What could be better than using a student ID to purchase anything from copies to doughnuts on campus? How about being able to use it for everything on campus and even more off campus? Mississippi State University’s executive council has decided to hire Student Advantage, a liaison company, to implement the MoneyMate system in businesses across the Starkville area.
“Once this system is extended, it will offer more benefits, more options and allow more flexibility for students,” Student Association executive assistant Hunter Jones said.
Jones and SA President Parker Wiseman addressed the executive council this summer about extending the MoneyMate system off campus. Patti Reiss, SA executive assistant, and Josh Blades, SA attorney general, were also involved in the student leadership behind Wiseman’s and Jones’ presentation.
Student Advantage came to MSU to offer their services and present a three-year contract this summer. In early October, Jones took it one step further by presenting his opinion of the students’ perspective on the issue to executive council and compared it to other schools with similar but not identical systems.
Some of these “model schools” MSU used as a comparison for the off-campus MoneyMate program are Ohio State University, the University of Alabama, Texas A&M and University of Mississippi.
After a meeting this week with Daniel Bryant, chief financial officer, Tom Lindsay, director of telecommunications, and Mike Rackley, head of Information Technology Services, Wiseman said it is time to get the ball rolling.
Bryant said Student Advantage plans to come to campus next week to begin the process.
“We’ve been taking a philosophic look at the service itself and decided on that, but at today’s meeting, we decided to take the first steps toward implementation,” Wiseman said.
That first step is the contract agreement which will immediately begin. Lindsay will be in contact with Student Advantage about the contract, and as soon as the university signs the dotted line, the process can continue, Wiseman said.
It is expected that a student focus group, made up by the Student Association, will be formed to communicate students’ desires to Student Advantage. Students for this group have not yet been decided upon at this time.
“I, myself, hope to see fast food vendors, movie rental places, grocery stores, gas stations and off-campus bookstores buy into the program,” Jones said.
Bryant added to the list with certain types of clothing stores, music stores, tanning and beauty salons that he expects to participate in the MoneyMate purchase.
Jones said, “I would love to use my MoneyMate card at Wendy’s off campus at 10 p.m.”
Wiseman said there is really no limit as to how many businesses can take part in the MoneyMate expansion program.
expansion-mostly concerning alcohol and tobacco.
“All of the restriction have not been discussed yet, but I am certain that students will not be allowed to purchase any form of alcohol or tobacco with their MoneyMate ID card,” Wiseman said.
Bryant said that along with alcohol and tobacco, guns and pornographic materials will not be allowed in the program.
With this much in place, Student Advantage is expected to begin the implementation process sometime in the spring and will be advertising the participating off-campus businesses.
“We are hoping it will be in place within the next 20 weeks,” Bryant said.
Student Advantage has a three-step process that involves coming up with a list of prospective businesses from the student focus group, selling the program to businesses and the implementation.
“A certain percentage of MoneyMate purchases off campus will go to Student Advantage, and another percentage will go to the university,” Wiseman said. “It will be a much more complex system than the one we have right now.”
Bryant said that the university revenue coming from the expanded MoneyMate program would possibly go back to student organizations. He feels strongly that students should take profit in a business that they help support. He also hopes it would strengthen university and Starkville community ties. Students are the ones that can make this successful, Bryant said.
Jones said one advantage he sees in expanding it is the safety aspect of it-less students will have to carry around credit cards, and since there is a picture and student ID number, less MoneyMate cards are likely to be abused in ways credit cards often are.
Although safety is one advantage, Bryant believes it is not the only one. Bryant said that the card will give recognition to MSU. “By using their card, it says something about who they are,” Bryant said.
Jones also sees it as a great convenience for students living off campus. He said hopefully those off-campus students who would not have any reason to use MoneyMate would now use it because of the convenience and flexibility it offers.
Bryant said right now the majority of MoneyMate users are freshmen and sophomores but with the expansion hopefully the upperclassmen would take interest.
Wiseman wanted to reiterate that while all these changes will take place off campus, the on-campus MoneyMate system will remain exactly the same.
“I think it’s a positive thing, and I am looking forward to positive things coming from it,” Bryant said. “We’ll have to grow into it and I think that will happen gradually with each year it’s available.”
“The sky is the limit as to how many places will implement the system-my guess is 10 to 15 places and maybe more in the future once the program proves itself successful,” Wiseman said.