents, and campus administrators. In the “old” days, student finances worked
like this: In the fall, parents or the student mailed a tuition payment to the
school. They might have mailed separate checks covering books and room and
board, and various payments for fees and services. Usually the student had a
checking account on or near campus, from which money would slowly drain. Along
the way, there might be checks and emergency wire transfers from home to cover
sudden cash needs, payroll deposits from the student’s own part-time employment,
financial aid payments, and other debits and credits. With the second semester,
the cycle would begin anew.
But things are
different now, thanks to the interface of electronic banking with campus
administrative systems. Student debit cards, which allow students to purchase
books, meals, and parking permits, among other things, were the first wave. Now,
because of new banking applications designed to link seamlessly with
enterprise-level campus systems, universities are able to offer students and
their families much more powerful, versatile, and flexible financial
tools.
One of the first out of the gate is the Bank
of Rhode Island’s CampusMate program, which can link all of a student’s banking
and school-based accounts, making financial management easier for students,
parents, and college administrators. CampusMate, now in use at the Rhode Island
School of Design (RISD) in Providence, is both an online bank account for
students and a back office system for the college.
Its approach opens up new opportunities for both families and universities. The
program gives parents the ability to fund all of a student’s financial needs
electronically and instantly, either via the Internet or over the telephone.
No more waiting for the check to arrive, or
traveling to the Western Union office when the wire transfer g'es through.
CampusMate’s patent-pending product has three main elements. One feature is an
option for parents to set up various accounts (for instance, one for tuition,
one for meals, one for miscellaneous expenses), thereby ensuring that the basics
get funded and that money g'es to the bursar and not to beer. All of a student’s
activity accounts can be linked, so that the parent can fund them
simultaneously. The university chooses which accounts to include in its
particular program. RISD is using the full complement of CampusMate features,
although they could have picked selectively from a menu of
options.
The second element of CampusMate is an
online bank account for students. The account gives students the use of a
MasterCard Debit Card, free ATM access, and check writing ability. Most
importantly, it gives students, or parents, the ability to fund the account via
the Internet or through a credit card. An e-mail notice informs the student that
an account has been funded. If the university so chooses, it can host Bank of
Rhode Island ATM machines, but it d'es not have to.
Finally, representatives from CampusMate claim the system streamlines financial
administration for colleges and universities. A university gets fast, automatic
deposits, electronic tracking, and automated reports that can be sorted by
account, parent, student, or transaction for any account it wishes to add to the
program.
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