Full Disclosure Standard for Student Banking Services Unveiled at COMTEC Conference
FACTSlabel.org calls for simple, standardized format for disclosing costs and fees of student banking services to address growing controversy.
KANSAS CITY – A new standard for transparency and full disclosure in marketing financial products and services to college students was proposed today at a meeting of more than 500 higher education professionals.
The proposal calls for a simplified, standardized format for disclosing costs and fees associated with bank products offered to students, modeled after the nutrition label found on food products. The call came in response to the growing controversy over high fees and hidden costs tied to credit and debit cards and other financial products offered to students, often through official university channels, that has led to student protests on numerous campuses, negative publicity and an open investigation by the New York State Attorney General.
The proposal, which is described on the website www.FACTSlabel.org, was presented today to college finance professionals at COMTEC, a biennial conference focused on commerce and technology and topics for campus business officers.
Dan Toughey, president of TouchNet Information Systems, Inc., recommended that campus business and finance professionals start a dialogue about creating and enforcing a self-policing standard. TouchNet is the sponsoring organization for COMTEC.
Toughey said conversations with concerned professionals at several colleges, and a surge in news media reports about controversies relating to marketing financial products to students, prompted his organization to start researching the issue.
“Our conversations and our research led us to conclude that a consistent standard for simple, full disclosure for fees, terms and conditions is in the best interest of both students and colleges,” Toughey said. “The best source for creating and enforcing such a standard is the higher education community, which understands the issues, the needs of students and the needs of colleges better than any outside organization or agency. We are offering to facilitate this dialogue as part of our service to that community.”
According to the presentation, the Financial Accountability and Cost Transparency for Students (FACTSlabel.org) program seeks to first define, and then implement, a solution to controversies over transparency and costs for financial products and services marketed to students by and through colleges. College business officers at the conference, and across the country, were invited to participate in a dialogue to refine the proposal and reach consensus on implementing a solution.
Toughey noted that the organization Public Design Lab has called for a similar full disclosure standard based on the nutrition label that would apply to all consumers, not just college students. Public Design Lab is an arm of AIGA, a national association for graphic design professionals.
Toughey suggested that by adopting such a standard for students, the higher education community could perform a public service by setting a full disclosure standard that could later be applied to all consumers.
FACTSlabel.org would establish a standard for full disclosure of all costs and fees associated with financial products and services provided or offered to students through the auspices of the college. FACTSlabel.org also would establish a simple, standardized format for disclosure of this information. This will allow students, and college officials, to easily compare offers and know exactly what costs and fees these products and services entail.
The FACTSlabel.org presentation cited the nutrition label posted on packaged food products as a model for full disclosure because it is simple, straightforward and standardized. Consumers can pick up a package, check the label, and get the information they want quickly and easily.
Full details on the proposal, and opportunities to join in the discussion on how best to proceed, are available at www.FACTSlabel.org.
Full Disclosure Standard for Student Banking Services Unveiled at COMTEC Conference
FACTSlabel.org calls for simple, standardized format for disclosing costs and fees of student banking services to address growing controversy.
KANSAS CITY – A new standard for transparency and full disclosure in marketing financial products and services to college students was proposed today at a meeting of more than 500 higher education professionals.
The proposal calls for a simplified, standardized format for disclosing costs and fees associated with bank products offered to students, modeled after the nutrition label found on food products. The call came in response to the growing controversy over high fees and hidden costs tied to credit and debit cards and other financial products offered to students, often through official university channels, that has led to student protests on numerous campuses, negative publicity and an open investigation by the New York State Attorney General.
The proposal, which is described on the website www.FACTSlabel.org, was presented today to college finance professionals at COMTEC, a biennial conference focused on commerce and technology and topics for campus business officers.
Dan Toughey, president of TouchNet Information Systems, Inc., recommended that campus business and finance professionals start a dialogue about creating and enforcing a self-policing standard. TouchNet is the sponsoring organization for COMTEC.
Toughey said conversations with concerned professionals at several colleges, and a surge in news media reports about controversies relating to marketing financial products to students, prompted his organization to start researching the issue.
“Our conversations and our research led us to conclude that a consistent standard for simple, full disclosure for fees, terms and conditions is in the best interest of both students and colleges,” Toughey said. “The best source for creating and enforcing such a standard is the higher education community, which understands the issues, the needs of students and the needs of colleges better than any outside organization or agency. We are offering to facilitate this dialogue as part of our service to that community.”
According to the presentation, the Financial Accountability and Cost Transparency for Students (FACTSlabel.org) program seeks to first define, and then implement, a solution to controversies over transparency and costs for financial products and services marketed to students by and through colleges. College business officers at the conference, and across the country, were invited to participate in a dialogue to refine the proposal and reach consensus on implementing a solution.
Toughey noted that the organization Public Design Lab has called for a similar full disclosure standard based on the nutrition label that would apply to all consumers, not just college students. Public Design Lab is an arm of AIGA, a national association for graphic design professionals.
Toughey suggested that by adopting such a standard for students, the higher education community could perform a public service by setting a full disclosure standard that could later be applied to all consumers.
FACTSlabel.org would establish a standard for full disclosure of all costs and fees associated with financial products and services provided or offered to students through the auspices of the college. FACTSlabel.org also would establish a simple, standardized format for disclosure of this information. This will allow students, and college officials, to easily compare offers and know exactly what costs and fees these products and services entail.
The FACTSlabel.org presentation cited the nutrition label posted on packaged food products as a model for full disclosure because it is simple, straightforward and standardized. Consumers can pick up a package, check the label, and get the information they want quickly and easily.
Full details on the proposal, and opportunities to join in the discussion on how best to proceed, are available at www.FACTSlabel.org.