INC NEWS - University's 'DukeCard' expansion on hold (Sunday Herald-Sun)

[John Schelp]

"My assumption has been that it's a choice Duke has
made to keep all its transactions on campus." 
-Tom Campbell, Ninth Street merchant

'DukeCard' ruling on hold
By Paul Bonner, Herald-Sun, 29 January 2006

Duke still has made no decision on a request last fall
to allow students to use their university spending
accounts for purchases off campus. 

At other universities, however, the arrangement is
common. And it is much less costly than the 18 percent
commission Duke charges in its program that is now
limited to restaurant deliveries to campus. 

Duke also charges the restaurants about $1,200 in
set-up fees. 

Elon University near Burlington, on the other hand,
has set-up charges and commissions less than one-third
that amount for 38 participating off-campus merchants.
The businesses, moreover, extend beyond food to
include fitness gyms, auto-parts stores and an eye
center. 

Transactions on both Duke's DukeCard and the Phoenix
Card issued at Elon are administered by Blackboard,
the education-support company best known for its
software with which teachers post course materials for
their students on computer systems. 

At both universities, as at most institutions, the
cards double as a student ID that is used for other
campus purposes, such as building access, cafeteria
meal plans and as a library card. 

The Blackboard Transaction System software and
equipment is used by hundreds of colleges and
universities, said a company spokeswoman, Melissa
Chotiner. Both Duke and Elon manage their off-campus
transactions themselves, she said. When Blackboard
administers it, in an add-on service known as BBOne,
fees are "less than a typical credit card," she said. 

Elon University recently lowered its off-campus costs
for the Phoenix Card, and more merchants signed on,
said university spokesman David Hibbard. 

"We're not doing this to make money," Hibbard said.
"We have a good relationship with merchants in the
program." 

Two of the three Gold's Gym locations Matt Layman
operates in Burlington began accepting the Phoenix
Card two years ago. Earlier, he said, he was skeptical
about the 5 percent commission and $250 fee for each
card reader terminal. 

But after students repeatedly asked if he accepted the
card, he signed up. Only about 10 percent of his Elon
student customers pay with it, but that's still enough
to make it worthwhile, he said. 

On Durham's Ninth Street, Tom Campbell, co-owner of
The Regulator Bookshop, said Elon's deal sounds good
to him. 

"I'd sign up for that in a flash," he said. 

As for Duke's higher charges -- prohibitively so for
him, he said -- "My assumption has been that it's a
choice Duke has made to keep all its transactions on
campus." 

At UNC, students are issued a UNC Card with an account
for on-campus purchases. If they open a checking
account with Wachovia, they can have the bank's Visa
Check card feature integrated into the UNC Card, in a
version called UNC Card Plus. 

The bank offers the option free to students. N.C.
State University has a similar arrangement with
Wachovia. 

Duke spokesman John Burness said administrators aren't
likely to change the Duke Card before the beginning of
a new academic year. He said he didn't know why Duke's
fees are higher and eligibility more restricted than
Elon's. 

"I think part of this has to do with the evolution of
this system, and that's why we're looking at it now,"
he said. 

In the fall, John Schelp, president of the Old West
Durham Neighborhood Association near Duke's East
Campus, asked Duke officials to make the system, and
its 11,000 cardholders, more merchant-friendly. He
said officials told him they would get back to him by
November. 

Since then, in The Herald-Sun and in the Chronicle,
Duke's independent student newspaper, the issue has
been raised periodically. 

On Tuesday, Schelp said he hopes administrators will
communicate their plans to interested parties outside
the university beforehand. 

"We hope we would be able to see the rollout before
it's a done deal," he said. 

Burness said the university will advise merchants and
students once it reaches a decision.