The relationship between a college and its student population is one that is built on mutual trust with students promising to follow clear lines of academic propriety while the school ensures that academic rigor is upheld and everyone feels safe on campus. This trust is broken from time to time when students plagiarize their work or when schools fail to provide adequate security to prevent on-campus crime.

Consumer Group Uncovers A Secret Agreement

A consumer group by the name of the Consumer Warning Network (CWN) has discovered that Florida State University (FSU) recently made a secret agreement with the Bank of America to disclose confidential information about students to the bank in exchange for a financial benefit. The bank was given an exclusive right to contact students and share with them a special deal using FSU’s official colors and symbols.

The CWN obtained a copy of a contract between the Seminole Boosters, FSU’s athletic fundraising arm, and the bank. The contract, which was endorsed by the university in a side letter, was supposed to remain confidential.

$10 Million Over Seven Years

Under the contract’s terms, the university receives a percentage of every dollar charged by university students and alumni, with a guaranteed payout of over $10 million for seven years. The money aids the Seminole Boosters who use these funds to pay the salaries of its coaches.

Besides sharing confidential information with the bank, the terms the students would face if they chose to accept Bank of America credit cards, are not particularly favorable with higher interest rates charged compared to non-student credit cards.

FSU Students Are Bothered By The Allegations

Students on campus were troubled by their school’s role in the deal. “It’s like they’re setting us up for failure,” said Yari Alpizar, a freshman from Marathon, Florida. “I don’t think they should be allowed to do this. It’s an invasion of privacy.”

The Consumer Warning Network is website launched by a team of former Federal Prosecutors, Investigative Journalists and former FBI Agents working together to expose fraud and educate the public on consumer issues. The report can be read on the organizations website at http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com

(Source: Consumer Warning Network)

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Tags: Bank of America, colleges, Consumer Warning Network, credit cards, disclosure, Florida State University, students

Back in the day when I was in college, professors would distribute end-of-the-semester surveys to allow their students to review the class and the instructor’s teaching methods. We never knew what the results of those surveys were, as that information was shared between the college and the professor only.

Today, many colleges and universities still practice this method of student evaluation, but in Ohio they are taking it one big step further: according to The Columbus Dispatch the state’s 13 public universities and its medical college will begin rating themselves.

In a plan approved last week by Ohio’s education czar, Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut, the schools will be offering a standardized test to students to see how well they are learning while at school. Though the testing specifics haven’t been finalized yet, the results — when they are released in about four years — will give the public a clearer look at how specific colleges are faring, to provide improved accountability to Ohio residents.

In the meantime, student satisfaction surveys will be released along with hard to find crime statistical information for each school.

Other benefits of the self-grading plan include a college-cost calculator to allow prospective students determine the actual price of an education at each university along with degree offerings, housing options, student demographics, counseling and legal resources, graduation rates, transfer rates, student retention and success rates, post-graduation plans and data about community engagement.

Ohio’s community colleges, which aren’t part of the initial rating plan, are expected to be included later on and will also adapt their program for national accountability.

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Tags: college, Ohio, Ohio State, professors, students, surveys, university